here are only two things that back our dollar: (1) the people's confidence, and (2) GDP (which any economist will say is unwise to base a currency's longevity and purchasing power on GDP). Ever heard of the "inflation tax"; it's the tax that the middle and lower classes receive through corrupt government policies (due to our corrupt financial system), when the money they have saved loses its purchasing power due to inflation. This is not a hard concept to understand. Fiat currencies inflate; gold (commodity) backed currencies retain their purchasing power.