America is still on the gold standard in that you can theoretically exchange an American Gold Eagle worth $2800 for $50 at a bank. What the end of the Bretton Woods is really means is that the government is unwilling to sell you an oz of gold for $50 anymore. A law that mandates the government to shoot itself in the foot is a bad law.
It's not countries can't otherwise be fiscally conservative. Germany's debt to GDP ratio is about the same as it was 20 years ago.
> What the end of the Bretton Woods is really means is that the government is unwilling to sell you an oz of gold for $50 anymore
Was there a law forcing the government to make gold coins? What it meant is that I would be able to give $2800 to the Fed and get the equivalent amount of gold at a valuation given by the number of dollars in circulation, divided by how much gold the Fed held.
> Germany's debt to GDP ratio is about the same as it was 20 years ago.
They also don't spend massively on their military.
It's not countries can't otherwise be fiscally conservative. Germany's debt to GDP ratio is about the same as it was 20 years ago.