IVIV (8): Nixonizing U.S. Currency

[Mark Kohut]

I discussed, actually listened, since I was a stupid economics pup, to one of the smartest 'radical' thinkers I ever knew back in the day. A Nixon-loather like TRP and me. 

He condemned Nixon's political use of this, but he said it had to happen. The world was now too big for the gold standard. Had it not, then the rich nations or those who found the most gold would only get to monopolize gold, basically. 

I cannot help but remember that long section on gold and silver and currency in AtD. (My first confused hosting).

--- On Wed, 9/30/09, kelber at mindspring.com <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:

> From: kelber at mindspring.com <kelber at mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: IVIV (8): Nixonizing U.S. Currency
> To: pynchon-l at waste.org
> Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 10:28 AM
> Nixon's monetary announcements:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRzr1QU6K1o
> 
> I remember watching this on TV with my staunchly-communist
> grandfather.  I asked him what it all meant and he
> replied in his thick Yiddish accent:  "I don't
> know.  But if Nixon's doing it, it's bad."
> 
> Can anyone tell me if he was right?
> 
> Those repeated references to "international money
> speculators" kind of triggers my Jewish-anxiety-meter. 
> I still don't have a clear sense of what this was all
> about.  Governments and nations still seemed to have
> some sort of autonomy from global corporations -- or was it
> just hidden better back then?  So the protectionist
> aspects, which would have a more anti-corporate bent
> nowadays, came across as more jingoistic back then.
> 
> Laura
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>
> 
> >"Nixon's face on them"
> >
> >http://www.psywar.org/psywar/images/cwc_nixon01.jpg
> >
> >
> >"staring wildly at something just out of sight"
> >
> >The Nixon Shock was a series of economic measures taken
> by U.S.
> >President Richard Nixon in 1971 including unilaterally
> canceling the
> >direct convertibility of the United States dollar to
> gold that
> >essentially ended the existing Bretton Woods system of
> international
> >financial exchange.
> >
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_Shock
> 
>