U.S. Rep. Ron Paul wants an audit of Fort Knox's gold, assuming any is in there. Paul—a 2012 presidential candidate and chairman of a House subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy—wants to know whether the gold contained in the U.S. Bullion Depository is real. He's requiring testimony from officials at the Treasury Department regarding the gold's authenticity and demanding that the purity of the 700,000 bars examined, as well.
The U.S. Mint says 147.3 Moz. gold is stored in the famous vault, a "classified facility" that's closed to the public. In fact, a Mint spokesman told CNBC that no member of Congress has even toured it in nearly four decades.
Treasury officials assure Paul that they have "personally observed the gold reserves located in each of the deep-storage compartments."
"The only gold removed has been very small quantities used to test the purity of gold during regularly scheduled audits," says the Mint. "Except for these samples, no gold has been transferred to or from the Depository for many years."
Internet conspiracy theorists disagree—and the government is fanning the flames by refusing to allow the media to film the gold. It's also attempting to scare off an audit by claiming it would take 400 people six months to inspect each one of the gold bars—costing taxpayers $15 million.
Hmm. . .
Paul's repeatedly called for a return to the gold standard; he also called for the government to sell its gold reserves and rebate the money to taxpayers.
"Gold has to be in the hands of the people," Paul said recently. "We should legalize its use as legal tender. Government doesn't have to hold it. If an individual gets into trouble, they might sell their stocks, CDs, assets to pay their bills. Why can't a country do that?"
