Time for the U.S. to Sell Fort Knox Gold?

Some members of Congress and economists are saying it's time to cash-in on the appreciation of the U.S.'s vast gold holdings, which were recently valued at $370 billion.

From the Washington Post:

Although the country does not use the gold for anything, Treasury officials believe that selling it could create the impression of desperation, and thereby rattle the markets. Inert though it may be, the mountain of hidden gold may serve an indefinable psychological function.

Selling it during a budget crunch would seem a sure bet to incite derision. The satirical newspaper The Onion recently ran a story in which President Obama vowed to balance the budget through spending cuts, tax increases and a daring midnight heist of Fort Knox. (“I’ve got the blueprints and I think I found a way out through a drainage pipe.”) 

Of course, Gordon Brown's U.K. government had a similar idea about selling England's gold, and we've seen how well that worked out.