"Jon Anderson" wrote in message
...
I'll admit right up front that I grasp economics about as well as I grasp
brain surgery. But I wonder, if one can suddenly exchange US paper money
for gold, what's to stop China and other countries that have been buying
our debts from cashing in the worthless paper and taking our gold
reserves?
Unless the paper money was very seriously devalued first, this would strip
our gold reserves and leave us with nothing but worthless greenbacks that
nobody trusts anymore.

Jon


A very good question. And the answer is...nothing would stop them.

France tried it in 1971. That's one reason why we have fiat money now.

--
Ed Huntress