Also, a lot of the US' economic strength stems from the Dollar being the global reserve currency ...that alone enables the US Gov to print money like a drunk Zimbabwe, and the World has to accept and swallow it (and even say thank you). As long as the musical chair game is flowing along smoothly, and the music is playing, the US can print debt like a nonsense and everything goes forward without a hitch (even as the debt grows to noxious levels). Some day the music will stop, but NEITHER DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS are going to make the music stop during their term in office by proactively implementing a return to the gold standard. It would trigger an economic implosion, and that party would not be re-elected for a generation. Anyway, there's not enough gold (real physical gold) to support the US economy and money out there (and note there are more US Dollars outside the US than within the US).
Think of it another way ...there are several exchange traded funds that invest in gold, and what's ironic is that even in those ETFs most of the gold (by some estimates over 90%) is 'paper' gold that is not backed by actual physical gold. If there's insufficient gold for ETFs, we're supposed to believe there is enough for an economy that is 'worth' many trillions of Dollars?
I said it is impossible (literally impossible) to return to the gold standard under the current economic system, and that anyone saying they can make it happen is (a) lying to you, (b) stupid (or to be PC, let me say misinformed), or (c) the person is being misquoted (either due to nefarious purposes, or just a simple misquote due to taking the person's statement out of context). It doesn't matter if it is the Pope, Reagan, JFK, the Easter Bunny ....doesn't matter. Anyone who says they can do it can be categorised under one of those three categories.
Now, the only way a return to the gold standard is possible (as I said, it was 'impossible under the current economic system') is if the global economy collapses, everything goes to hell in a hand basket, and whatever economic mechanism rises from the ashes decides to pin whatever it uses as money on gold. That will be a smaller poorer economy than present, and one that is forced to pin money on gold since it cannot trust fiat currencies and there's no dominant and (importantly) reliable global reserve currency. In such a TEOTWAWKI situation it is possible for the gold standard to rise from the ashes.
Apart from that, it is IMPOSSIBLE for it to happen as America and the World at large would have to abandon the Dollar as the global reserve currency as there would simply not be enough PHYSICAL gold to back the Dollars in circulation.
To conclude, as someone who works in the global financial markets I always have a mix of a laugh and a vomit reflux when I read what passes for economic theory. I fully understand why people would want a return to the gold standard, but I am so perplexed by how many think it is something that is doable. America, and the World, have been mainlining strong dope for decades, and the expectation that they can simply forgo fiat money (and the ability to abracadabra debt, liquidity and all sorts of other nifty - at least in the short term - tricks) and return to the hard and firm gold standard makes me think that those believing that is possible are deluded (and maybe deluded about other things as well).
The short answer is as follows - barring a global economic collapse, a return to the gold standard is impossible. Any politician saying that is being misquoted, deluded or a liar. Anyone. Any political party that would actually implement it would oversee the collapse of the US economy and the Dollar losing its status as the dominant global reserve currency.
That was the best and most persuasive argument against reverting to the gold standard I’ve ever seen. You should write a book if you haven’t already.
Doesn't that depend on what they (there was a time I would have said "we") set the exchange rate to be? I can't imagine the world would accept the US simply arbitrarily setting the value of $1 at, say, 1/100oz of gold, but then I can't imagine the American people allowing the government to effectively confiscate their gold for cash and then changing the exchange rate, though I've read (not enough) that they did.