Background of A Commodity Standard
In order to understand the uniqueness behind the ANCAP proposal, one must understand the history of the monetary system in the United States, which currently operates under a fiat currency standard. In such a standard, the value of currency is set by the federal government. Not long ago, America’s monetary system was built on a commodity standard, where the value of currency depended on a fixed exchange rate between money and a single good or a basket of goods. For a significant portion of American history, the value of the dollar was linked to gold. The price of an ounce of gold was set at a specific dollar amount, and the remaining goods in the economy were set relative to the value of gold.
Read more about this topic: ANCAP (commodity Standard)
Famous quotes containing the words background, commodity and/or standard:
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“There used to be a thing or a commodity we put great store by. It was called the People. Find out where the People have gone. I don’t mean the square-eyed toothpaste-and-hair-dye people or the new-car-or-bust people, or the success-and-coronary people. Maybe they never existed, but if there ever were the People, that’s the commodity the Declaration was talking about, and Mr. Lincoln.”
—John Steinbeck (1902–1968)
“[The Declaration of Independence] meant to set up a standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar to all, and revered by all; constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)