Title:
Gold Keeps Shining, 40 Years After Nixon Ended Gold
Standard
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
The best example of something is often called the
"gold standard." It sets the standard against which
other things are measured. In economics, the term
describes how major trading nations once used gold
to set currency values and exchange rates. Many
nations continued to use the gold standard until the
last century. In the United States, people could
exchange paper money for gold from the eighteen
seventies until nineteen thirty-three. President
Richard Nixon finally disconnected the dollar from
the value of gold in nineteen seventy-one. Some
politicians from time to time call for a return to
the gold standard. But in nineteen seventy-eight the
International Monetary Fund ended an official gold
price. The IMF also ended the required use of gold
in transactions with its member countries. Since
that time, gold prices have grown, but unevenly.
Prices -- uncorrected for inflation -- have hit
record highs recently above fourteen hundred dollars
an ounce. But people keep buying. Neang Chan Nuon is
a gold shop owner in the Cambodian capital, Phnom
Penh, and says: "Some of my customers have even
bought more as they believe the price will probably
go higher. I sell more gold at these higher prices."
Some people are "gold bugs." These are investors who
say people should buy gold to protect against
inflation. People have valued gold for thousands of
years. The soft, dense metal polishes to a bright
yellow shine and resists most chemical reactions. It
makes a good material for money, political power --
and, more recently, electrical power. If you own a
device like a mobile phone or a computer, you might
own a little gold in the wiring. The gold standard
was the subject of one of the best-known speeches in
American political history. It took place at the
eighteen ninety-six Democratic National Convention
in Chicago. William Jennings Bryan wanted the
country to use both gold and silver as money. The
idea was to devalue the dollar and make it easier
for farmers to pay their debts. Bryan said: "You
shall not press down upon the brow of labor this
crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon
a cross of gold." The speech made William Jennings
Bryan famous. He was a presidential candidate three
times. But he never won.For VOA Special English, I'm
Alex Villareal. You can learn more about the world
everyday and learn English at the same time at
voaspecialenglish.com. You can also connect with us
on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
