I disagree (without the economics pedigree, so forgive me if I'm missing something). Politics and greed aren't all powerful and they certainly existed in the 30's. But I think he's exaggerating some aspects. In 1971, the US went completely off the gold standard not from bankruptcy but because it could. And it worked. In a sense it was a coup because it enabled unprecedented growth. The problem is that letting government completely control inflation (an invisible tax that rewards investment and punishes hoarding cash) is like letting the kid in the candy store -- with similar binging consequences.

In the end, I agree with the author that we'll see a downturn worse than the 30's. Most people didn't see that one coming either.