why independent central banks are best. That’ s why nations that are determined to keep their currencies strong fare best in the end. That’ s why common rules— the same tax rules for all companies, the same regulations for all companies and no ad hoc threats or bribes from public officials, no matter how powerful— are what make the market systems function best.
And there is something else that you learn in the Museum of American Finance, and I suppose that some people would say this is a corny lesson. Probably there are some people who would say it isn’ t even a valid lesson. But as someone who has taken an oath of office before serving in the federal government four times, it is something I believe very much, and that is that the United States is an extraordinary and exceptional nation. It is an exceptional nation because of the
things that I have already talked about— the rule of law and so forth. But it is an extraordinary and exceptional nation also because of what it has strived to achieve for the last 75 years in the global system.
It has not sought, for the most part, to manipulate that system for temporary and transitory and commercial advantage. Rather, it has acted in the conviction that an open and generous global system in which all can prosper is a system in which our companies will find the largest markets, our workers can find the greatest opportunities and our nation will be most secure. That yes, we will stand up for that rule of law and we will not allow ourselves to be treated unfairly, but that our mission is not just to maximize our short-term interest. But that our mission is to be part of building a better world.
You learn that too studying our financial history, studying what the dollar has meant to the global financial system, studying the United States’ founding role in the Bretton Woods system, studying the role American leadership has played in international crisis after international crisis and, yes, studying how much has gone wrong, as in the late 1920s when the United States abdicated those responsibilities.
I believe that coming here together in support of this museum, we are all a part of something that is hugely important— coming to a greater and sharper and clearer understanding of the past so that we can work to create a greater future for ourselves, and for all our fellow citizens. And that, more than anything about me, is why I am so honored and pleased to be a part of this event tonight.
www. MoAF. org | Winter 2017 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 17