MacroPass™: Charles Hugh Smith On Returning To A Gold-Backed Currency

Would a departure from fiat be trouble-free?

This week’s submission for our popular MacroPass™ service available to premium members of this Substack comes from author Charles Hugh Smith.

Charles tracks the “big picture” of economic and social trends, with a deep understanding of history and what its lessons tell us is likely to happen next under current conditions.

Today’s piece from Charles examines the benefits and shortcomings of a gold-backed monetary system, which many folks unhappy with the current fiat-based system wish we could return to.

As a reminder, MacroPass™ is a weekly rotating selection of premium analysis from many of the big thinkers interviewed on Thoughtful Money.

To-date that list of contributors includes experts like Lacy Hunt (Hoisington), Stephanie Pomboy (Macro Mavens), Danielle DiMartino Booth (QI Research), Tom McClellan, Michael Howell (Capital Wars), Darius Dale (42 Macro), Doomberg, Ted Oakley (Oxbow Advisors), Kevin Muir (The Macro Tourist), Alf Peccatiello (The Macro Compass), Lance Lambert (ResiClub), Ed Yardini (Yardini Research), David Hay (Haymaker), Melody Wright (M3_Melody), David Stockman (Contra Corner), David Brady (FIPEST Report), John Rubino, Adam Kobeissi (The Kobeissi Letter), Sven Henrich (Northman Trader), Jeff Clark (The Gold Advisor), Charles Hugh Smith and Chris Whalen (The Institutional Risk Analyst).

The reports issued so far in this MacroPass™ series include:

• Chris Whalen on the health of the banking industry

• Jeff Clark on the promising outlook for junior mining stocks

• David Stockman on Bitcoin's threat to fiat currency

• Darius Dale on the market's transition from 'Goldilocks' towards Deflation

• The Kobeissi Letter on tech stock weakness & recession fears

• Melody Wright on fast-worsening housing data

• Lacy Hunt on his quarterly outlook & review

• Ted Oakley on his latest market outlook

• Lance Lambert on rising housing inventory

• Doomberg on the future of nuclear energy

• Jeff Clark on Outcrop Silver

• Ed Yardeni on the labor market, fed rate cuts & more

• David Stockman on stolen economic growth

• Michael Howell on global liquidity

• Melody Wright on mortgage default risk

• Edwin Dorsey on the short argument for Primerica

• Danielle DiMartino Booth on the debt-default reckoning lying ahead

• David Hay on the wild action in the Japanese yen

• Kevin Muir on the emerging opportunities in Chinese stocks

• Alf Peccatiello on the growing fragility in credit markets

• Tom McClellan’s excellent April Market Report

If you’re already a premium subscriber to this Substack, just continue below to access Charles’ write-up.

And if you’re not (yet), just upgrade to premium and access the full report, as well as all past and future MacroPass™ content