Hmmm...but from what has been said it seems debateable as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, or at least there are advantages and disadvantages to it.
World Currency, Gold, Oli, etc
The article does appear amateur and has conspiracy theories galore. But it makes an attempt, and succeeds, in bringing some serious issues to the fore.
Before dismissing the points in this article one should read history, especially the history of money going back to the Roman Republic. The key insights from history are:
- empires rise and fall based on the rise and fall of the value of their currency.
- The history of the invention of banking and the fractional reserve system by a Scotsman (John Law) at the French court in the early 1600s is especially fascinating and illustrates starkly the benefits of issuing paper currency and the dangers of abusing the trust of the public that paper money requires. The French Revolution is a direct consequence of the abuse of the public purse by the French kings of the time.
- the surest way to debilitate a nation is by the devaluation of its currency
- being a world currency bestows a huge value to the issuer in terms of ‘seignorage benefits’ - the benefits that accrue to the issuer of a currency. Refer to ‘Creating New Money’ published by the New Economics Foundation (London). This pamphlet deals primarily with the benefits of Seignorage reform for the UK economy, but is also applicable to the US$ as a world currency.
The key points of this article are consistent with historical parallels. If the Euro (or another $) were to become a dominant world currency it would pose the biggest long-term threat to the dominance and prosperity of the USA. What the US government is doing about it is open to speculation, this is where the article is weak.
Gold is still the only and best store of value known to man. Gold is neutral - no nation dominates on a Gold Standard. Oil could be considered a modern, temporary alternative. It is no co-incidence that the Swiss Franc is one of the strongest currencies in the world, as it has the highest gold backing for its currency. It is inevitable that the Swiss Franc will continue to strengthen against all paper-backed currencies (provided the Swiss maintain their fiscal prudence and independence). The author is right to describe the unilateral decision of the USA to tear up the Bretton-Woods agreement in 1971 as equivalent to dishonoring its debt, which was acquired from others in gold. The repercussions of this action and the subsequent debasement of the paper US$ will take decades, perhaps more than a century to unfold, but one can see the process progressing right now, in our lifetime.
Truly, there is no free lunch. We cannot spend more than we produce, which is what the US has been doing for the past many decades, at an accelerating rate! The day of reckoning will come when the debt will have to be paid - either in war, economic slavery or prolonged hardship.
Unfortunately, these points are rarely communicated to the masses. That is probably a contributing cause of the apathy among the general public on these matters.
Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit - I liked your reasons for bombing Leichtenstein LOL !! But perhaps one might ask - the tax regime in the other countries might be so unfair and tyrannical that it drives its citizens to take their money to places like Leichtenstein.