Video News/In Focus with Jeremy Szafron

William J. Watkins Jr., Research Fellow at the Independent Institute, says the growth of U.S. debt reflects a long departure from the founders’ hard-money framework and limits on federal power. Speaking with Kitco News anchor Jeremy Szafron, Watkins argued that the dollar is now backed largely by government force rather than constitutional monetary discipline. Watkins discussed the expansion of federal spending authority, the 1933 gold call-in, Civil War greenbacks, and the 1971 break from gold convertibility. He said the move from $35 gold in 1971 to roughly $4,100 today reflects the dollar’s long-term loss of purchasing power. Watkins also argued that sound money was intended to act as a check on war and warned that foreign ownership of U.S. debt adds risk as borrowing costs rise.