The USA removed all silver from our coins (dimes and quarters) in 1965. Nixon closed the Gold window in 1971, which removed the backing of the US dollar with Gold. After that, Congress and the Fed were unleashed to run up our debt to 38 trillion. If you wonder why housing is unaffordable and everything in life seems more expensive now, it is because our currency is being devalued a little each year. Your 2% raise doesn’t keep up with inflation.(Wall Street Mav)