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ENCORE: Luke Gromen on the History and (Declining) Future of the Global Dollar System

As some start to wonder about a post-Bretton Woods economic system, macro analyst Luke Gromen explains how that post-World War II system came to be.

Breakdown 11.27 Luke Gromen post-Bretton Woods economic system

As some start to wonder about a post-Bretton Woods economic system, macro analyst Luke Gromen explains how that post-World War II system came to be.

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For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com and Nexo.io.

One of the most significant macroeconomic questions facing the world is what the future of the global reserve system, dominated for the last 80 years by the U.S. dollar, holds.

Today’s episode is a replay of NLW’s epic conversation with macro analyst Luke Gromen from April 2020. In it, Luke discusses the entire history of that U.S. dollar system, including:

  • Bretton Woods and why the world went on a USD-based system rather than John Maynard Keynes’ idea for a non-sovereign “bancor” world reserve currency
  • The move to the petrodollar in the 1970s
  • The financialization of commodities that started in the 1980s
  • The monetary policy vacuum after the Cold War ended
  • How a shift in executive compensation rules led to many of today’s problems with Wall Street
  • The export of Treasury bills as a business model
  • The economic fallout of 2008 globally and domestically
  • The end of Treasury bill buying in 2014
  • Why the Federal Reserve is the only sugar daddy left

Find our guest online:
Website: fftt-llc.com
Twitter: @LukeGromen

See also: Lyn Alden on Money Printing, Bitcoin and the End of an 80-Year Debt Cycle

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

Nathaniel Whittemore

NLW is an independent strategy and communications consultant for leading crypto companies as well as host of The Breakdown – the fastest-growing podcast in crypto. Whittemore has been a VC with Learn Capital, was on the founding team of Change.org, and founded a program design center at his alma mater Northwestern University that helped inspire the largest donation in the school’s history.

Nathaniel Whittemore