Utah has the first law on the books encouraging residents to use gold or silver coins made by the Mint as cash. The legislation is called the Legal Tender Act of 2011. The law was inspired by Tea Party supporters who believe the dollar should be backed by gold or silver and worry that a currency collapse looms in our country’s future. But what actually is this thing we call money? Is it gold bricks in a vault? Pieces of paper? Bits and bytes traded by bankers? Louise Story, finance and Wall Street reporter for The New York Times has the answers.
Louise Story also takes a closer look at story in The Wall Street Journal reporting that Goldman Sachs invested more than $1 billion dollars of Libyan money controlled by Gadhafi, but lost more than 98 percent of the money when the market tanked in 2008. As compensation the bank offered Libya the chance to become one of its biggest share-holders. Gadhafi reportedly declined.
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