Text 4264, 97 rader
Skriven 2012-09-28 06:53:24 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
     Kommentar till en text av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
Ärende: Love those USAians
==========================
Roy Witt wrote to Robert Bashe on Thursday September 27 2012 at 22:31:

RB>> Sure, paper's cheap.

RW> Not in Zimbabwe...

They bought their paper from England, as long as the English would supply them.
They stopped when the Zimbabweans started printing bills for "one hundred
trillion dollars". Yep, you're reading correctly. 100 TRILLION. In July 2008,
one $US was worth Z$ 758,530,000,000. At that point, the paper used to print
the bills was actually worth more than the "values" printed on them.

RB>> Just run the printing presses a little longer.

RW> That's what the Obama admin has been doing for the last -4 years.

That's what every government with a fiat currency does. They call it
"inflation".

RB>> The Germans did that in 1923, the Hungarians in 1945-46 and Robert
RB>> Mugabe in the years until around 2009. Reduces your debt enormously.

RW> Does it? Our debt has grown enormously in the past -4 years.

Calculate it in terms of 1950 dollars, and it's nothing. And probably not
anywhere near what you're thinking even when calculated in terms of dollars at
the beginning of Obama's administration.

I'm not talking about numbers - the term is misleading and useless when
referring to fiat money. Only the inflation-adjusted figures are of any
importance.

RW> If it weren't for the conservatives holding them back, we could have
RW> tripled our debt since 2009.

Considering the expenses of Afghanistan and Iraq, not surprising.

RB>> At the expense of the population.

RW> The taxpaying population, yeah. We have 47% of our population on the
RW> dole.

No, not just the taxpaying population. Everyone who has money (or gets it
without inflation adjustment) and spends it is negatively affected. The only
ones who benefit are debtors without an inflation adjustment clause in their
debts.

RW> I suspect that this the same scenario in Europe. Maybe more.

Of course, except that welfare is the big item here rather than Afghanistan and
Iraq. The USA has always borne the financial brunt of those two.

RB>> In Zimbabwe, they ended up not even being able to pay for the paper
RB>> (too expensive).

RW> And no trees to make more!

;-) They never made their own paper. Need a special grade for currency.

RB>> How I long for the return of the gold standard... ;-(

RW> I'm not. The more the dollar gets inflated, the more gold is worth; to
RW> a paper holder buying gold.

How true, but that would be the purpose of a gold standard: no government could
inflate it's currency without end. That's the difference between a paper (fiat)
currency and one based on a limited resource. "Real" money vs. the funny money
most governments have used since 1933.

RW> My $600 1oz gold dubloons have escalated in worth to near $1800 each.

In paper. Big deal.

RW> What good is it, unless the dollar goes belly up?

If you used those in daily transactions, a great deal of good because prices
would be stable. And even so, be happy you have at least some _real_ money in
addition to all that worthless paper.

Remember Gresham's law? Save that gold and spend that paper as fast as you can,
before it devalues even more.

RB>> P.S. This is NOT anti-USA. The EU does the same thing, as do far too
RB>> many other countries throughout this heavy-hearted world. A stable
RB>> fiat (paper-based) currency is a myth.

RW> Yeah but who is it over there, the Rubinsteins, that control the
RW> currency in the EU?

No idea what you're talking about. Fiat currency and inflation are global
problems, and have increased since Bretton Woods disappeared. Nowadays, paper
is pegged to paper and devil take the hindmost.

Cheers, Bob

--- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-0613
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