[Ramble] Hypothetically speaking of course, ten years down the track, Silver is very expensive, solar energy is needed for any of a number of scenarios, shortage of fossil fuels, carbon tax, green pressure etc. Electronics are using more and not being recovered. Silver is shown to increase virility in middle aged men therefore...silver is in hgh demand. Underground supplies are limited, getting harder to find and more expensive to mine and process. Government is under pressure to do something. Government is aware that people have stacks, for want of a better word, of investment silver just sitting around. The needs of the many outweight the needs of the few etc. etc. etc. What the Government wants it takes, it makes a few changes to the law first, maybe they are already in place, If your house is where they want to put up the Sydney Harbour bridge they just knock it down, they nead a train line through your property..?...consider it sold. Obviously progress needs to take place and it is raw for the person who loses property but everyone else gains, the ends justifying the means? However in this case we wouldn't just be spectators, or even benifactors. I believe (thanks to Wikipaedia) that owning precious metals is not a right or a priviedge and in some cases it is illegal, and has been in the past, and could once again be illegal since the precedent has been set. Precious metals have been confiscated in the past in the USA as I understand, please correct me if I am wrong. The American public gave up their gold but fought to keep their guns, I know which one I would rather they had. So we are now all criminals unless we turn in our silver for whatever price the Government sees fit to give us for it. The only people dealing in silver are the you, the government and criminals, so basically...just criminals. Silver would only be used for criminal activities and tax avoidance, you couldn't hold it without breaking the law and you couldn't sell it without breaking the law. It would be worthless for an upstanding citizen to own. All you could do would be to bury it and hope your grandchidren grow up in less restrictive times (and daily worry that someone will find the stash and either steal it or turn you in). I know we have a few SHTF survivalists who already have a bunker off the grid somewhere but I think the grid is going to get a lot bigger in the future. I don't think it is all going to tank in my lifetime but the Government taking my stuff, that I can believe, they already take a chunk of my money so it isn't that much of a stretch. Silver is an industrial metal, and if the people have the means to control the industry then the people will hold all the power, sounds dangerousy like communism to me. [/Ramble] Disclosure: I am not anti government, I think it should be done better but I have no idea how to do that, I think it should be limited and they should stick to protecting people and their property but keep out of most other things. This isn't a political thread (except that last bit) I don't think one party is doing badly or should be replaced by another, not sure that I noticed the difference after the last electipon either. This is merely to bring up the idea of confiscation so we can all have something to read over the long weekend.
There is already sections in the Aussie Banking Act that will allow this to occur, these sections are not currently active and needs approval by the GovernorGeneral to be activated. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ba195972/s40.html sections 40-46 of the Banking Act 1959. I don't think silver is included, but that could easily change.
There is such a thing as propery rights. When they are no longer, you do not have a representative government but an clear and present enemy plotting your betrayal and downfall. What is likely first, is that there will be forced purchasing of government bonds by industry super funds.
none of what you typed is impossible, in fact there is an act that is already written and can be invoked at any time. In saying that the less we discuss it the less likelyhood Julia will know about it.
Confiscation is Theft ! I know people refer to FDR in 1933, but then the Dollar was backed by gold ! Because of that, Americans were 'persuaded' to re-exchange their gold to Dollars. Today not a single currency is backed by anything at all... and that is the big difference. If Governments want your gold and silver all they have to do is print money and raise the price until they can get it. Yeah, we hear about changing this Law and poking people in the eye, but no Law should allow THEFT. Of course, there is already Taxes, Inflation and other devious mechanisms to skim the true value of your wealth, but that's another debate that will never end, so it seems.
As I'm sure everyone will agree, neither our politicians nor our Treasury officials understand anything more than the rudimentary mechanics of a modern functioning economy. The concepts of "printing more money" or "confiscating public assets" are borne on the breath of 'political advisors' and whispered into the ears of their charges like poision in a scene from 'The Scottish Play'. It is these agents that are responsible for rebirthing these toxic ideas. Time and again polluting our future and condeming our leaders to repeat the mistakes of history, all for the sake of gaining/remaining in political office. And it is with these advisors that we should target our anger. Dragged off (I might advise) to the Plas de la Concorde for a spot of collar trimming.
^ this seems more likely to happen than confiscating a bunch of silver/gold; much easier to move 'numbers' around than tons and tons of physical
and then they move to a gold standard, make private ownership illegal, all the gold owners end up in the government versions of We Buy Your Gold shops, and then when dust is settled they revalue the currency. So your money is stolen more or less 'legally'. So when you're temporarily very wealthy because of gold conversion, spend it as fast as possible on real assets before they turn it all into barcode balances with a nominated value.
