In an age of widespread misinformation, it appears that there is plenty of confusion about what gives the U.S. dollar value. According to our recent study, the Perceptions and Understanding of Money — 2020 28% of Americans believe that the U.S. dollar is backed by gold—as you may know, it’s not.
The revelation that the dollar is not backed by gold may spark a question: what, if not gold, is the dollar backed by? Posed in other terms: what gives the dollar value, exactly?