The ND, Ron Paul, and the monetary system

From today's Wall Street Journal (by Kris Hudson):

The hottest trend this decade in shopping-center development has gone cold.

Known as lifestyle centers, the open-air shopping venues offer small parks, fountains and cafés amid name-brand retailers selling fashion apparel, housewares and other discretionary fare....

But now, with the economy slumping and shoppers spending less, retailers that had flocked to the centers -- like Chico's FAS Inc., AnnTaylor Stores Corp. and Talbots Inc. -- have begun canceling expansion plans and even shutting stores...

The economic slowdown, of course, means many of the planned projects won't leave the drawing board. But many centers where constuction has begun will probably have difficulty leasing space when they open. That raises the specter that eventually they may not be able to pay their debt, adding to the strain on the already ravaged finance sector.

Oh man... the whole economy is tanking. No longer is the little-known "M3"* reported which, IMO, suggests they already turned on the presses and are printing the money.

We need a return to the gold standard asap. Or as Ron Paul said on Feb 15, 2006:

The economic law that honest exchange demands only things of real value as currency cannot be repealed. The chaos that one day will ensue from our 35-year experiment with worldwide fiat money will require a return to money of real value. We will know that day is approaching when oil-producing countries demand gold, or its equivalent, for their oil rather than dollars or Euros. The sooner the better.

Tim White

* M3 is the broadest measure of money; it is used by economists to estimate the entire supply of money within an economy.