Ron Paul and the Gold Standard

Like almost all economists I oppose Ron Paul's idea of eliminating the Federal Reserve Board and replacing it with a gold standard.

But I have to admit that Senator Christopher Dodd's "holding up any confirmations of Federal Reserve governors until after the elections" provides evidence in favor of the gold standard.

Since the Nixon Presidency, the Federal Reserve Board has done a good job managing inflation in large part because it has been insulated from political pressure. But Senator Dodd's actions show that politicians are not above playing politics with monetary policy. And a gold standard might well be preferable to a Federal Reserve Board that is controlled by politicians who use it primarily to help win the next election.