The U.S. Federal Budget for 2011 ~ The U.S. budget did not pass this year, the first time since 1974 (hmm when Nixon went off the gold standard?)
"On December 22, 2010, the Congress voted on another continuing resolution, to keep the government running until March 4, 2011"
Maybe a coincidence? 1974 close to the time U.S. went off of the gold standard? Rumors are flying about returning to the gold/metal backed currencies. Also ... another thought ... Iraq hasn't passed their budget yet .. is it possible that other countries are waiting for something major to happen in Iraq before they can balance their own budgets? Federal Reserve holds foreign currencies (for example, the dinar) just a thought ... Main article: United States federal budget - The budget did not pass this year, the first time since 1974.
The United States Federal Budget for Fiscal Year 2011, is a spending request by President Barack Obama to fund government operations for October 2010–September 2011. Figures shown in the spending request do not reflect the actual appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011, which must be authorized by Congress.
The budget did not pass this year, the first time since 1974,[1] and on September 30, 2010, the Congress voted on a continuing resolution, to keep the government running until December 3, 2010. On December 22, 2010, the Congress voted on another continuing resolution, to keep the government running until March 4, 2011, [2].
____Gold Standard
After Nixon chose to go off the gold standard, foreign countries increased their currency reserves in anticipation of currency fluctuation, which caused deflation of the dollar and other world currencies. Since oil was paid for in dollars, OPEC was receiving less value for their product. They cut production and announced price hikes and an embargo targeted at the United States and the Netherlands, specifically blaming U.S. support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War for the actions.
Lines for the purchase of gasoline and stations with empty tanks became common sights; "Sorry, No Gas Today" read signs in front of many stations. The crisis required rationing and cultural changes by the American public. The Embargo became a resounding lesson of "living within limits" for many Americans. Throughout the 1970s, this recognition began to define the modern environmental movement's ideas concerning the need of conserve natural resources. In terms of world power, the equation had been permanently altered. Even following the Embargo, a stable supply of crude oil had been placed undeniably within "matters of national interest."
On January 2, 1974, Nixon signed a bill that lowered the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 miles per hour in order to conserve gasoline during the crisis. This law was repealed in 1995, though states had been allowed to raise the limit to 65 miles per hour in rural areas since 1987.
With the US actions seen as initiating the oil embargo, the long-term possibility of embargo-related high oil prices, disrupted supply and recession, created a strong rift within NATO; both European nations and Japan sought to disassociate themselves from the US Middle East policy. Arab oil producers had also linked the end of the embargo with successful US efforts to create peace in the Middle East, which complicated the situation. To address these developments, the Nixon Administration began parallel negotiations with both Arab oil producers to end the embargo, and with Egypt, Syria, and Israel to arrange an Israeli pullback from the Sinai and the Golan Heights after the fighting stopped. By January 18, 1974, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had negotiated an Israeli troop withdrawal from parts of the Sinai. The promise of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Syria was sufficient to convince Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. By May, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Golan Heights.
http://theenergylibrary.com/node/10625
