Of late I've found myself reading various books on financial theory. I've recently become aware of hard money advocate William M. Gouge, who opposed the non-specie practices of the Fed's predecessor, the Bank of The United States. While it seems backwards, might the term, "gouge," as applied to a financial swindle, be related to him?

While it seems backwards, might the term, "gouge," as applied to a financial swindle, be related to him?

I don't think it likely. Most associate the slang verb gauge 'to swindle' with the noun gauge, a type of chisel. This latter word comes via French from Late Latin which in turn possibly took it from some Celtic language. I could not find an etymology for the surname, though I did find a 17th century clergyman named William Gouge. The name could be from the tool or perhaps a variant of the surname Gooch. Slo was Gouge advocating some kind of Ponzi scheme to earn this pejorative etymology?

The most detailed account of William M. Gouge, US bank critic, that I've found thusfar is on a Libertarian website, so it's bound to be slanted towards a specific political viewpoint. Our Gouge - as opposed to the British clergyman - appears to have been a fiscal conservative who opposed the printing of paper money without precious metal to back it up. Here's more from a book review:
http://books.google.com/books?...20M.%20Gouge&f=false

Our Gouge [...] appears to have been a fiscal conservative who opposed the printing of paper money without precious metal to back it up.

So, he does not seem a likely candidate for an eponymous coinage (no pun intended).

quote:

he does not seem a likely candidate for an eponymous coinage

I'd say he fits the bill