How the US Dollar Came to be a Fiat Currency

Fiat - “An arbitrary order or decree.” Sometimes an organization (AMA is one) that spends its time throwing around lofty phrases like fiat currency should step down off the soapbox for a moment to define exactly what we're talking about. In modern terms, a fiat...

Why the Dollar is Called a Fiat Currency

fiat currencyThe concept of a central bank has not always existed in the world and didn’t appear on the scene in America until 1913, allegedly created by an act of Congress but surreptitiously organized by a wealthy group of bankers at a clandestine meeting off the coast of Georgia, gathered at a place known as Jekyll Island. The events which transpired around that particular time period in the United States should be of interest to all citizens, since it has much to do with the economic disaster we’re currently mired in the midst of – but that’s a topic for another today.