{"id":116607,"date":"2023-10-29T17:17:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T21:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=116607"},"modified":"2023-11-01T15:18:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T19:18:42","slug":"gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Which is better\u2014the gold standard or fiat currency? Could you make a sound economic argument for your position?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>Narrative Economics<\/em>, economist Robert J. Shiller argues that human beliefs and actions, rather than numbers and statistics, ultimately drive economics. Specifically, he writes that beliefs about the gold standard are part of a recurring American <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/economic-narratives\/\">economic narrative<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more to learn Shiller&#8217;s take on the gold standard vs. fiat currency debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\">Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The gold standard vs. fiat currency debate has gone on for centuries. Different groups have argued about the merits and pitfalls of a hard currency system\u2014generally with the wealthy being in favor of a currency backed by a tangible asset like gold, and economically disadvantaged Americans supporting fiat currencies (government-issued money not backed up by a tangible asset).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 19th century, according to Shiller, there was a prevailing belief that backing dollars with gold was a way to uphold truth and virtue, essentially extending moral qualities to the currency itself by tying it to something \u201creal\u201d and solid. This gold standard, seen as a bedrock of financial integrity, was rooted in the idea that a currency&#8217;s value should be directly connected to a tangible asset like gold. The popular sentiment was that &#8220;strong money&#8221; equated to &#8220;strong morals.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gold standard narrative thus acquired a moral and emotional charge that pitted different classes against one another. Typically, wealthier Americans based in the banking centers of the East, who were often creditors, favored the continuation of a gold standard; poorer Americans, who were often indebted, working in agriculture, and based in the Midwest and West, favored a coinage system that was based on both gold and silver at defined ratios (\u201cbimetallism\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bimetallists saw themselves as champions of the common people, believing their monetary policies would enable inflation, which in turn would reduce the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/real-value-paper-value-technological-revolutions\/\">real value<\/a> of people\u2019s debts. In response, the gold standard stalwarts (\u201cgoldbugs\u201d) clung to the narrative that straying from the gold standard was synonymous with irresponsibility, shiftlessness, and loose morals. These attitudes drove the \u201chard money\u201d policies that persisted until the gold standard was dismantled in a series of developments throughout the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>The Gold Standard and Bitcoin<\/strong><br><br>In the book, Shiller does briefly touch on some parallels between the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/robert-shiller-bitcoin\/\">Bitcoin narrative<\/a> and the gold standard, but it\u2019s worth exploring this more in-depth.<br><br>Some writers have noted the similarities between the two monetary systems. Both Bitcoin and the gold standard are characterized by a limited supply. The Bitcoin protocol <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blockchain-council.org\/cryptocurrency\/how-many-bitcoins-are-left\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explicitly defines the Bitcoin supply<\/a> and the gold standard is limited by the physical supply of gold. This supposedly makes both assets resistant to the inflationary pressures often associated with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/f\/fiatmoney.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fiat currencies<\/a>.<br><br>In 19th-century debates about bimetallism, those in favor of using both gold and silver as standards argued that focusing on gold would concentrate wealth in the hands of people who were already wealthy. In today\u2019s cryptocurrency debates, those who are skeptical of Bitcoin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-wealth-one-percent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tend to put forward similar arguments<\/a>, while those who favor a \u201chard\u201d money, limited-currency approach to guard against inflation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/robert-shiller-bitcoin-bimetallism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">often find much to appreciate about Bitcoin<\/a>.<br><br>However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/how-bitcoin-system-unlike-gold-standard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">there are crucial distinctions<\/a>. Bitcoin operates as a decentralized digital currency without the need for a central authority, while the gold standard explicitly required governments and central banks to manage the supply of gold. This distinction informs the contemporary debate about whether a decentralized cryptocurrency like Bitcoin can serve as an alternative to traditional fiat currencies controlled by central authorities.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Which is better\u2014the gold standard or fiat currency? Could you make a sound economic argument for your position? In Narrative Economics, economist Robert J. Shiller argues that human beliefs and actions, rather than numbers and statistics, ultimately drive economics. Specifically, he writes that beliefs about the gold standard are part of a recurring American economic narrative. Read more to learn Shiller&#8217;s take on the gold standard vs. fiat currency debate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":116614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,39,31],"tags":[1312],"class_list":["post-116607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-history","category-money","tag-narrative-economics","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Robert Shiller says our beliefs about gold are part of a recurring narrative. Here&#039;s his take on the gold standard vs. fiat currency debate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Robert Shiller says our beliefs about gold are part of a recurring narrative. Here&#039;s his take on the gold standard vs. fiat currency debate.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-29T21:17:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-01T19:18:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-29T21:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-01T19:18:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/\"},\"wordCount\":599,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Narrative Economics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economics\",\"History\",\"Money\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/\",\"name\":\"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological? - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-29T21:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-01T19:18:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"Robert Shiller says our beliefs about gold are part of a recurring narrative. Here's his take on the gold standard vs. fiat currency debate.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological? - Shortform Books","description":"Robert Shiller says our beliefs about gold are part of a recurring narrative. Here's his take on the gold standard vs. fiat currency debate.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological?","og_description":"Robert Shiller says our beliefs about gold are part of a recurring narrative. Here's his take on the gold standard vs. fiat currency debate.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2023-10-29T21:17:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-01T19:18:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological?","datePublished":"2023-10-29T21:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-01T19:18:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/"},"wordCount":599,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg","keywords":["Narrative Economics"],"articleSection":["Economics","History","Money"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/","name":"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological? - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg","datePublished":"2023-10-29T21:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-01T19:18:42+00:00","description":"Robert Shiller says our beliefs about gold are part of a recurring narrative. Here's his take on the gold standard vs. fiat currency debate.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gold-standard-vs-fiat-currency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gold Standard vs. Fiat Currency: Is the Issue Just Psychological?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/gold-bars.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116607"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116717,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116607\/revisions\/116717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}