Well, one company is heading in that direction. Goldmoney has created a savings and payment system where you can send and receive gold. Just like PayPal, but the transactions are in gold. You can also load a free provided debit Mastercard (by converting aome of your gold into fiat of your choice) and use that for any purchase where MC is accepted (buying groceries, gas, etc.). If you have an online business, you can set up a shopping cart/payment button and be able to accept payments in gold (dollar value converted into gold deposit into your account). Great thing about this is that since we are in a long-term gold bull run, your account will increase in value. I created my account about two months ago and my account value has risen already by 17%. What bank would give you that kind of return for your deposit in a couple of months? The ability to send payment is currently not available in the US, but they're working on it. But I'm using it primarily for savings and safe haven from economic uncertainties, and any accretion in value (in dollar terms) is just icing in the cake. Plus I have the debit card available in case I need it.
Here's the link where you can learn more: http://Goldmoney.com/r/MkNa3t
(full disclosure: this is my referral link. If you sign up when you click through this link, I will get rewarded with a few grams of gold into my account. If you don't want that to happen, you can easily google 'goldmoney').
Forgot to mention that your gold is outside of the banking system, and you have a choice of offshore locations for your gold deposit: Zurich, Toronto, Hong Kong, London, Singapore, New York and Dubai. Storage is free, account setup is free and no minimum deposit required. You can also use bitcoin to fund your account. (Btw, I also do own some bitcoins as part of a diversified portfolio.)
Wow, more paper gold. That's exactly how money started out. What's the point?!
How is it "paper gold"? The gold in your account is physical allocated gold stored securely under your name that can be easily redeemed and shipped to you at any time.
Goldmoney does not have the power to make gold money. Or any other commodity for that matter.
I think there's confusion here in using the terms "money" and "currency" (which is alright, we all do it). Gold (and silver) has been "money" for thousands of years, while the dollar (or any fiat) is a "currency" that may or may not be backed by real money. Just a quick google search clarifies this distinction:
"While money stores intrinsic value within itself, fiat currency possesses buying power bestowed upon it by the government. But this was not always the case. At its inception the dollar was backed by gold and silver, which meant that every unit of currency in circulation was redeemable in gold and silver."
Of course nowadays all the fiat currencies in the world are not backed by anything except the confidence that is placed in them. But gold and silver, by nature of being intrinsic stores of value, are real money. Mike Maloney explains the difference beautifully in this video:
Goldmoney doesn't have to have power to make gold money because it already is. Gold may not be widely used as currency at the moment, but it is easily convertible into fiat so it is very liquid. No fiat currency ever survives, and current ones are all going downhill. So it just makes sense to preserve some of whatever wealth you may have into something that stores value. Anyway, just my 2c.
Bestowed upon by government? You mean the guns they use to force you to pay taxes in their fiat?
One must understand that all money is a form of collective debt. Not just the added interest by frac reserv lending, but all of it. It is a general yom (you owe me) that occurs when a person is not able to provide the needed goods to the seller, in exchange for the goods the buyer needs. Money is an accounting system of these yom.