The relative decline of US imperialism

A truer indicator of the depreciation of the dollar is what it will buy. Back in 1970, before the dollar was taken off the 'gold standard', a Rolex Oyster cost $210, or 6 ounces of gold.

Today, a Rolex Oyster will cost about $8000, or about 5 ounces of gold, in other words, more or less the same in relative terms. That means that the value of the US Dollar has not dropped by 20%, but by roughly 97% since 1970. Or looked at in another way, to buy what one 1970 US Dollar would give you, you would need to spend Thirty-Eight 2021 US Dollars.