Gold Ownership

Here's an interesting Pro/Con discussion of the Gold Standard. This is one of the "Pro" arguments...

"Over the 179 years the United States was on some form of a gold or metallic standard (1792-1971), the economy grew an average of 3.9% each year. Since 1971, under a fiat money standard not backed by gold in any way, economic growth has averaged 2.8% per year. This lower growth rate translates into an economy that is about $8 trillion dollars smaller than it would have been had the gold standard not been abandoned in 1971."

https://gold-standard.procon.org/

 

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that's not true at all. the reason we were strong is because we were isolated geographically. We were in a depression when the started,

 

Interesting but irrelevant.

The economy would naturally slow because the key contributors to economic growth -- population and productivity -- were both going to slow.

It has nothing to do with a gold standard or not. In fact, gold standards or fixed currency regimes (i.e., Euro) retard economic growth because they require INTERNAL devaluations during times of economic stress.

 

Perhaps it would help to tax consumption instead of productivity.

 

The reason our economy was strong was because we were isolated. Reminds me of the Lewis Black quote that woke him up late at night, "if it wasn't for my horse, I would have never made it through college".

Being isolate geographically would make it harder to be a strong economy, since much strength is through trade. Switzerland stuck out in the middle of the Pacific would be Tuvalu.

 

LOL! Pretending that the shift from the gold standard caused a lasting drop in the growth rate, when everyone knows it was DISCO.

 

Sound reasons for that. Worthy of discussion.

 

Designated Hitter came on about that same time.

Clearly, if we want to accelerate GDP growth, the American League has to get rid of the DH.

 

Of course it is. The problem is the politicians never give up a tax once in place. Most of the world, when imposing consumption taxes, either immediately or soon have the same taxes on production PLUS taxes on consumption.

 

About time there's a push for that

 

+1

 

we have land and natural resources. that's what gives us the potential to be strong. we had trade but we were isolated from the violence geographically. you're just being tedious

 

You got that right! Everyone and their mother knows what keister means and how to do it! Just sayin'!

 

Tedious? You assert something clearly in error, yet I am tedious for refusing to buy it. Kazakhstan has tons of land and pretty isolated, how strong are they economically? Brazil is more isolated than us, and close to the same amount of land, want to swap USD for Reals?

Economic strength is related to ONE thing, demand for goods and services from that country. Nothing more. Some of the strongest economies on earth have almost no natural resources. What great advantages do Japan or Korea have? Nothing, yet their currency is strong because of their economy. Their military is stronger than is should be for their population because of their economy. 100% of currency and military strength POTENTIAL, (I say this since some strong economies are not currently spending what they could on their military, some poor countries like N Korea spend way too much and will destroy them), is due to their economic strength.

Anyone who does not understand this very basic fact is setting themselves to misread the entire world everyday. Modern Germany is a military powerhouse in the wings. If they and Japan CHOSE to become militaristic, few countries could stop them. Except for missiles or nukes, N Korea and Iran are irrelevant due to economic destruction due to their political systems.

 

Brazil is a tropical rainforest. not a breadbasket like the midwest. Brazil was also not attacked by anyone during WWII. You're not making sense. No one is going to be able to sneak up and invade either country. With the advent of nuclear arms and subs, MAD has worked for decades. You sound like a person trapped in the past. I can't believe someone is wringing their hands worrying about Japan and Germany in 2021.