Bretton Woods, Nixon, Gold Standard, FED and Fiat Money

President Richard Nixon ended the redeemability of dollars for gold and ushered in the fiat money era on Aug. 15, 1971, 50 Years ago. Lessons for Today From the Gold Standard. Though a return to the old system isn’t likely, the Fed’s management of the fiat dollar has been worse. Many economists look back on the occasion with delight, agreeing with John Maynard Keynes that the gold standard was “a barbarous relic.” Today nearly all economists believe the U.S. economy has performed better under fiat money than it would have with the gold standard. This conventional wisdom is wrong. The…