Peter's Blog

An Inauspicious Anniversary: Nixon Slams Shut the Gold Window

Fifty-one years ago this week, President Richard Nixon slammed shut the “gold window” and eliminated the last vestige of the gold standard. Nixon ordered Treasury Secretary John Connally to uncouple gold from its fixed $35 price and suspended the ability of foreign banks to directly exchange dollars for gold. During a national television address, on […]

Is There a Case for a Classical Gold Standard?

With the impact of sanctions tanking the ruble, the Russian central bank announced it would buy gold from local banks at a fixed rate. The move had the desired effect. The ruble quickly recovered. But the Central Bank of Russia abandoned the de facto gold standard almost as fast as it implemented it. Why?

Peter Schiff: The Gold Standard Didn’t Fail

The mainstream thinking is the gold standard failed. But as Peter Schiff explained in his podcast, the gold standard didn’t fail. We failed to stay on the gold standard. The gold standard succeeded so well that the government went off of it.”

Abandoning the Gold Standard Undermined Labor Productivity

Labor market productivity has been dropping for decades. And you can trace the plunge back to the demise of the gold standard. US labor market productivity plummeted in the third quarter of 2021. Revisions to the data showed a 5.2% drop in productivity, even worse than the dismal initial reading last month. It was the […]

Debasing Your Money Is the Moral Thing to Do?

It’s become increasingly hard to hide the inflation problem. Even without the sizzling hot CPI numbers, the average American experiences rising prices every day at the grocery store and the gas station. With it becoming harder and harder to blow inflation off as transitory, apologists for the central bank and the federal government have shifted […]

Ron Paul: From Nixon Shock to Biden Inflation

This month marks the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon slamming shut the so-called “gold window” and severing the last ties between the dollar and gold. On Aug. 15, 1971, Nixon ordered Treasury Secretary John Connally to uncouple gold from its fixed $35 price and suspended the ability of foreign banks to directly exchange dollars […]

50 Years of Monopoly Money: Friday Gold Wrap Podcast Aug. 20, 2021

This week marked the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon slamming shut the “gold window” and cutting the last tether between the dollar and gold. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey explains exactly what Nixon did and the impact of 50 years of monopoly money. He also covers some […]

50 Years Ago: Nixon Slams Shut the “Gold Window”

Fifty years ago this week, President Richard Nixon slammed shut the “gold window” and eliminated the last vestige of the gold standard. Nixon ordered Treasury Secretary John Connally to uncouple gold from its fixed $35 price and suspended the ability of foreign banks to directly exchange dollars for gold. During a national television address, Nixon promised […]

Nixon Closed the Gold Window and All I Got Was This Lousy National Debt

This year will mark the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon severing America – and the world – from its last tie to the gold standard. The rapid devaluing of the dollar is the most obvious result. But another consequence has been an enormous national debt that continues to grow at a staggering pace. Most […]

The Great Government Gold Heist of 1933

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the great government gold heist of 1933 ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. On April 5, 1933, the president signed Executive Order 6102. It was touted as a measure to stop gold hoarding, but it was in reality, a massive gold confiscation scheme. The order required private citizens, partnerships, associations […]