Should the U.S. Return to a Monetary Policy Based on the Gold Standard?

The gold standard today has nearly disappeared as a political issue. The world has abandoned the gold standard in favor of so-called "paper money," and only a diminishing group continues to call for its return. However, if mainstream economists have anything to say about it, there will never be a return to the gold standard. Even so, defenders of the gold standard include such former presidential candidates as Jack Kemp and Stephen Forbes. …