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Saving The Economy

Decent Essays

The Field Guide to Saving the U.S. Economy
Throughout the majority of history, currency has had to either be equal to or greater than the value of what it was purchasing. This seems like a simple concept, but within the last fifty years this concept has gone out the window. Today, we all agree that pieces of paper hold value that they do not have, make coins that are not worth their value to produce, and act like it is sustainable. If we, as citizens of not only our nations but of the world, do not alter our course, there will be a massive failure of our system. No country is more pivotal in saving the world’s economy than the United States. The U.S. must change its monetary policy internally. If it does so, those benefits will spill over to …show more content…

It is important to define the term gold standard before going any further. A gold standard means that the price of a currency is fixed to a certain amount of gold (CMI). Under a gold standard, the government can only print four times as many paper bills equal to their amount of gold. It is also important to define the term fiat currency. Fiat currency is a currency system that has no physical backing, but instead is backed by the full faith and credit of the government. Before the original thirteen colonies ever declared independence, they used foreign currencies or some paper bills printed by the local governments (Sylla). The foreign coins used were all made of their assigned value in precious metals. When the Revolutionary War broke out, the Congress began producing their own currency, called Continentals. The Continental rapidly lost its value, and by the end of the war was not even used as currency by the American people. After this, the new country had no banks of her own until 1781. In a letter written by Alexander Hamilton, he stated that "Most commercial nations have found it necessary to institute banks and they have proved to be the happiest engines that ever were invented for advancing trade" (qtd. in Sylla). While three banks had opened up between then and George Washington becoming the first president, they merely served their surrounding areas. A banking system similar to what is in place …show more content…

The BUS provided a banking corporation that was not confined to state lines, but the states could also charter their own banks, which they did. This competition between state and federal corporations created tension, and the BUS lost its charter

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