[shrike]

I found this - https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/jp-koning/golds-official-p.... The whole article is worth a read, this is the important bit -

“And that is probably why the U.S.’s statutory price of gold stays fixed at a decades-old level of $42.22. The consensus that independent central banking is a good thing (because it keeps a lid on inflation) dictates that the Fed have plenty of ammo. If the official gold price stays at $42.22, the Fed can lay claim to the full 261,498,927 ounces held by the Treasury. If the price is increased, the Fed gets only a sliver of that, the Treasury laying claim to the rest. And with fewer resources, the Fed’s has less control over the purchasing power of currency.”

[nostromo]

And it’s reasons like this that the Fed is so distrusted.

The should just openly admit to the general public that dollars are backed by an excel sheet that can be changed at anytime.

[eru]

It's not so much about 'ammunition': for that it doesn't matter how the central bank accounts for their gold.

The archaic official value of gold is just a political left-over from when the US was part of the Bretton Woods system, and no politician has found it advantageous to change that relict.

Just like we are still labouring under lots of other old regulations. Like taking our shoes off at the airport.