Gold Standard

As US debt soars and foreign central banks stockpile gold, members of Congress introduce a bill to require a comprehensive audit of America’s gold reserves.

Bob challenges the conventional wisdom around Triffin’s dilemma, arguing that persistent U.S. trade deficits aren’t necessary for dollar dominance—and that Ron Paul had it right all along.

Jonathan Newman joins Bob to explore the archaeological evidence for silver as money in ancient Mesopotamia, challenging Modern Monetary Theory and affirming Menger’s classic account of money’s market origins.

With people calling for an audit of the US gold stores at Fort Knox, perhaps we should remember how that gold got there in the first place. Franklin Roosevelt‘s theft of gold from the American people is a crime that still needs to be rectified.

Our current paper fiat money system comes from a long process of building up state power that destroyed private money, ended truly private banking, and abolished the market system of competing currencies. It took 300 years, and we are now facing the inflationary results. 

This episode explores the economic implications of deflation, debunking the mainstream fear that falling prices cripple economic growth.

Ryan McMaken and economist Jonathan Newman look at the government's alleged $750 billion gold reserve, how it got there, and why it's time to privatize the gold.

Since the last credible audit in the 1950s, America’s gold reserves have been subject to limited, flawed, and theatrical inspections.

Bob explains that the beloved Wizard of Oz movie involved an allegory of the bimetallism debates of the late 1800s.

Mises Fellow Kristoffer Hansen joins Bob to discuss the controversy surrounding Mises' perspective on fractional reserve banking and free banking.