The "Fiscal Cliff" Will Be Just the Beginning of Sorrows

by Will Grigg
Nov. 18, 2012

The U.S. government is scheduled to arrive at the so-called “fiscal cliff” on January 1, when the Bush tax cuts expire and mandatory budget sequestration kicks in. At the same time, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will stop offering 100 percent insurance on all bank deposits, and reinstitute the $250,000 deposit insurance limit.

Some analysts believe that this will precipitate a bank run similar to – but larger than – the panics that have occurred in economically distressed European countries.

An international bank run of a different kind is slowly gathering momentum. Following the example of Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Ecuador have demanded a full visual audit of their national gold holdings in the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Ecuador has also called for repatriation of its gold.

Like the Federal Reserve’s fiat currency, the fractional reserve banking system is an officially sanctioned fraud. Banks are required to hold only a small portion of their advertised assets, and can issue loans amounting to many times the value of their actual holdings.

What would happen if our fractional reserve banking system underwent a systemic panic at the same time foreign governments demanded that the Federal Reserve return their gold deposits? We’re likely to find out, and it won’t be pretty.