Madam, - The recent gold find in Monaghan has been hailed as a boost to local economic and employment prospects. In the current context of potential deep recession I suggest this find is actually of far greater importance.
In the aftermath of the 1930s depression, the world's governments abandoned the gold standard in July 1944 and adopted the Bretton-Woods system, which based world currencies on the dollar, and the dollar on gold at $35 an ounce.
This system failed in the early 1970s when it became clear that the US didn't have enough gold reserves; it had simply printed too many dollars. International economic stability was maintained, however, when Opec agreed to sell crude oil exclusively in US dollars and oil effectively replaced gold as the backing for the dollar.
This system has worked quite well: there have been roughly 25 years (1980-2005) of stability and massive growth in the western hemisphere, and living standards have improved dramatically.
The question now is: is that coming to an end? With the triple crises across the Atlantic (credit, housing and oil), the US is in for hard times. If the global monetary system wants to be stable, it clearly can't depend on the dollar.
The prospect of "peak oil", which could see oil prices rise until consumers are forced to reduce consumption, means that crude oil should not be permitted to continue its present role either.
So what's left? Perhaps the gold in Co Monaghan ought to be kept inside the country's (or Europe's) borders for a while, if the taxpayer will buy it, at least long enough while to see what's happening in the world. Let's not forget that the present "experiment" in value-less currency is only 40 years old. - Yours, etc,
FERGAL DALTON,
Marino,
Italy.
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Madam, - So Patrick Kavanagh had it all wrong. Nothing stony nor grey about the Monaghan soil, or should we wait to see how it pans out? - Yours , etc,
THEO RYAN,
Sitric Place,
Dublin 7.