South Carolina proposal to ban federal currency – where do they get these politicians?

South Carolina Republican State Representative Mike Pitts  has introduced a proposal into the South Carolina legislature to ban the use of federal currency in that state.  Rep. Pitts believes that the entire U.S. currency system is about to implode, and the only way to protect South Carolinians is to impose a requirement that transactions be conducted with silver and gold coins.

Apparently Rep. Pitts does not understand much about the Commerce Clause of the Federal Constitution, which gives the federal government the authority to regulate currency in this country.  Not to mention the logistical nightmare that would be created if everyone had to haul bags of gold coins around every time they wanted to buy gas or groceries.

Rep. Pitts also has not addressed how to handle the constant fluctuations in the value of gold.  A gold coin worth $1 today may be worth $10 dollars next week, or vice versa.

Fortunately, Rep. Pitts doesn’t think the bill will pass.  He said that “I don’t see the intestinal fortitude of this legislative body to test the federal government on Constitutional issues.”  Meaning, the rest of the state legislature won’t support passing a symbolic bill that will cost the state millions of dollars in litigation expenses while doing nothing to stabilize the economy or benefit the state.

A copy of Rep. Pitts proposed legislation can be found here.

See:

South Carolina state representative Mike Pitts seeks to replace US currency with gold coins

Bill would ban federal currency in SC

South Carolina lawmaker seeks to ban US currency