Quote from trefoil:
Only a paranoid or a shill for these scum would think there's anything more to this than assuring some transparency. You can get, from very reputable sources, one ounce gold bars at a very modest markup, and they will buy them back from you at the same modest markup, which covers refining costs plus shipping plus of course a profit, one that isn't going to leave you gasping for breath at the difference between what you get it for and what you can sell it back for.
Additionally - and I'm not sure how well known this is - you can open an account and trade a "pool account" with companies that sell gold to the jewelry industry, and the markup on this is even more modest, since the gold is kept by the company you're trading with. I say trading, because in essence these work just like an account you might open to trade stocks with. You can buy in any amount, sell it back in any amount, and the company only takes its bid/ask as a commission.
Needless to say, companies like what I'm describing aren't the ones being targeted by these congressmen.