zlacker

>>gmays+(OP)
The chart is just another "wtf happened in 1971" moment.

https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/

What happened in 1971? The Nixon Shock, which is when the dollar stopped being convertible to gold after it became evident that the US did not have the gold it claimed to have.

>>29athr+U7
Whoa, you mean if only we were still on the gold standard, then I'd be worthy of love? #Im14&AustrianEconomicsIsDeep

>>ForHac+fa
No.

It means that the Bretton Woods economic system was very favorable for Americans while it lasted. And the middle class could afford a house, a car, have multiple kids, send those kids to college, and have the living standard referred to as "the American dream".

You could even get a job without a college degree, marry in your 20s and sustain a household on one job.

>>29athr+al
Might also have a little something to do with the fact that the USA was the only major economy that didn't have its industrial base bombed out during the war. The monocausal explanations from mises.org and friends have always seemed less than compelling to me.