Monday, January 14, 2008

Oil to crack the dollar?

Nathan Lewis reminds us how, when President Nixon cut the dollar's link to gold in 1971, OPEC protected the real value of its oil with price rises (thus earning a reputation for having caused our inflation).

Now that the gold dinar has been introduced in Malaysia, Lewis wonders whether the dirham should link to gold, too, so oil exporters can avoid being robbed by a falling dollar.

Brownouts and lines at the gas station again, perhaps.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sod it! I threw away my 1970s rationing vouchers just a couple of years ago.

Sackerson said...

Pubs were nicer by candlelight.