Momentum Growing For U.S. Treasury To Sell Gold

It's far from the impementation stage, and it's floated as a suggestion to show that the U.S. Treasury won't be as helpless as it portrays itself should the debt ceiling not be raised, but more and more politicians are suggesting that the gold be sold should the debt ceiling stay the same. Some seem to be suggesting the Treasury sell the gold it holds regardless.

Republican lawmakers, like Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, have become emboldened in their skepticism after studying the issue with conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation, Politico reports.

Ron Utt, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, recently suggested to the Washington Post that U.S. could sell off its gold reserves from Fort Knox in order to pay down debt.

"It's just sort of sitting there," he said. "Given the high price [gold] is now, and the tremendous debt problem we now have, by all means, sell at the peak."

When asked about that idea, Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas -- known for his support of the gold standard and his interest in auditing the nation's gold reserves -- endorsed it....

A related suggestion is to sell the land held by the federal government.