hhmmmmmm. but didn't the gold standard help drive us into a depression because the gov couldn't print money to help the deflation that caused the depression?
so now I am torn. I want the law so as to help bitcoin... but dont want the law because any economist will tell you that the gold standard hurts economies.
The way I read it is, the bill doesn't create a gold standard, it simply allows it to be used as currency. Also I would argue that the depression had more to do with the federal reserve shrinking the money supply which had nothing to do with the money supply.
That being said, I would say there is nothing more detrimental to an economy than an unregulated and unelected body that can print money out of thin air on a whim and that's what the Federal Reserve is now. The Federal Reserve is no more a part of the government than Federal Express is.