Frank Holmes of U.S. Global Investors recently published an excellent brief history of the role that gold has played in the American economy since 1789.
Although a few salient facts were left out, the essay is an excellent, informative and easy read.
One fact I wish he had expounded was that after Franklin Roosevelt called in gold in 1933 at $20.67 an ounce, he immediately raised the price of gold to $35 an ounce.
Had FDR devalued then called in the gold, the American people would have suffered a 70% loss. I suspect FDR and his advisors knew there would have been a heavy political price to pay had he gone that route.
Second, he notes that Richard Nixon “closed the gold window” in 1971. In doing so, Nixon said, “We are all Keynesians now.” And, Keynesians we are.
Study closely the graph of the money explosion since 1971. And, the money printing is not over. Now, the whole world is Keynesian.
