on 8/15/1971 the Gold Standard officially ended, also known as the "Nixon shock", since then the USD has been created out of thin air...
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on 8/15/1971 the Gold Standard officially ended, also known as the "Nixon shock", since then the USD has been created out of thin air...
Watergate only happened because the JFK incident brought too much heat on the CIA
Nixon isn't to blame, he was a patsy, the fall guy for the shadow bankers
The stuff going on right now makes Watergate seem insignificant.
Yeah well if we're gonna blame Nixon for the dollar depegging we'd be telling ourselves an incorrect view of history
By understanding why the dollar was depegged, and why Nixon was ousted, maybe we can all understand the forces at play, and chart those forces till the present moment
Then things might not be so strange
Some of the work I do involves hedonic adjustments to historical price series (quality adjusted prices).
There's always a discontinuity right around '72/'73 and my colleagues are always at a loss for why the price of this or that behaved weirdly in that year. They rack their brains trying to come up with what happened in the specific industry or with the specific commodity that might explain the price movement.
When I offer the explanation that the entire monetary system changed, they look at me like I have two heads.
It is sad or funny that such an important event goes unnoticed by the vast majority of the population.
Even more so when it's professional economists who specifically work on historical prices
Obligatory
https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/
Posted this link on HN as well, there is a whole story about this on federalreservehistory.org, so posted that at HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37132301
Thanks anon! However, seems like HN doesn't care
https://bit.ly/dollarhyperinflation
Did you know that the USD is a private company promissory note?
Definition by Google: "A promissory note is a written agreement between a borrower and a lender saying that the borrower will pay back the amount borrowed plus interest. The promissory note is issued by the lender and is signed by the borrower (but not the lender)."
Definition by Blacks Law Dictionary: "A written promise to pay a debt by a specific date. It can be turned to cash by transferring it to another party."
Anyone can issue promissory notes. It's a promise to pay. It's a fucking piece of paper.
One of the worst decisions in U.S. history. Kissinger is still around too.