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"It was 'crippling the economy' in the same sense that Bill Gates and Warren Buffets money not being spent is "crippling the economy". "

Umm no. What happened was people took their money out of the bank to hoard gold which crippled the money supply and credit markets. Which is exactly what would happen if Gates et al. decided to hold their money under the mattress instead of in the bank.

That's an inaccurate analogy (or rather it make the point opposite to what I think you are trying to say).

Gate's and Buffet's "money" is stored in stock in companies, which add value to the economy - ie, their money is active and productive. That's the opposite to storing value in gold.

Aren't Bill Gates and Warren Buffett currently trying to spend as much of their money as possible on charity work, as well as lobbying to get the amount of taxes they have to pay increased?