Nixon’s Other Option

The odds of hyperinflation would be zero if every dollar were backed by a fixed amount of precious metals. That hasn’t been true in the U.S. since Aug. 15, 1971, when Richard Nixon prohibited countries from trading their greenbacks for gold. Before then, the world operated under the Bretton Woods system, which had pegged gold’s value at $35 an ounce. There had been a few problems with that arrangement, however, which is why Nixon decided to act. Still, there was another option that would have fixed the international monetary problem.