The New Gold Standard

AS CONFIDENCE in the U. S. dollar approaches an all-time low, the price of gold continues to soar with no end in sight. For the first time in nearly a century, the question of whether to return to the gold standard is being hotly debated in both the press and academic circles. It isn't hard to see why: in the wake of the global credit crisis and successive rounds of quantitative easing, nervous investors have begun seeing the specter of Weimar-era hyperinflation looming around every corner. But can restoring the gold standard really bring sustained stability to the global economy as its advocates contend, or will it, as its detractors insist, only serve to put the brakes on economic growth? As author Paul Nathan sees it, the question of whether or not governments decide to make the move to a gold standard has been made irrelevant by the new international gold rush. The market has spoken, and, like it or not, we are already on our way to a de facto gold standard. The New Gold Standard is the definitive guide to establishing a gold standard designed for the realities of the 21st century. Offered here, is a scrupulously researched, deeply thoughtful consideration of the core issues along with thought-provoking solutions, elements of which will appeal to even the most left-progressive of readers. Under the gold standard, as first devised by no less a genius than Sir Isaac Newton and refined by Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers, the U. S. dollar had the same buying power at the end of the 19th century as it did in the beginning. During the 20th century, after having moved entirely off the gold standard, the dollar was worth 97% less. But, according to Paul Nathan, that doesn't mean we can simply set the clocks back to 1913. Ever mindful of the realities of a technologically integrated world financial system, he explains the nature of sound money, the causes and cures of inflation and deflation, the roots of recessions and depressions, and the meaning of fiscal responsibility within a sound monetary system. He then describes steps governments can take to gradually reintroduce a gold standard that will strengthen the dollar, reduce debt, and help stabilize the economy. Finally, he offers investors sound strategies for investing in gold now and in the future. Informative, thought-provoking, and controversial, The New Gold Standard is must-reading for policymakers, finance professionals, and individual investors, as well as thoughtful readers searching for answers amidst the chaos of a global economy at the precipice.