And that's why we rationally went off the gold standard years ago?
Governments lie of course. We have never been on a true gold standard, not the US, not the British Empire. It was attempted in the European cultural zone from about 1815-1914. Thanks to American and S African gold supplies. Otherwise it has always been too rare, except at exceptional periods of history.
Originally, the US had private currency, gold or silver brought to the mint by commerce, converted into coin, and returned to commerce (for a small fee). That is American. This was undermined by Alexander Hamilton and the banks, immediately. And for good reason. Only fiat currency could be used, and eventually electronic money (credit was electronic long before BitCoin). The size of the economy doesn't let us do anything else. At Bretton-Woods, 1944-1971, it was attempted to keep international trade on a gold standard (the primary point of the 1815-1914 era). Local trade was almost always done in copper, silver and commercial script. But the global economy won't permit this. Force fitting to an international trade gold standard is like a wasp corset. Churchill attempted this in 1925 and contributed to an immediate recession. A Chinese/Russian attempt to an international trade gold standard (they have been moving that way for about 10 years) will be very deflationary. Disastrous for the entire planet.
With electronic fiat, it is all about who controls the magic government spreadsheet. Politicians in Moscow, Beijing, Berlin, Tokyo, Paris and Washington DC know this. They want it to be like Lord of the Rings. One spreadsheet to control the others, and in the darkness bind them. This is why the public should never ever trust politicians of any country. But as people, we are helpless cannon fodder anyway. Trying to protect yourself in conventional or survivalist terms makes you feel better. But it won't work. Peak human.