Follow the yellow brick road

Something slightly off-track this week.  I recently saw a documentary called The Secret of Oz. It suggests that the author of the original version of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum, based the book on American monetary history.  In case you're confused - yes - I am talking about the book with Dorothy, the wicked witches, and the yellow brick road.



Briefly, the American monetary history being referred to, was the struggle between the gold/silver standards of money, and the "bank notes" issued by the "old world" English/European banks.

Some of the possible references were:

• The location "Oz" refers to ounces.
• "Follow the yellow brick road" - use the gold monetary standard.
• The wicked witches of the east & west - the New York & European bankers
• The scarecrow - the farmers
• The tinman - the industrial workers
• The silver shoes - the silver monetary standard.  (The motion picture version had ruby shoes).

I won't go into all the gory details - you can watch the video for yourself if you like.

I couldn't find much else online that actually supported the idea that the references were plausible, however, a little bit of intrigue and research later, I found the original text of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Here is an extract - when Dorothy is asking about the Emerald City:

"But isn't everything here green?" asked Dorothy.

"No more than in any other city," replied Oz; "but when you wear green spectacles, why of course everything you see looks green to you. The Emerald City was built a great many years ago, for I was a young man when the balloon brought me here, and I am a very old man now. But my people have worn green glasses on their eyes so long that most of them think it really is an Emerald City, and it certainly is a beautiful place, abounding in jewels and precious metals, and every good thing that is needed to make one happy.

That passage alone was enough to convince me.  The "green city" and "green glasses" obviously refer to the use of the American greenback fiat currency, and that once a fiat currency has been in use long enough, nobody really remembers the alternatives: "jewels and precious metals, and every good thing that is need to make one happy".


It seems to me that the USD is in a bit of trouble right now.  The US continue to abuse their status as the world's reserve currency controller and printer, and the rest of the world appears to be slowly taking off their green glasses.

What do you see if you take off your green glasses?

Is it more delusional to be one of the few without green glasses, or one of the many wearing them?