if the money supply were relatively constant as it would be under a gold standard, prices should naturally fall as productivity increases, while wages should be

if the money supply were relatively constant as it would be under a gold standard, prices should naturally fall as productivity increases, while wages should be constant ...which would be a bad thing, because if the purchasing power of your money grows even when it's parked under your mattress, it's a lot harder for entrepreneurs to attract investment. I would agree that the Fed has been too loose with the money supply over the past twenty years or so, and that this appears to be a structural problem with the central banks; George Cooper makes a good case in The Origin of Financial Crises. But I don't think the solution lies in a return to the gold standard.