Of silver coins, milkshakes, and spending less than comes in…

Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, jingled some silver coins for the House State Affairs Committee. “Gold and silver coin is the only lawful monetary option for states,” he intoned. “Right here I have some silver coins, four quarters and two half-dollars. … Those four quarters combined together have a little over three-quarters of an ounce of silver in them.” Nielsen recalled, “When I was a kid living in Hazelton … I had the opportunity to walk home the 4 miles from Eden to Hazelton, or we hitchhiked. … Every night my friend … he would stop at the drugstore in Eden, Idaho and buy a hard ice cream milkshake … with one of these quarters.” Today, the silver in that quarter is worth “a little over five bucks,” Nielsen said. “You can take this quarter today and still buy that same milkshake. It did not lose its purchasing power, and that’s what we’re talking about. … Gold and silver coin retains its purchasing power.”

Nielsen brought legislation to the committee for “specie legal tender,” saying, “Idaho can protect its citizens  by establishing this alternate legal currency prior to any … financial crisis.” Similar bills have been backed in the Legislature for several years, including by former Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol; none have become law. Nielsen said the alternate currency would solve the problem of inflation.

Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, said, “You say that there’s never enough money as we print it. Why isn’t there enough money if we spent less than came in, regardless of the type of monetary system we’re on? There would be money, in my view there would be money if we didn’t spend more than we had.”