L’histoire du Dollar : Pourquoi le monde ne peut pas se passer du dollar ? – Documentaire – AT

Comment une simple monnaie est-elle devenue le centre de gravité de l’économie mondiale ? 👋 + de documentaires histoire 👉 http://bit.ly/3lqyFpY 🙏 Abonnez vous !

00:00 – Introduction : le pouvoir du billet vert
02:30 – La naissance du dollar et la guerre d’indépendance
05:00 – Alexander Hamilton et la banque centrale
09:30 – Le chaos monétaire avant la standardisation
13:00 – La Grande Dépression et la perte de confiance
15:00 – Bretton Woods et le privilège américain
18:30 – De Gaulle, Nixon et la chute du système or
22:00 – Le dollar flottant et les crises des années 80
27:00 – La Fed et le pouvoir d’émission
31:00 – Symboles, billets et mystères du dollar
41:00 – Le dollar numérique et la géopolitique actuelle
47:00 – Vers la fin de l’hégémonie du dollar ?

Même à l’heure où il dérape, le dollar règne sur le monde. La puissance du billet vert s’est construite en soixante ans d’une histoire palpitante qui raconte une bataille d’influence. L’histoire du dollar, c’est l’histoire d’un mythe, l’histoire du rêve américain. Le dollar flanche et c’est toute la planète qui tremble. Plombé par des déficits publics de plus de 500 milliards de dollars et une dette internationale qui explose, tout autre pays que les Etats-Unis aurait été emporté, avec sa monnaie, par un ouragan financier. Pourtant la patrie de l’oncle Sam n’est pas à feu et à sang ; ses dirigeants gardent leur calme et la population vaque à ses occupations. Qu’il grimpe ou qu’il dégringole, c’est toujours pour les autres que le dollar semble induire des conséquences négatives. Ce “privilège exorbitant” d’exporter ses déficits chez les autres est l’effet du statut de monnaie de réserve et de paiement international. Cette position privilégiée, pratiquement jamais remise en cause, s’est construite progressivement depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale avec la montée en puissance de l’Amérique. En ce sens, le dollar est le symbole même de l’efficacité économique des Etats-unis, de leur impérialisme ou de leur hyper puissance. Toute la question étant de savoir si, aujourd’hui, nous assistons ou non à la fin de ce cycle historique.

👉 A voir également sur Notre Histoire :
Propagande : Comment les USA ont influencé l’Europe pendant la guerre froide ? https://youtu.be/h5kOIClNkOc
De Gaulle face aux USA: Pourquoi Washington voulait abattre Le Général ? https://youtu.be/1-1VTQeSjFU
Duel pour la Lune : URSS contre USA dans l’espace https://youtu.be/FWQ5lZxFwQo

👉 Découvrez notre playlist dédiée à l’histoire des États-Unis https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqKSNbk66i9lVVgRwyTPPFxgSNIgyF1ht&si=mGtFThSdpNrMJyRN

La Fabuleuse Histoire du dollar
Réalisé par Alain Lasfargues
Tous Droits Réservés

#Dollar #DocumentaireHistoire #ÉconomieMondiale #Géopolitique #USA #Finance #NotreHistoire

Visually, the dollar is everywhere. This is the very definition of a global brand. There is no place on the planet where a $20 bill will not be
recognized for what it is. Psychologically,
it is much more than just a means of payment; it is almost the
universal symbol of wealth. You only have to look at the number of films or novels that have the word
dollar in their title. Economically, of course,
the dollar is at the center of everything. For some,
it is the symbol of the economic efficiency of the United States,
for others that of their imperialism. A strong economy is based on a strong currency; in short, when the dollar coughs,
the world catches a cold. Here, then, is the
story told by those who study it, participate in it, or
are its spectators. One of the most extraordinary economic sagas of the modern world is
that of the rise to power of the dollar, which in less than two
centuries became the world’s currency. The question today is whether this
rise will continue indefinitely, or on the contrary,
is the world changing and with it the fate
of the American currency? The major symbols of
American economic power are Microsoft, General Electric,
Harvard University, and the dollar. We’re in a restaurant,
we hear people talking and the word dollar is used
every other sentence. So it’s absolutely omnipresent and therefore it’s more than just a currency,
it’s an obsession here. During an anti-American demonstration, you might see people smashing
a McDonald’s window or burning an American flag, but you’ll
never see anyone burning dollars. I know people who walk around Paris with people on whom there is
a small leather square that takes $1. But I don’t know anyone who walks around the United States wearing jeans with
a euro on them. To tell the story of the
American dollar, there’s nothing better than filming historians, or more
precisely, numismatists. We are here at the biggest money show in the United States, the one
in Memphis, Tennessee. These are true works of art. Like Picassos or Monets. These dollars are superb. How many do you want? When you create a brand new country, you
also have to invent a new currency. The United States wanted to do something different right away
by adopting paper money from the outset. You can follow the evolution of our country by observing the change
in style of banknotes. People collect them hoping they will
increase in value. This sale should in principle bring in
between 6.5 and 7 million dollars. When the young American republic began life on July 4, 1776, the
date of the signing of the declaration of independence,
it immediately had money problems, because the English colonizer
did not accept being rejected in this way. Therefore, war must be waged against him
to drive him out of the country, which, even with the help of the French
under the Marquis de Lafayette, is costly. So, to finance the war, the country’s leaders had a
brilliant idea: to create paper money. Yes.
At the time of the war. We began our fight for independence from Great Britain
. To issue its banknotes. This is what is called the continental currency,
named after the Continental Congress which brought together the colonies
seeking independence. For the first time,
the word dollar can be read on these banknotes. But where does it come from? The history of the dollar does not begin
in America, but in Central Europe. In the 15th century, there were important
silver mines in the Saint Joachim Valley, which is
now in the Czech Republic. So these coins were minted nearby
and given the name Joachim Thaler, which means
from the valley of Saint Joachim. Later, Joachim Thaler was shortened
to taler and became the generic term for all
silver coins of this type. And in the end, through deformation, “taler”
gave birth to the word “dollar”. As for the dollar sign, it too seems to
have distant origins. Here is another piece
of Americano-Spanish origin. Let me show you something. There you have two globes and two pillars which symbolize the union
of the Old and New Worlds. It is believed that this motif
inspired the dollar sign. Especially the two pillars representing the Pillars of Hercules
and the ribbon that winds around them. The war against the English was won. The United States is attacking the administrative
and political organization of the country. The famous Constitution is drafted and George Washington becomes
the first president of the United States. His portrait has since adorned
all $1 bills. He chose as Minister of Finance
a former banker, Alexandre Hamilton, who, nowadays,
is entitled to $10 bills. Hamilton wants to create a federal and national central bank that would be
the only one able to print dollars. He is convinced that it is essential for the development of trade
and industry. Not at all,
Thomas Jefferson retorted, who today
only appears on $2 bills. For Jefferson, the central bank was superfluous, because the country’s vocation was
to remain decentralized and agricultural. To learn more, the simplest way is to resurrect
the protagonists. Gentlemen, good morning. Thank you for being with us today. Can you hear me? Yes, yes, I hear you,
Mr. Jefferson. Good morning.
Delighted. So, Mr. Minister,
why create a central bank? Our debt amounts to $80 million
, an impressive sum. I know.
The creation of a national central bank is absolutely necessary to
support and stabilize our currency. Thanks to it, we will be able to
borrow money if needed. We will also be much more
credible in the eyes of the rest of the world. You really have to have a dirty mind to consider that all those who want
a prosperous and well-organized industry and economy are by definition
dishonest and corrupt people. I am obviously not advocating for poverty. I simply believe that we must be careful to ensure that public money
is distributed fairly. We must ensure that it works for the benefit of all and not just
for a privileged minority. The matter ends with a compromise. In 1791, the
country’s first federal central bank was established in this Philadelphia building. Unfortunately, it is only a phantom central bank because it does not have
the right to print dollars. Furthermore, those who opposed its very principle
succeeded in having it closed after 20 years. In short, when the conquest of the West began,
the country did not have a central bank. The federal government is simply giving
approval to local private banks to print
their own dollars. Question: What money did the cowboys have in their pockets to buy a whiskey,
and what did the criminals who had just attacked the trains find at the bottom of the trunk ? The answer for the coins is pretty much anything, for example
gold or silver coins minted in Mexico. As for tickets, it’s
even more complicated. During the first half of the 19th century, the United States did not have
a national currency. Hundreds of local private banks could print thousands
of different banknotes. You have approximately 8000 banks, each issuing an average of
eight different banknotes. This way you arrive at a total of several tens of thousands
of different tickets. All this for the use of a population not accustomed to printed documents,
except perhaps the Bible. How do you expect people to be able to find their way around and distinguish
real banknotes from fake ones? In
1860, there was still some. Approximately 10,000
different types of dollars are in circulation. It was a golden age for counterfeiters, especially
clever ones. Today, making counterfeit money consists of imitating
real money as closely as possible. But with thousands of
different banknotes in circulation, clever counterfeiters quickly
realized that there was no point in complicating things by copying
existing banknotes. They were much smarter to create fictitious banks
and the banknotes that go with them. This often happened at that time. To complicate matters further, banks and counterfeiters
are not the only ones involved. Railway companies, hotels, and even businesses are
also printing their own dollars. Imagine, for example, that
you go to a store in Philadelphia
and try to pay with a one-dollar bill issued by a
bank in Tennessee. Immediately start a discussion with the merchant
about the value of this bill. You argued that it was worth $1, but he retorted that no, no,
that bank didn’t have a good reputation and that in fact that dollar was
only worth 50 cents. Do you realize
the situation today? If every time you went to a department store
you had to discuss the value of the bills you were
offering the cashier, it would be insane. The system was therefore in crisis when
the Civil War broke out, pitting the Union in the North
against the Confederacy in the South. The Northerners were short of money
and needed to pay their soldiers. They absolutely needed to
find money. The easiest thing to do when you don’t have
money is to make some. So, a bit like George Washington. A century earlier,
in 1863, Lincoln decided to start from scratch. Yes, I hear you, sir,
and it’s a pleasure to be with you. There’s no longer any question of letting just
anyone print dollars. No, I think we need to
standardize the currency of this country. Only the federal government and
a central bank can do that. We absolutely must introduce a reliable banknote in which our
fellow citizens can have confidence. A banknote that would be marked with the Great Seal of the United States,
a banknote on which the Eagle would be printed so that everyone would be convinced
of its credibility and value. From now on,
there will only be one authority in the country empowered to issue
paper money. The federal government. A new type of banknote was then created, which was
very quickly called the greenback. If it was. It was
nicknamed that because the back of this new federal banknote
was printed in green. Why this color? Simply because green was
impossible to reproduce with the techniques used
by forgers at the time. A green color that will discourage
counterfeiters. Whereas in 1859 there were nearly 10,000 different banknotes. By 1866,
only a handful remained. Lincoln is therefore the inventor of the greenback as we know it
from that time to the present day. The dollars will all
have a family resemblance. They are fascinating. They are beautiful. Look at the quality of the engraving. But this one is my favorite.
Not quite, no. This one is my favorite. If you look closely at these 19th-century dollars, you will see that they
all bear a reference to gold. This is what is called the gold
standard. This means that the central bank commits to paying any holder
of a banknote its equivalent value in gold. In other words, the value of all banknotes
in circulation must under no circumstances exceed that of the
gold stock held by the bank. In theory, therefore, it is
impossible for the government to succumb to the temptation of printing
money. By the end of the century, the United States had become the world’s largest economy
, ahead of China and Europe. However, the dollar was not
yet present everywhere in the world. The industry is running at full capacity, the stock market continues to rise, and people are
borrowing to buy shares. So we print more and more
dollars without worrying at all about whether there is enough gold
to repay them all. What is now called
a speculative bubble is forming. The Americans are absolutely. Still not at all
aware of international responsibilities and their monetary policy turned only towards the home,
creates blows to capital movements and therefore puts
in difficulty in particular the pound sterling which is still the key currency,
the dominant currency. And this ultimately led to the depression,
where American monetary policy certainly played a
negative role in bringing about this. The speculative bubble burst
on Thursday, October 24, 1929. The stock market collapsed. People are rushing to banks to exchange their
dollars for gold. After all, they have a right to it,
it’s written right there. Obviously, banks
cannot pay everyone. We have to close them down within a few weeks. This led to economic chaos and the beginning of the Great Depression, which put
millions of Americans out of work. If the financial markets
are left to their own devices. Their natural tendency is to always
go to extremes, as in the 1930s when the
financial system collapsed. The people of Oregon have adapted to the economic crisis with real,
entirely homemade crisis dollars. Dollars that stretch
like inflation, guaranteed to last. Surprisingly, these dollars are accepted by local merchants
elsewhere, even in New York. The barter system is experiencing a revival. Things began to improve with the election of Democrat Franklin Roosevelt
to the presidency in 1933. The economic engine started up again. But here’s the thing: 1933 is also the year of the election of another head of state,
Adolf Hitler, in Germany. At the end of the war, the victors
set about rebuilding the world. For example, with the creation
of the UN in 1945. As for currencies, the Bretton Woods conference was held
. Small town on the
East Coast of the United States. In 1944, a number
of people came together with the idea that the Second World War was not
only caused by economic excesses and currency wars,
but that this was a cause, and that consequently,
it was necessary to try to remedy this, and therefore, to do so, it was necessary to set
up a kind of monetary UN. A consequence of the fundamental role
of the United States in the war. A decision was made. To make the dollar the
central currency of the global financial system. The major currencies had.
were devastated by the war. All our countries were indebted to the United States, which had
financed their reconstruction. The pound sterling did not exist or barely existed,
nor did the French franc. 44 countries signed these agreements, practically all the major
countries of the free world. The Soviet Union was approached
but chose not to sign. It was an unprecedented event. The Bretton Woods Agreement establishes what is
known as a fixed exchange rate system. The value of the dollar is
fixed at $35 per ounce of gold. This means that the US government is
committed to giving one ounce of gold to any central bank that presents
$35 at its counter. Other world currencies also have
a value relative to the dollar, practically fixed
once and for all. With the dollar having become the international currency,
it is the currency par excellence. It is a privilege to be the country
that issues the currency that serves others. For what ? Because how do they finance
their deficit like all the other countries? First with their own currency,
then they reach the end. The other countries
can no longer afford it and are forced to finance it with dollars,
with gold, and they have more or less of it. And when they have more, they are
forced to limit their deficits. So in all countries there is a kind of automatic mechanism
for limiting the deficit because quite simply you can no longer pay for it,
except for the United States since they finance their deficits solely
with their own currency. So we could almost say, using an image that is a little
misleading, but evocative and that everyone knows,
that the printing presses are running and that consequently,
it is easy to finance the deficit. In the 1950s, the United States poured mountains
of dollars into the rest of the world. Firstly, as part of
reconstruction aid. This is the famous Marshall Plan. Western European countries have just
ratified a crucial document. The Marshall Plan received their green light. In summary, the Paris Agreement gives America the mission of once
again supplying munitions to its allies. But this time, it’s ammunition
for peace in the form of food, equipment and dollars, totaling
more than 17 billion dollars. Then, in the 1960s, the United States
began to take over the world. They are investing heavily abroad while also dealing with the
military expenses of the Vietnam War. They obviously pay for everything in dollars. We invest more abroad
than the rest of the world. We didn’t invest in the United States, so we have a deficit
of a few billion dollars. It was tiny compared
to today’s. But damn, some people are getting angry. President de Gaulle was one of the first to publicly
criticize, as he said in the 1960s,
the dollar and the United States as the world’s currency
enjoyed an exorbitant privilege. This fact affects the Americans. To go into debt and to go into debt for free with respect to foreigners,
because what they owe them, they pay them with dollars
that they alone have the power to issue. And not with gold,
which has a real value that one only possesses because it has been earned and that one cannot
transfer to others without risk. And without sacrifice. In the winter of 1964-1965, France adopted a more
aggressive stance which continued after 1965, consisting of
converting dollars into gold. So France did it
with a certain amount of publicity. The Germans did the same,
but without saying so. And so the
United States’ gold reserves began to decline. At this stage, we had issued so many dollars that only 20% of the sums
held by foreign central banks were covered
by our gold reserves. There were fears that a loss of confidence in the American economy would
trigger a banking panic. We were afraid that all countries would simultaneously demand the conversion
of their dollars into gold. It would have caused a
global financial disaster. General de Gaulle decided to repatriate French gold from the United States, which is
deposited at the Federal Reserve Bank. That’s a fact.
It’s a completely simple and technical matter, but it’s causing a
political stir. General de Gaulle
asked me, “Is this good?” Bring in their income. No, of course not, but we should,
we should go faster. Well,
we should decide whether to send the Colbert, which was our
only cruiser at the time. We send the Colbert and then, well,
we exchange the gold, we bring it back. I can tell you that it
‘s out of the question. The arrival in the United States of a
French warship that would come to exchange gold for you and create
a major incident. We abandoned this project. The Americans would have reacted all the more badly because they believe they are providing an
essential service to the rest of the world. We Americans are the ones who
provide liquidity to the entire world. We engage
in financial intermediation. We make the
global financial system work because we have a financial competitiveness
that others do not. For that service. Well, if there’s a problem with the dollar, it’s
someone else’s problem, not ours. That’s an allusion to a famous phrase spoken by
US Treasury Secretary John Connolly to Europeans who were complaining
about his monetary policy. He once coldly retorted, ”
The dollar is our currency.” But that’s your problem. This is decided in its own interest by those who conduct
American economic policy. The US Treasury Secretary has consequences for the rest of the world
and we find Connelly’s formula, that is to say it’s our currency, we
manage it as it benefits us. And it can become your problem if the
decision we make doesn’t suit you. I am neither familiar with nor was I
a specialist on the subject. He’s a politician, he’s a Texan. You know what car President Kennedy was in when he was
assassinated and he was a man who was 1.95 meters tall and quite nonchalant. He believed that in the monetary world, people could be treated somewhat
carelessly. He cultivated a certain brutality
typical of Texans, and he told them, “Listen,
if you want to continue to benefit from American military support in the face
of the Soviet threat, you guys are going to have to
lower your currencies.” It’s a take-it-or-leave-it situation. This is the only way we
can reduce our deficit. The Bretton Woods system was abolished
by a power grab, which was Nixon’s decision on August 15,
1971, to sever all ties with gold and make the dollar
a floating currency. When you are in one.
Exchange rate system. Floating, we’re in.
A completely different system. Unlike where it is precisely the supply and demand of each currency
on the world market that determines prices. Today, America has the best opportunity of the century to realize two of its major ideals. To guarantee peace for an entire generation and create new prosperity far from all conflict, I asked Secretary Connally to temporarily suspend the convertibility of the dollar into gold. This action will have the effect of stabilizing the dollar. This decision is not to please the currency traders! We lived under the assumption that the world was
stable, that major currencies were stable, and that when there were
changes, they were unfortunate changes to minor
or secondary currencies. But the currency, the major currency that was the dollar,
was totally stable. That was the dominant culture. It was a great surprise, even for those who, like me,
were close to power. Only a few people
in the government were aware of it. Kissinger, for example,
was not part of it. At the time, he was in the middle of
negotiations regarding Vietnam. The circle of initiates
was very small. The financial markets were
completely caught off guard. Europeans and Japanese
have expressed deep shock. What are you saying? Do
you really want to change the dollar exchange rate,
and by how much, 2%? So I told them no,
you’re way off the mark. More like 10 to 15%. From this date. It’s an understatement to say that the world
of fixed exchange rates is dead. From now on, the value of the dollar will change
every morning, and not just a little. Let’s imagine for a moment that the fluctuations of the dollar since 1971 become
like a roller coaster. The ups and downs of our virtual carousel reproduce
those of the real curve very exactly. Fasten your seatbelts. Hold on tight, it’s going to be a bumpy start. No problem, everything is fine. We are in the era of
fixed exchange rates. The value of the dollar remains the same. Then came the beginning of the 70s and where the first devaluation of 12%, a small
technical recovery, the end of convertibility and then
25% less all at once. President Carter then appointed Paul
Volcker to head the Federal Reserve. This raises
interest rates to over 20%. The value of the dollar then begins to climb, climb, climb more than 25%
more than 50% more than 100% more than 150 200%. The dollar is too expensive for
everyone; it needs to be brought down. These are the Plaza Accords of ’85 and in less than two years, the dollar
falls, falls, falls. Unfortunately, far too many. Then in ’87, the reverse maneuver:
the major powers signed the Louvre agreements in Paris, the aim of which was
to stabilize the dollar, which worked fairly well for
the following ten years. Then came the period of prosperity during the Bill Clinton years, which brought it
back up before September 11, 2001. The Iraq War and low interest rates
caused it to plunge again. Phew !
Let’s try to explain the whys and wherefores of just one of these mountains,
the highest one. The year is 1979. The American economy is in crisis, the dollar is at its lowest
and inflation is at its highest. Nearly 15%
price increase per year. Something absolutely has to be done. So President Carter appointed this man, Paul Volcker, to head
the American central bank, the Fed. Its mission is to eliminate inflation. Once and for all. In the early 1980s, Paul Volcker took office when several central bankers had
failed to stop inflation. He did raise interest rates, but never high enough
and not for long enough. So as soon as we lowered them,
inflation returned. It was one. Much like a doctor prescribing
antibiotics to a patient. But with.
Insufficient doses and durations. As soon as treatment is stopped,
the disease returns even more virulent. And then you need to use
an even stronger dose. The Federal Reserve is raising its
interest rates, as Helmut Schmidt said, to the highest level
since Jesus Christ. The main weapon of central bankers
to kill inflation is the base rate,
that is to say the minimum interest rate at which money can be lent
in the country in question. If the interest rate is low, it stimulates
the economy, but increases inflation. If, on the other hand, it is very high, the economy slows down
and inflation decreases. The whole trick is to place
the cursor in the right place. At the time, the main concern was the very high inflation,
the rise in prices. So if you ask me what my priority was, it was
obviously to reduce inflation. But by targeting inflation, I also
addressed the weakness of the dollar. So, from 1981 to 1985, the dollar rose and
rose while inflation fell and fell and the economy
cooled. Incidentally, people are suffering because at 20% interest rates, taking out a loan
is far too expensive. Property developers were furious, especially since they had just
experienced a prosperous period. So, half jokingly, half seriously,
they started packing plaster tiles and bricks
and sending them to my office. They told him, “It’s no
use to us anymore.” Take them. People stopped him
in the street and accused him. That’s because of it. Is it because
of you that my father no longer has a job, or is it because of you that we
couldn’t sell our house? The dollar became so expensive in 1984
that the authorities decided to intervene. A major international conference is being held
at the Plaza in New York. For Europeans,
the American currency was too expensive; they could no longer afford anything that was
paid for in dollars, such as Nike shoes, Caterpillar tractors, or even
just a barrel of oil. All these products were becoming prohibitively expensive. The only way out was either through a monetary agreement
or through protectionism. And it was in the face of the threat of a
protectionist surge that the Americans said to themselves, this time we have to try
to do something with the others. The international community then decided
to intervene to weaken the dollar. There will be other roller coasters like this in the years
to come, but never again as high. Most coincide with major
international crises: the Mexican collapse, the Asian crisis, the
Argentine bankruptcy. To see such turbulence and
passengers being shaken so violently. The question arises: is
there a pilot in the plane? In other words, who in the USA controls the dollar? Is the Central Bank of the. The Fed and the central bank of the…
UNITED STATES ? Its role is comparable to that of the European Central Bank
or the Bank of France before the euro. Our objectives, according to the law, are price stability,
optimal sustainable growth and, as far as possible, the stability
of the financial system. The Fed is made up of twelve regional branches whose shareholders are
the heirs of the large local banks that, in the 19th century, had the right
to print their own dollars. Consequently, in a feature that is practically unique in the world, the American central bank
is not public but private. The central bank and its branches
belong to commercial banks, at least those that are part
of the Federal Reserve system. However, they are very strictly supervised and controlled
by the federal government. In technical legal terms, we are said to be instruments
of the federal government. Technically, we are private organizations, but placed under the close
supervision of the federal government. For issuing banknotes, the Fed has its own historical
and specific printer which is public, the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing in Washington. We print approximately 8 billion banknotes per year, which in face value is
nearly $750 million per day. The place holds such a special place
in the American imagination that the workshops are overlooked
by a gallery for visitors. As for the machines,
they are not exactly state-of-the- art, which is not really
surprising when you consider that the dollar has never changed in size
or color since 1929. Every day, 22 tons of crisp new banknotes come out of this
printing plant to be distributed throughout the country by
a whole network of subcontractors. The United States has the distinction
of being a particularly straightforward country. Almost one in ten dollars is represented
by a physical, tangible bill. So the other nine are just numbers hidden
deep within the banks’ computers. One in ten may seem small, but it is double that of the British pound,
the yen or the euro, which have never exceeded 5% of their
money supply in banknotes. In addition, contrary to what one might have imagined, there are not fewer and
fewer banknotes in circulation, but more and more despite
the advent of credit cards. It’s a permanent cycle of tickets coming in
and going out. In one month, nearly $10 billion
passes through our organization. This particularly heavy presence of banknotes in the USA has
two main reasons. The first is purely national. Nearly 15% of American households
do not have a bank account. Most of their transactions are done exclusively in
cash. This is the only
payment method available. So with its multiple uses,
the liquid is still very important. Everyone still needs it. The other reason for the large number of banknotes
in circulation is a consequence of the
dollar’s status as an international currency. In terms of face value, there are over 777 billion banknotes
in circulation, of which over 512 billion are held outside
the United States. The vast majority of banknotes circulating abroad are used
as a safety reserve by people who want to have
funds available in case of an emergency. Hence the need to be cautious
and not change anything too abruptly. Designing a new banknote
is a very complicated process. Our first objective
is to secure it. We try to make it very difficult to imitate by layering as many
security devices as possible. Then we ask our graphic designers to create a style and patterns
that incorporate these security elements. All of this takes a lot of time. We just released
a new $5 bill. It took us a little over a year,
which is very fast. So, in an extraordinary revolution, the
greenback is no longer completely green. We added a little bit of color to it. We are at the ceremony
for the launch of the new $5 bill. And there, behind it, is the country house of Abraham
Lincoln, the father of the greenback. Between. This new series of
coloured banknotes was introduced in 2003. The new $5 bill is part of it. Of course, it is not necessary
to return the old tickets. The Fed has never demonetized old banknotes and it obviously doesn’t intend to
do so this time either. In a few minutes,
I will have the honor of spending and putting into circulation the first
new $5 bill. Okay, what can I buy from you? We have this book, a
collection of great speeches. Perfect. I think I have
a new $5 bill. Yes, here it is. Oh, the one with the new protective features. Okay, let’s be lenient, these people are not
professional actors, but officials. The man in the foreground represents the Fed,
the one who is just behind him. The Secret Service, an ultra-specialized police force with two missions and only two:
to protect the President of the United States and the dollar, that is to say,
to fight against counterfeit currency. As for the lady on the left,
that is the United States Treasury Department’s chief cashier
. His signature appears
on all new $5 bills. So, for a few children and especially for television cameras, here is
a quick anti-counterfeiting training course. Who is on the
front line in the fight against counterfeiters? What is the first thing you should do
to make sure it’s a real ticket? Looking at it in the light? Yes, look at it in the
light of the new. There are two watermarks, a large five, but no more portrait
and a column of five blue ones. That’s what you need to look at. All right. Last year, we intercepted $ 61.4 million worth
of counterfeit bills. This figure seems quite high. In fact, this represents only 0.01%
of the banknotes put into circulation. What is a banknote made of? That’s a good question. The composition of the paper is a secret. Actually, it’s more
fabric than paper. But despite this, their lifespan is limited, let’s say between two and five
years depending on the value. Like all great global stars, the dollar has a look, a style
that truly belongs only to it. But why is it
so eye-catching? What is the secret to its
extraordinary visual effectiveness? First, there is the color,
which is very important. And then there are all the symbols
that are on the dollar. It’s almost a living history
of America, with a history of
American philosophy on each of the bills. Indeed, American banknotes capture the imagination because they are
heavily laden with mysterious symbols believed to be Masonic, originating from the very
beginnings of the American Revolution. The back of the $1 bill and what people think of first
when you start talking about symbols. On the front, there is George Washington, the country’s first president,
who was notoriously a Freemason. In a sense, there is therefore a
Masonic reference on the front of the ticket. The reverse side is much more mystical. Even for Americans. The reverse side reproduces the two sides
of the Great Seal of the United States, designed at the end of the 18th century
by a committee which included, among others, Thomas Jefferson,
John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Many people are
absolutely convinced that. These seals.
These symbols have an occult, hidden meaning. For example, many people
count the feathers of the eagle. There are exactly 33. Conspiracy theorists
note that this number of 33 is the number of degrees in
Scottish Rite Freemasonry. The 33rd degree in Freemasonry is
something quite well known in the United States. Many far-right Americans
see this coincidence as something threatening,
like a sign of a huge conspiracy manipulated by a shadowy elite
seeking to dominate the world. However, of the 56 signatories of the declaration of independence,
only nine were Freemasons. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were, but not
Thomas Jefferson or John Adams. I do not believe that the link is to be found in a conspiracy
of Freemasons to manipulate the American revolution,
but rather simply that the ideals of the Revolution, like those of
Freemasonry, have the same philosophical roots, those
of the Age of Enlightenment. The aesthetic inspiration for the greenback is therefore to be found more in
a common passion of 19th- century men for esotericism,
Christian symbolism or even Egyptology, as evidenced by
the reverse of the Great Seal. The Great Pyramid is
the symbol of ancient Egypt. The idea here is that the pyramids are still there, century after century, and
that this is what the United States will do. That’s it for the pyramid. As for the eye that is just above,
it represents the omniscience of God. It’s a symbol that goes back
hundreds of years. Here, the aim is to affirm that God is watching
over the new American nation. Moreover, the dollar maintains such close relations with God that,
uniquely in the Western world, it explicitly places itself
under his protection. This is the famous motto “In God we trust”. Our trust is in God, who
so intrigues non-Americans. The American people have
always been very religious. This is a reality that the government has always acknowledged
in one way or another. In 1861, at the beginning of the
Civil War, a pastor from Pennsylvania wrote a now-famous letter
to the Secretary of the Treasury. A man named Salmon Chase.
In this letter, he wrote to her that the country had embarked
on a terrible war against itself. and that he was therefore in great need of
divine providence, of God’s help. This pastor implored the Secretary of the Treasury to find a way
to give thanks to God. A senior official was tasked
with devising several mottos. He proposed four or five, none of which
were “In God we trust”. He sent them to Chase who studied them and eventually combined several
to create In God we Trust. In the 1930s, this motto
was on all coins. Starting in 1957, it began to be placed on banknotes, first on the $5 note,
then on all the others. Today, more than 50 years after its
first appearance on paper money, this phrase appears on all
our coins, all our banknotes. And it has even become
our national motto. As I have always said,
we trust only in God. Everyone else has to pay in cash. But the real dollar, the one that weighs
the most, is not the greenback. The real dollar
is the electronic dollar, the one that only exists in
bank computers. This is also the kind of asset that can be
instantly transferred from one end of the planet to the other from
trading floors like this one. From these computers, seven days a week,
24 hours a day, dollars are bought and sold on behalf of large
industrial companies, financial institutions, individuals or even
pure speculators. You have two orders at 45. Are you ready to place the order? I have two sell orders at 50. Oil has just hit the limit. It’s incredible how many people
are buying the euro. Do you want to take your profits? Okay, I’ll intervene at 75. If we manage that,
the order will hold until 3 p.m. Okay, goodbye. Here’s what makes the price of the dollar:
the “Buy” buttons = Buy and “Sell” = sales which
brokers press or don’t press. But what is he basing his decision on? People mainly look at the differences
in interest rates between countries. That’s what attracts capital. That’s why money
goes in to or out of a country. We are therefore paying particular attention to
anything that can affect these interest rates and the differences between,
for example, Europe and the United States. That’s the basic principle. But today, the foreign exchange market
has become absolutely gigantic. It is bought and sold every day on the surface of the planet, for
between 2 trillion and 3 trillion dollars. As a result, brokers have been on
autopilot for quite some time. We have automated systems that allow currency transactions to be carried out
without anyone
having to press a button. This is called a fully automated system. The computers communicate directly
with each other and the transaction is completed. Millions
of dollars are transferred in seconds. It’s absolutely incredible. Now you know what we
do with our days. Watch screens. And that’s because everyone is looking at
the same screens at the same time. This is something that has very important consequences
for the functioning of the market. Previously, everything. The world did not have the same
information at the same time. Today, with the Internet and the speed of data flow,
all players see the same graphics, the same information,
the same official statements and consequently, they all tend to
react at the same time and in the same way. One last factor remains to try
to explain the brutal and rapid movements of the dollar
on the foreign exchange market. Fluctuations in the dollar, at least in the short term,
are almost entirely due to market sentiment, whether
optimism or fears. It all depends on the mood of the world. At the beginning of the day,
if people are doing well and are happy, they will tend
to sell dollars. If, on the other hand, they are afraid,
they will buy dollars instead. These reactions are
completely irrational. This is also why no one can
claim to control the foreign exchange market. In the past, the International Monetary Fund,
the World Bank, and central banks were the main
players in the market. But as the market grew,
their influence diminished. In the past,
governments could intervene in the currency market
by buying or selling dollars to make it rise or fall
and determine its price. Today, the market is
so huge that it’s impossible. Today, the American government has
even less control over the value of its currency because out of $100, only $30
is held by Americans. The other 70 belong to foreigners, usually
central banks or investment funds. The world’s largest holder of dollars is China, followed by the
Gulf oil monarchies, and then Japan. Far behind, we find Europe,
Russia, India, etc. We are here in Bahrain,
in the Persian Gulf. It is estimated that the oil-producing states
of the region hold in their coffers a good quarter of all the dollars
existing on the surface of the planet. Today, Sheikh Mohammed Al Khalifa is inaugurating a
very special conference and exhibition. Its theme is dollar or euro? What choice for the region? The exhibitors are delegates
from major brokerage and investment firms
in London or New York. Visitors, their potential clients, senior local officials, executives,
managers or even wealthy individuals. The dollar is much more
important here than in the rest of the world. This is the consequence of a famous meeting between King Ibn Saud
of Saudi Arabia and Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945, on an
American warship anchored near the Red Sea. Negotiations between equals or pure imperialism, the United States at that
time made a commitment to protect the Arabian Peninsula in exchange
for access to its oil. Since that date, oil has always been
invoiced in dollars and the currency of the Gulf States is linked to the American currency
by a strictly fixed exchange rate. It is therefore not surprising that a symposium is being held alongside the exhibition,
to which American economists specializing
in fluctuations of the greenback have been invited. From.
World War II. The United States is the world’s largest economy and the dollar is the
world’s primary reserve currency. If we look at the direction and evolution of this curve today,
we observe that the dollar is on a
moderate but constant downward trend. The market is too large;
no one can control it. It’s a global market. Now more than ever. The question is whether Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates will
maintain their ties with the dollar or whether they will move
towards other currencies. That’s very…
Delicate. We have already lost 40%
of the value of our currency. Thank you so much.
Thank you. We are starting to see people becoming
more and more anxious. What’s going on with the dollar? Well, really, there are many government-level decisions
in this Gulf region right now that will be
made in the coming months. We have already seen Kuwait as the first country to truly liberate its currency,
in exchange for the US dollar. We may very soon see other countries follow
Kuwait in this matter. Is this
the end of the US dollar? He was the good dad of the region. And you know, it’s heartbreaking
to lose a good dad. But that doesn’t mean we’re
going to abandon the dollar. The market will
tell us where to go. We may move towards the euro, the dollar, other
currencies or even raw materials. Europeans and the world in general have
been dependent on the dollar for the last 100 years for one
simple reason: there was no competitor. This is a situation that has completely
changed with the creation of the euro. Has what has been happening in
Frankfurt, the seat of the European Central Bank , over the past ten years really
changed everything in the monetary landscape? Is the dollar, the king and god,
about to be dethroned by the euro? I believe that the euro has every chance of equaling the dollar as the
world’s reserve currency, or even surpassing it. This is a tremendous success for the Europeans. If the euro were more militant, would become more militant, it would
probably divert the dollar quite quickly. The Euro was not created in opposition to
the United States dollar. The Euro was not written against
any currency or against anyone. The American goal,
I’m not saying this in an overly simplistic way,
but it’s imperialism, it’s world power,
it’s not our goal. We do not want to rule the world,
we did so in part in the 19th century , but now that is
no longer our ambition at all. So, since the euro competes with the dollar, but without wanting or being able to
completely replace it, how can we imagine the
monetary future of the planet? I believe we are heading towards a situation in which there will
be this large North American bloc. There will obviously be a large Chinese group,
there will be a large Indian group, and there may be
a large European group. I believe that in due course. As time goes on,
it is likely that the system will evolve in such a way that the
dollar’s position will become less exceptional. I believe this will be something perfectly
natural and healthy for the global economy. The final word from Paul Volcker, who brought out
his crystal ball for the occasion. I’m going to tell you two things. The first is that the world will be a much better place when there is
a single currency for the whole planet. The second is that I won’t
be there to see it. And probably neither do you, for that matter. This year we have a dollar beanie, a dollar bandana-stamped money clip
, and a bandana for cycling. All this to say that from head to toe,
Americans are obsessed with the dollar, with money, to the point
of wearing it on their person.