Aug 13th, 1971: The reason for our Economic Problems

[Mr. Friscus]

The day Nixon took us off the gold standard, and made the United States dollar a fiat currency.

If you look at history, no fiat currency has ever NOT hyperinflated and failed.

Why do we continue to be controlled by a government enforced currency? It makes absolutely no sense.

 

[Mr. Friscus]

Oh come on.

Nobody likes to discuss things that damns both major parties?

It's such an essential reason for our demise, we can argue politicians and parties until the cows come home, but until we get off of a Fiat Currency, we are doomed: so says history, logic, and economics 101.

 

[EatTheRich]

Let's see ... the dollar has not hyperinflated, to reach for the most obvious example. Anyway, there are advantages and disadvantages to a fiat currency. Some of the advantages (compared with, say, gold) are the elimination of wasteful production of gold that can instead be freed up for industrial use, eliminating a risk of artificial deflation as a result of limited supplies of gold, and eliminating political vulnerability to gold-producing countries.

 

[ARMCX1]

There is more wealth in the world than the fluctuating market value for all of the gold to be extracted from the planet. The gold standard implied there was a limitation placed upon global wealth by the amount of gold reserves held. Simply put, gold was not an accurate nor nimble measure of the value of things. If you don't believe me, try moving piles of it around in balance of trade adjustments. Much easier to do it by 1s and 0s. Besides, one of the reasons Nixon ended the gold standard was foreign nations redeeming US gold with US dollars.

Does any country use the gold standard today? Are any dodo birds alive today? We can acknowledge Utah's attempt to buy back into the gold standard after the 2010 midterms. It's legal to pay taxes with gold in Utah with the tea party in control of the Utah legislature. Problem is the face value of the gold coins are worth less than the market value -- an odd solution for the tea party to favor.

 

[Mr. Friscus]

Let's see ... the dollar has not hyperinflated, to reach for the most obvious example. Anyway, there are advantages and disadvantages to a fiat currency. Some of the advantages (compared with, say, gold) are the elimination of wasteful production of gold that can instead be freed up for industrial use, eliminating a risk of artificial deflation as a result of limited supplies of gold, and eliminating political vulnerability to gold-producing countries.

Are you denying that every fiat currency has eventually failed? Because it has.

And there is PLENTY of evidence to suggest that we are very close to a hyperinflating dollar. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen in the future, because it is.

The government is printing money by the truckload, devaluing our currency, stealing from its citizens via inflation tax...

Does money just magically appearing out of thin air to pay bills make ANY sense?

 

[Mr. Friscus]

There is more wealth in the world than the fluctuating market value for all of the gold to be extracted from the planet. The gold standard implied there was a limitation placed upon global wealth by the amount of gold reserves held. Simply put, gold was not an accurate nor nimble measure of the value of things. If you don't believe me, try moving piles of it around in balance of trade adjustments. Much easier to do it by 1s and 0s. Besides, one of the reasons Nixon ended the gold standard was foreign nations redeeming US gold with US dollars.

Does any country use the gold standard today? Are any dodo birds alive today? We can acknowledge Utah's attempt to buy back into the gold standard after the 2010 midterms. It's legal to pay taxes with gold in Utah with the tea party in control of the Utah legislature. Problem is the face value of the gold coins are worth less than the market value -- an odd solution for the tea party to favor.

History and economics is completely on my side here.

Money without a true currency to back it up is worthless and doomed to fail. This isn't even a debate.

It gives the government infinite control over us. A Gold standard actually keeps the government in check, because it takes away its ability to just magically produce money out of thin air and rob its citizens via the inflation tax.

 

[EatTheRich]

Does producing gold to use for money magically add to the amount of wealth available to society? Doesn't it, on the contrary 1) reduce the amount of gold that could be put to more rational uses, e.g., building computers; 2) reduce the proportion of human labor that could be put to building useful things?

 

[EatTheRich]

Gold is no less arbitrary a store of money than any other commodity. It is useful in some respects ... it is easily broken up into portions, it is durable, it is not easy to counterfeit, and it is relatively rare ... but it is no more a "true" currency than are Yap stones, cowrie shells, or wampum belts.

 

[Mr. Friscus]

But American dollars are enforced currency, while Gold, Silver, or whatever, would have a basis in reality.

you can't run from that fact. Fiat Currency has no basis in reality.

 

[fairsheet]

Are you denying that every fiat currency has eventually failed? Because it has.

And there is PLENTY of evidence to suggest that we are very close to a hyperinflating dollar. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen in the future, because it is.

The government is printing money by the truckload, devaluing our currency, stealing from its citizens via inflation tax...

Does money just magically appearing out of thin air to pay bills make ANY sense?

Denying that every currency has failed, is a really simple slamdunk. The US Dollar and the Euro haven't failed. In any case, the idea that fiat currencies inevitably fail, is a pretty insulting tautology. Of course, everything man made, eventually "fails". I'm just a tad surprised who brazenly the gold shills go about their bidness.

 

[as seen on tv]

i generally subscribe to the notion that fiat currencies are more susceptible to manipulation.

that said, are there any major nations still on the gold standard? or even minor ones? what's their unemployment rate and standard of living like?