<i>Inflation is caused by one thing, and that's an increase in the money supply.</i><p>That is plain wrong.<p>Think about what would happen if the scarcity of crucial goods like food and shelter increased by 1000%. Would there be inflation? I'd put my money on it!<p><i>Well, yes, but that's precisely the point.</i><p>No, it is not precisely the point. The economy was already declining when Nixon moved off the gold standard. Why do you think he wanted to do it in the first place?<p>And if your theory was correct, then why did the economy recover? Last time I checked, we didn't move back to gold in 1980.