RETURN TO GOLD STANDARD

What would a return to the gold standard look like?

David Morgan, founder of Silver Investor, believes a return to the gold standard would allow people to understand the true worth of their money. "If the U.S. dollar was re-established as fully convertible to gold, the reserve currency of the world would again be 'as good as gold,'" Morgan said. On the other hand, Michael Carr, chief market strategist at Dunn Warren Investment Advisors, thinks a return to the gold peg would severely limit government response. "Compared with the current economic environment, a gold standard seems to offer a virtual utopia. But, such a standard would make it impossible for the government to rapidly expand spending as they have in the past year."

Puru Saxena, CEO of Puru Saxena Wealth Management, would welcome the reliability a gold standard would offer. "Throughout history, 'paper money' has never worked and everyone would be better off -- not the bankers of course -- with a monetary system whereby currencies are backed by something tangible."