1971's Unintended Consequences: Now is it Time to Revalue Gold & Reset the System?

Show Notes

In this Coin Stories clip, economist Judy Shelton explains that in 1971, President Nixon ended the U.S. dollar’s convertibility to gold, a move called “closing the gold window.” It was supposed to be a temporary fix to stop other countries from trading their dollars for U.S. gold, which was draining America’s gold reserves. Nixon said the change was necessary to protect the economy and promised it wasn’t permanent. But the U.S. never went back. This marked the end of the gold standard and the start of the modern fiat money system, where dollars are backed by "trust", not gold. Some economists are suggesting the revaluing gold as a means to service the nation's ballooning debt, but even then how far could that get us? Today, as people question the stability of fiat money, and trust is eroding, Bitcoin is emerging as a new alternative, digital, decentralized, and limited in supply, offering a modern form of “digital gold.”