Good money should center Trump’s economic universe

It’s common for the media to dismiss those extolling the virtues of the classical gold standard by pointing out most mainstream academic economists hate that idea.

That skepticism is reminiscent of a time when the academic consensus was also wrong — when we believed the sun and planets revolved around the Earth. Just as the famed polymath Nicolaus Copernicus changed how we view our solar system by revealing that the Earth revolves around the sun, his less famous economics tract could revolutionize the world economy today.

In 1526, Copernicus authored an underappreciated essay titled On the Minting of Money — essentially a 500-year-old argument not to debase your currency (back then, gold and silver coins were being adulterated with base metals by the government). Ralph Benko, an “OG” Reagan-Kemp supply-sider, teamed up with Latin scholar Gerald Malsbary to publish a definitive new translation with modern commentary. Full disclosure: Benko is a longtime mentor of mine, and the book includes a piece I wrote for Forbes in 2013. But … you should read it for reasons unrelated to my vanity.

It’s been said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. This rings true when one realizes that the monetary degradation Copernicus observed in the Kingdom of Prussia is little different from what we see today. As Copernicus wrote:

“We see countries that have good money flourishing most of all, and those with poor money declining and perishing. … Since then our money has been cheapening more and more every day, and our country through this pestilence has been nearly brought to ruin… now that the currency is debased, we are experiencing a rise in the price of everything useful for human life. And therefore it is clear that cheap money encourages laziness rather than helps anyone’s poverty.”

Copernicus’ arguments should be given more thought now that monetary policy is enjoying a rare moment in the limelight due to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh to the Federal Reserve. There is much speculation as to how he will chair the Fed; but that said, historically, the president tends to get the dollar he wants.

Gold has historically served as a ‘thermostat’ for a currency’s health. Given its universal quality as a store of value dating back thousands of years, its value fluctuates less than any other commodity or the “paper money” around it. Therefore, when the price of gold rises — requiring more dollars to obtain the same amount of metal — it is less a symptom of gold increasing in value, but more a reflection of the declining purchasing power of the dollar itself.

When measured against the price of gold, the dollar has endured a brutal devaluation since the pandemic. While an ounce of gold could be purchased for $1,500 in January 2020, prices recently soared briefly to nearly $5,500/ounce before retreating to the $4,500 level. Even at $4,500 an ounce, this tripling in the gold price (or more aptly, decline in the dollar’s value) since 2020 cannot safely be ignored. It’s the “canary in the coal mine” for the affordability crisis – higher prices consumers now face across-the-board.

This isn’t to dismiss the fact that some of the price increases we see today, such as higher gasoline costs, are resulting from the current war with Iran. However, the trend of a sinking dollar was evident long before these factors entered the picture. As both political parties seek to solidify themselves as champions combatting the affordability crisis ahead of the election, either party would be wise to grab Copernicus’ golden torch, which holds the proven cure for our current inflation woes.

Remember, presidents get the dollar they want. President Trump needs to follow Copernicus, and put a dollar as good as gold at the center of his economic policy universe and his promised golden age.

Originally published on MSN.