August 15, 1971 - Richard Nixon Closes the Gold Window

A flashback to 1971, when President Richard Nixon closed the gold window, severing the final link between the US dollar and gold. Like all "temporary" measures government has taken, it was in fact a permanent change. How stable has the dollar been since that time? Well, according to CPI figures, the dollar has lost over 80% of its value since the gold window was closed. And gold? It went from ~$35 an ounce to $1300 an ounce today.