Is United States currency officially "backed" today? a) Yes, legal currency is backed by the gold standard. b) Yes, legal currency is backed by government acceptance. c) Yes, legal currency is backed by the support of foreign investors. d) No, there is no backing for U. S. currency.

The correct answer is b) Yes, legal currency is backed by government acceptance.

Explanation:

In theory, nothing. In practice, it is the currency of the empire. The dollar has value because people believe that the US economy supports it, it is an act of faith. Its intrinsic value is zero, since it ceased to be backed by gold in 1971 by decree of President Richard Nixon. This happened because the USA did not suit him, since there was not enough gold in Fort Fort Knox (more than 8 thousand tons) which prevented him from continuing to print dollars.

The US government is supposed to he asks the Federal Reserve (a conglomerate of the main private banks in the USA) to print x amount of bills and this is sent in exchange for bonds (that generate interest) that the government gives him. Banknotes represent only 3% of the dollars in the world, the remaining 97% is only electronic, it exists on the hard drives of bank computers, who are the true "creators" of fiat money. When an account holder goes to the bank and deposits 100 dollars, the bank has permission to lend up to 900 dollars in credit, and that way 900 dollars are "created" out of nowhere.