"Today gold opened at $1,734, so you would have to devalue the dollar to 11.3 cents in order to base it on gold."
MacLorry -
I think you have it backwards. Gold would be worth $15,394 per oz. The value of the dollar would remain the same.
Sorry, it doesn�t work that way unless the entire world were to all change to gold backed money all at the same time. If just the U.S. made the change the price of gold would go to $15,394 per oz in the U.S. by law (fiat), but a person in Candida would pay nearly the same for gold as they did the day before the U.S. switched, so to him a U.S. dollar would only be worth 11.3 cents.
The day before the U.S. switched a guy in Candida with 2 oz of gold could only buy a cheap used car in the U.S., but a day later he could buy a nice new car for the same 2 oz of gold. The U.S. would make the world rich and ourselves poor.
People who have a bunch of gold might think they would get rich quick, but if they are in the U.S. that wouldn't happened because the government would confiscate most private gold as they have done before and at a price they set.
