[BenLurkin]

You make a good point but there still is no reason why our money should not be backed with hard assets, is there?

[flashbunny]

I've never understood the fascination with the 'gold standard'. It's like basing your money on tulips or some arbitrary substance you declare as the de facto standard for all that is valuable.

[.cnI redruM]

I tend to think it makes our currency vulnerable to manipulation. If the $ were based on gold, people who wanted to control it's value to control us would long or short gold.

[proxy_user]

Yes, it is. Because our wealth is not physical, it can expand infinitely. If the money supply were based on a physical commodity, it could not be expanded to keep up, and massive deflation would have to occur.

[MeanWestTexan]

"You make a good point but there still is no reason why our money should not be backed with hard assets, is there?"

If the economy ever gets so bad that gold ever becomes a real investment, as opposed to a nice decoration or hobby, skip gold and go straight to the hard assets of canned goods, bottled water, and shotgun shells --- they'll be far more valuable.