It takes power away from the government. Printing money is a wealth transfer from currency holders to the printer (hence why counterfeiting is illegal), and the

It takes power away from the government. Printing money is a wealth transfer from currency holders to the printer (hence why counterfeiting is illegal), and the government has unlimited ability to do this, which in the case of a bad government can result in hyperinflation and mass impoverishment, like happened recently in Zimbabwe and Venezuela. It's harder for the government to do this with gold.