Fred in Texas, gold is the currency of nobility, silver is the currency for gentlemen, battery is the currency of peasants and debt? debt is the currency of slaves! And the American fiat dollar is nothing more than an iou that our descendants shall be forced to honor at gunpoint...
You are, apparently, unclear on what constitutes "money". Only money itself is "as good as money". Everything else, to include Uncle's I.O.U.s are, in excruciatingly correct point of fact, nothing but wishful hopeium, based on a Ponzi scheme, and represented in everyday life by finally-engraved sheets of toilet paper, and they don't even serve adequately for that latter purpose. To appreciate their true worth, one ought to attempt to wipe their backside with the digital version, then get back to us with a report on the experience. cf. the currencies of Weimar, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela, 1919-present.
From "A Christmas Carol" published in 1843 - "The idea being an alarming one, he scrambled out of bed, and groped his way to the window. He was obliged to rub the frost off with the sleeve of his dressing-gown before he could see anything; and could see very little then. All he could make out was, that it was still very foggy and extremely cold, and that there was no noise of people running to and fro, and making a great stir, as there unquestionably would have been if night had beaten off bright day, and taken possession of the world. This was a great relief, because “three days after sight of this First of Exchange pay to Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge or his order,” and so forth, would have become a mere United States’ security if there were no days to count by." You can see the idea is now a new one.
I *think* (hope) Anon #1 was quoting from the movie "Dumb and Dumber" where they spent all the ransom money after finding it in the suitcase and subsequently filling it with hand written IOU's. One of them pulled out a handful saying "It's all right here, IOU's that are as good as money" Again, I hope that's what Anon meant; a funny/not funny....
All of it, everything we think has value but isn’t edible, is faith-based. Gold, dollars, you name it, has worth because ultimately we believe we can trade it for something to eat… until the day we can’t. At which point, force becomes the medium of currency. In a WROL situation, if I had food and you had gold, you’d be going hungry until you overpowered me.
During the Carter years, I made a collection of Weimar currency, buying the largest bill I could find in each month from 1919 to mid 1923.
Started with a nicely color printed 100 Mark note, and finished with a 20 Trillion Mark note that looked like it had been printed from a hand carved linoleum plate in black ink only on newsprint paper.
Zimbabwe was worse. Not only did the currency fail because it cost more to print than it's value, but their .gov turned the country from a net food exporter into famine. John in Indy
All make good points. Money is whatever I can get someone to take for what I want from him. Talking about Zimbabwe paper currency, I got a bunch of 1 trillion bills to give to people about whom I didn't give two cents about their opinion.
Those are as good as money sir.
ReplyDeleteFred in Texas, gold is the currency of nobility, silver is the currency for gentlemen, battery is the currency of peasants and debt? debt is the currency of slaves! And the American fiat dollar is nothing more than an iou that our descendants shall be forced to honor at gunpoint...
DeleteYou are, apparently, unclear on what constitutes "money".
ReplyDeleteOnly money itself is "as good as money".
Everything else, to include Uncle's I.O.U.s are, in excruciatingly correct point of fact, nothing but wishful hopeium, based on a Ponzi scheme, and represented in everyday life by finally-engraved sheets of toilet paper, and they don't even serve adequately for that latter purpose.
To appreciate their true worth, one ought to attempt to wipe their backside with the digital version, then get back to us with a report on the experience.
cf. the currencies of Weimar, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela, 1919-present.
Mind the handprint on the back of your neck.
Anon@3:54am: Debt isn't money.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised our host was so restrained in his smackdown..... :-)
From "A Christmas Carol" published in 1843 - "The idea being an alarming one, he scrambled out of bed, and groped his way to the window. He was obliged to rub the frost off with the sleeve of his dressing-gown before he could see anything; and could see very little then. All he could make out was, that it was still very foggy and extremely cold, and that there was no noise of people running to and fro, and making a great stir, as there unquestionably would have been if night had beaten off bright day, and taken possession of the world. This was a great relief, because “three days after sight of this First of Exchange pay to Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge or his order,” and so forth, would have become a mere United States’ security if there were no days to count by." You can see the idea is now a new one.
ReplyDeleteI *think* (hope) Anon #1 was quoting from the movie "Dumb and Dumber" where they spent all the ransom money after finding it in the suitcase and subsequently filling it with hand written IOU's. One of them pulled out a handful saying "It's all right here, IOU's that are as good as money" Again, I hope that's what Anon meant; a funny/not funny....
ReplyDeleteAll of it, everything we think has value but isn’t edible, is faith-based.
ReplyDeleteGold, dollars, you name it, has worth because ultimately we believe we can trade it for something to eat… until the day we can’t. At which point, force becomes the medium of currency.
In a WROL situation, if I had food and you had gold, you’d be going hungry until you overpowered me.
SP RN
Or, until I found someone who'd trade food for gold.
ReplyDeleteDuring the Carter years, I made a collection of Weimar currency, buying the largest bill I could find in each month from 1919 to mid 1923.
ReplyDeleteStarted with a nicely color printed 100 Mark note, and finished with a 20 Trillion Mark note that looked like it had been printed from a hand carved linoleum plate in black ink only on newsprint paper.
Zimbabwe was worse. Not only did the currency fail because it cost more to print than it's value, but their .gov turned the country from a net food exporter into famine.
John in Indy
All make good points. Money is whatever I can get someone to take for what I want from him. Talking about Zimbabwe paper currency, I got a bunch of 1 trillion bills to give to people about whom I didn't give two cents about their opinion.
ReplyDelete