The Gold Standard

[Rob64]

On Radio 4 this morning at 9am - In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg and some experts/academics - always a detailed discussion.

 

 

[RDHC]

1 hour ago, Rob64 said:

On Radio 4 this morning at 9am - In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg and some experts/academics - always a detailed discussion.

 

 

What did they say?

[Rob64]

Bit dry and dusty to be honest - discussed how from 1870 to 1930 the gold standard worked to help facilitate/expand the industrial revolution and global trade - mostly helped by gold rushes in US and Australia that meant the amount of available gold could back the currency

1930 onwards and gold confiscation - much more about political and economic control by the US - both at home and abroad.

1971 end of gold standard - purely an election ploy by Nixon so he could control interest rates more easily and win the next election.

He had no idea or interest of the effect staying on the gold standard or not.  

 

All the experts agreed gold would be £6,000 and ounce by end of 2022 (not really)

 

 

[GoldStatue]

I happened upon a youtube video the other day that gave me food for thought about the gold standard in the US.

The gist of it was that the economist felt that even though the US left the gold standard many decades ago, all the good times in the US economy have since then coincided with a stable gold price. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDPOIk2ohNc

 

[Oddjob]

26 minutes ago, Rob64 said:

Bit dry and dusty to be honest - discussed how from 1870 to 1930 the gold standard worked to help facilitate/expand the industrial revolution and global trade - mostly helped by gold rushes in US and Australia that meant the amount of available gold could back the currency

1930 onwards and gold confiscation - much more about political and economic control by the US - both at home and abroad.

1971 end of gold standard - purely an election ploy by Nixon so he could control interest rates more easily and win the next election.

He had no idea or interest of the effect staying on the gold standard or not.  

 

All the experts agreed gold would be £6,000 and ounce by end of 2022 (not really)

 

 

The French under de Gaulle in the mid 1960's had started telling the US they wanted to convert their US foreign currency holdings into physical gold....Some euro countries followed suit and so started the drain on the US gold reserves. Combined with money printing to finance the Vietnam war, the increased depletion of US gold reserves, the economic situation was getting worse in the early 1970's and that's when Tricky pulled the pin on the Gold Window and converted to full FIAT and did a deal with House of Saud to price oil in USD to maintain the USD as the reserve currency of the world. That when inflation became an ongoing issue for the US.

[Rob64]

1 hour ago, GoldStatue said:

I happened upon a youtube video the other day that gave me food for thought about the gold standard in the US.

The gist of it was that the economist felt that even though the US left the gold standard many decades ago, all the good times in the US economy have since then coincided with a stable gold price. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDPOIk2ohNc

 

Probably a bit chicken and egg - does stable gold price cause good times or do good times cause stable gold price?

[Martlet]

1 hour ago, GoldStatue said:

I happened upon a youtube video the other day that gave me food for thought about the gold standard in the US.

The gist of it was that the economist felt that even though the US left the gold standard many decades ago, all the good times in the US economy have since then coincided with a stable gold price. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDPOIk2ohNc

 

Cause or effect though?  If view gold as a hedge against risks, makes sense that in times of good economy, low incident of risk, gold would be steady. 

[RDHC]

2 hours ago, Rob64 said:

Bit dry and dusty to be honest - discussed how from 1870 to 1930 the gold standard worked to help facilitate/expand the industrial revolution and global trade - mostly helped by gold rushes in US and Australia that meant the amount of available gold could back the currency

1930 onwards and gold confiscation - much more about political and economic control by the US - both at home and abroad.

1971 end of gold standard - purely an election ploy by Nixon so he could control interest rates more easily and win the next election.

He had no idea or interest of the effect staying on the gold standard or not.  

 

All the experts agreed gold would be £6,000 and ounce by end of 2022 (not really)

 

 

Thank you for the summary. Makes sense.

[Minimalist]

2 hours ago, Rob64 said:

Bit dry and dusty to be honest - discussed how from 1870 to 1930 the gold standard worked to help facilitate/expand the industrial revolution and global trade - mostly helped by gold rushes in US and Australia that meant the amount of available gold could back the currency

1930 onwards and gold confiscation - much more about political and economic control by the US - both at home and abroad.

1971 end of gold standard - purely an election ploy by Nixon so he could control interest rates more easily and win the next election.

He had no idea or interest of the effect staying on the gold standard or not.  

 

All the experts agreed gold would be £6,000 and ounce by end of 2022 (not really)

 

 

No talk of the Federal Reserve?

[Rob64]

3 minutes ago, Minimalist said:

No talk of the Federal Reserve?

Only a little bit - the economic/political control between 1930 and 1970 was all govt/fed related, but they weren't described a separate bodies and there was no mention of conspiracy/manipulation/price fixing - but then there were all academics not gold bugs

They did mention gold bugs - pretty much described as 'people obsessed with feeling the weight of gold their hands and who think it's the only REAL form of money'

[Minimalist]

1 minute ago, Rob64 said:

Only a little bit - the economic/political control between 1930 and 1970 was all govt/fed related, but they weren't described a separate bodies and there was no mention of conspiracy/manipulation/price fixing - but then there were all academics not gold bugs

They did mention gold bugs - pretty much described as 'people obsessed with feeling the weight of gold their hands and who think it's the only REAL form of money'

Ah there it is… Academics.

Agree with the Gold bug analysis. I honestly dont know where they get the $6k projection from, clearly a lack of willingness to understand how gold futures work.

[Rob64]

18 minutes ago, Minimalist said:

Ah there it is… Academics.

Agree with the Gold bug analysis. I honestly dont know where they get the $6k projection from, clearly a lack of willingness to understand how gold futures work.

Sorry - that was me be being facetious - doubt they would even know the current price