HISTORY DISTORTED

In ways we don't clearly understand, history becomes distorted so that the 'record' of what happened really didn't happen that way at all. There are those "revisionists'[

who deliberately re-write history to reinforce their beliefs, hoping to persuade others to their point of view. And there are others who were just mistaken on their facts or conclusions. Unfortunately , these false facts and conclusions get repeated and amplified over and over until history is written in stone.

History, that is, the accurate reporting of events past and present is extremely important to man if he is to learn and profit from past successes and failures. There has probably never been a time in the past where we were subjected to so much propaganda, misrepresentation and spin as the present. How difficult the job of today's historians to separate the truth from the fiction.

How many times have we read that President Nixon defaulted on the Gold Standard

having removed the gold backing from the dollar? Perhaps it is OK to blame him for this dishonorable action, he is dead and gone and already disgraced by the Watergate Scandal which forced his resignation. But what is the truth of the matter? Did he arbitrarily do this? Let's help to set the matter straight and clarify this turning point in America's monetary downfall.

In 1945, the time of the Bretton Woods agreement, America had emerged from the destruction and disarray from WWII, possessing what is believed to be 75% of the world's gold; thus a dollar backed by gold at the fixed redeeming price of $35/oz was plausible and proved a "reserve" status to the dollar. Gold is considered to be money and a store of value, therefore it is used to settle bills and debts in world trade. With the dollar's reserve status, it provided a more convenient means for trade settlements and could be substituted for gold.

Like a drunken sailor or a lottery winner in 1945 and beyond, we began spending our largesse: The Marshall plan, IMF,World Bank and many other domestic and international aid

programs plus the expansion of overseas branches of our corporations our wealth in dollars and thus gold promises began to leave this country. Enter Lyndon Johnson (November 1963-1969) and his "GREAT SOCIETY" programs of welfare and social change, being a great spender (of other people's money), he escalated the Vietnam War and we began the 'guns and butter' era of economic destruction. National deficits and trade deficits became the norm.

We had arrived a point in 1971, with our national profligate ways that we had spent an estimated twice our gold reserves, and no way to honor our commitment to redeem dollars for gold. French President deGaulle demanded redemption of dollars for gold that we didn't have. There was no longer a choice , President Nixon had to renounce the Bretton Woods Agreement, and allow the dollar-no longer redeemable in gold- to float on the exchange markets.

So, let history reflect that prior economic foolishness caused the default of the gold backed dollar, not the economic postulate of President Nixon.

With Love and Kindness,

THE HATMAN