２０１２年６月２４日北海道新聞朝刊より。
映画でも知られる児童文学「オズの魔法使い」はデフレをめぐる論争をもとにした寓話との説がある。舞台となった１９世紀後半の米国は物価下落が続き、農民は借金返済に苦しんでいた。There is a theory that “Wonderful Wizard of OZ”, a children’s novel which is also known for its film, is an allegory based on the disputes over deflationary trends in the late nineteenth century, when, in the United States, commodity prices were continuously dropping and farmers were at a loss how to pay back their debts.
金本位制を維持すべきか、金と銀との両方を硬貨に用いる金銀複本位制にし通貨の量を増やしてインフレを起こすべきか、これが大統領選の争点にもなった。The dispute was whether the gold standard system should be maintained or to increase currency volume and stimulate inflation by adopting the gold – silver standard . It also became one of the main issues in the presidential election.
物語は 故郷から遠く離れた不思議な土地に迷い込んだ少女ドロシーが主人公だ。The main character of the story is Dorothy, who finds herself lost in the wonderland far away from home.
ドロシーは家に帰れるようにしてくれる魔法使いを探し、危険な黄色いレンガの道を銀色の靴（映画ではルビー）を履いて進む。 She makes her way through following the dangerous yellow brick road with silver shoes on (ruby in the movie).
黄色は金本位、銀色は銀本位を表している。 Yellow brick road stands for the gold standard, whereas her shoes silver standard.
