Why was getting off the gold standard good?

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From my understanding, remove from the gold standard just allows government to arbitrarily make up the value of the now fiat currency, which is why we now struggle with inflation and soaring debt.

It seems obvious that you’d want your dollar to theoretically be fixed to another medium with a readily appraisable value simply to maintain stability and prevent government corruption through manipulation of the monetary supply.

But then again, I’m no economist.

In: Economics

18 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If you don’t have a fiat currency, your money supply is tied to how much gold there is in circulation. You can end up with inflation if someone finds a big new gold mine, as happened to Spain when they conquered the Aztecs and Incas. This inflation happens at a random time, not necessarily at a time that is most beneficial for a country’s economy. There’s arbitrariness in the system; why not make it so a government can use that arbitrariness as a tool to help the economy?

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