Thread: SILVER, GOLD AND THE IRS

An interesting news story for everyone !!

UB

June 15, 2008

I began a recent presentation before a large group of cattle producers (R-CALFUSA) by showing a paper dollar bill and a silver coin. The words “one dollarâ€

This begs the question, how much did the employees earn?

With silver at ~ $20/oz and factoring in the minimum wage laws, I find it hard to believe employees were paid minimum wage 5+ coins/hour.... or did he violate minimum labor laws?

What a beautiful story. I want to get paid in silver.

When I started working fairly steady I think I made about $1.80 or $1.85. It was a nickel over minimum wage and my brother said they where spoiling me.

Anyway gas was running 25 cents a gallon then. 1.85 divided by 25 cents comes to 7.4 gallons an hour.

To make the same at an entry level minimum wage job today you would need to be paid about $35.15 an hour. That's figured at $4.75 the going rate here in the San Francisco Bay Area this week.

Originally Posted by TexSawdust

This begs the question, how much did the employees earn?

With silver at ~ $20/oz and factoring in the minimum wage laws, I find it hard to believe employees were paid minimum wage 5+ coins/hour.... or did he violate minimum labor laws?

You could be the first one to register a complaint.

Without actually reading the case it sounds like the employer instead of paying an employee let's say 15/hr in federal reserve notes - he instead paid the absolute bare state minimum wage in silver dollars.

And kept the hours and total pay such that it didn't cross the 7800.00 (taking a guess here) threshold for filing IRS taxes as a single/non-married filer.

It sounds like the IRS is arguing that if I gave a specially error-produced 1916 penny to someone for a stick of bubblegum at the local market - that local market owner has to pay taxes on a coin that is actually worth several thousand dollars...which of course is flat out silly. I paid a penny, the market owner for all practical purposes received a penny.

Think about the movie where Richard Pryor actually uses the upside down biplane stamp - what? - the IRS is going to charge the Postal Service for underreporting income? Gonna allow Richard Pryor to claim a million dollar loss? Where does it end?

Things really are getting convulted as to the value of WHAT and WHEN in our tax code and what real property is...

I could be wrong about the above - just haven't read the case in question.

Try teaching to kids in high school today what wealth and riches are - beleive me - it's an exercise in frustration. Try to teach em as well what a credit card really is - you end of cross eyed....have tried it myself. It was very painful.

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I'm not thinking minimum wage has anything to do with this story.

If I was an employee I sure wouldn't have brought it up. Well, I sure wouldn't have complained.