And in the comment section after that article, this from someone who actually understands something about history and finance. "The last time the world in-mass embraced a gold standard was following WWI. The result was a catastrophe for the same reason that the Euro is now under pressure and will ultimately fail. The Euro and a Gold Standard both ultimately lead to a world in which monetary policy is separated from fiscal policy. In a democracy, fiscal policy always wins out because every person gets one vote. If the people perceive the need to do something, they will just vote out those who deny them. After WWI the bad side of a gold standard first showed up in Britain when the over valued Pound (gold value) flowed out of the country to America at a time when the British government needed to expand the money supply to stimulate employment. The flow of gold toward America in the late 20s served to accelerate an already overheated American economy and put further pressure on the UK economy. There is a reason why Britain was one of the first countries to leave the gold standard in 1930.. followed almost immediately by Germany."
