Leaving the gold standard unleashed Congress and the Fed. Massive spending from the Vietnam War and LBD "Great Society" social programs, along with large trade deficits, was causing US gold reserves to decline. So Nixon closed the "gold window", ending the ability of foreign countries to exchange their excess dollars for Gold. Once the US dollar was no longer linked to gold, this enabled massive budget deficits and the ability of Congress to run up HUGE levels of debt in the past 50 years. This is why inflation almost always runs faster than your wage increases. You are gradually getting a little poorer each year, by a few % points, as your income fails to keep up. This is why housing has become unaffordable. This is why most families need two income providers now. Since 1971, the USA has declined in numerous metrics. If we had just controlled spending and stayed on the gold standard, life would be much different today.(Wall Street Mav)