Comments on: What is Money? A Basic Economics Lesson from 1947 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/ personal finance that makes cents Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:33:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Opfinder http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-150078 Opfinder Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:46:25 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-150078 There is already wast amounts of "money" existing only on computers. The long term goal for the banking cartel is to have one currency for the whole world. Bit by bit we are moving away from physical currency and into virtual money all controlled from the central banking platform. The way it is sold to the world is convenience. Don't get me wrong here, I like internet banking and the convenience of it, however once it gets to the stage where people need to have microchips under their skin in order to buy or sell, you have lost your freedom and independence, because you are no longer in control the bankers are. Of course you can choose to participate in that scheme as a matter of convenience or what ever other reason (matter of national security looking at you with a frown on their face while trying to convince you), however I would never choose to participate in such a scheme. Again look at history and how those who have opposed central banking have been dealt with. Central Banking does not serve the good of humanity, it is a mere instrument to control masses and profit from the masses. And here we are in 2008 with yet another financial crisis unfolding. No tax payer funded bailout is going to fix this one. It is strange how President Bush said at the beginning of this crisis that; "The American economy is fundamentaly strong" even though it is rooten to the core. And now it is a case of: "vote for this bail out or else......". Sounds like the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which were never found. Maybe he has come across some financial weapons of mass destruction in his own backyard??? There is already wast amounts of “money” existing only on computers. The long term goal for the banking cartel is to have one currency for the whole world. Bit by bit we are moving away from physical currency and into virtual money all controlled from the central banking platform. The way it is sold to the world is convenience.
Don’t get me wrong here, I like internet banking and the convenience of it, however once it gets to the stage where people need to have microchips under their skin in order to buy or sell, you have lost your freedom and independence, because you are no longer in control the bankers are. Of course you can choose to participate in that scheme as a matter of convenience or what ever other reason (matter of national security looking at you with a frown on their face while trying to convince you), however I would never choose to participate in such a scheme.
Again look at history and how those who have opposed central banking have been dealt with.
Central Banking does not serve the good of humanity, it is a mere instrument to control masses and profit from the masses.
And here we are in 2008 with yet another financial crisis unfolding.
No tax payer funded bailout is going to fix this one.
It is strange how President Bush said at the beginning of this crisis that; “The American economy is fundamentaly strong” even though it is rooten to the core.
And now it is a case of: “vote for this bail out or else……”.
Sounds like the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which were never found.
Maybe he has come across some financial weapons of mass destruction in his own backyard???

]]> By: John B. Egan http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-150044 John B. Egan Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:42:33 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-150044 CoolProducts... We'll probably see the effective discontinuance of currency within our lifetime: - Credit and debit card use is increasing at a faster rate every year. - Currency is more and more expensive to produce. A penny now costs mre to make than it is worth. personally, I'd like to see the demise of the penny anyway. 30+ years ago on American military bases, we didn't even use them. We just rounded up or down to the nearest nickel. - The growth of the Internet and Web accessible cellphones encourages a paperless society. - Asian cellphones are already 'payment ready'. In other words Asians already pay for meals etc with their cellphone and can look it up immediately with online banking to confirm the amount and to check to see if it cleared the bank. - Like many people, I hardly ever keep cash these days. I primarily use cash for the newspaper and purchases under $5.00. I prefer the record keeping, the ease of checking my spending habits at the end of the month and the ability to allocate payments for tax purposes. The most interesting idea I've come cross lately is the presupposition that we will have an implanted chip. And if anyone thinks this is far-fetched, then I'd like to point out that not only do we implant chips in dogs, cats and other animals, but in places where kidnapping is more prevalent (think Mexico and Columbia), people are implanting their loved ones as a means of identification. Then there are the 'forward thinking; crowd that are implanting RFIDs under their skin for a variety of purposes. A 'Brave New World!' jegan ;-) CoolProducts… We’ll probably see the effective discontinuance of currency within our lifetime:

- Credit and debit card use is increasing at a faster rate every year.
- Currency is more and more expensive to produce. A penny now costs mre to make than it is worth. personally, I’d like to see the demise of the penny anyway. 30+ years ago on American military bases, we didn’t even use them. We just rounded up or down to the nearest nickel.
- The growth of the Internet and Web accessible cellphones encourages a paperless society.
- Asian cellphones are already ‘payment ready’. In other words Asians already pay for meals etc with their cellphone and can look it up immediately with online banking to confirm the amount and to check to see if it cleared the bank.
- Like many people, I hardly ever keep cash these days. I primarily use cash for the newspaper and purchases under $5.00. I prefer the record keeping, the ease of checking my spending habits at the end of the month and the ability to allocate payments for tax purposes.

The most interesting idea I’ve come cross lately is the presupposition that we will have an implanted chip. And if anyone thinks this is far-fetched, then I’d like to point out that not only do we implant chips in dogs, cats and other animals, but in places where kidnapping is more prevalent (think Mexico and Columbia), people are implanting their loved ones as a means of identification. Then there are the ‘forward thinking; crowd that are implanting RFIDs under their skin for a variety of purposes.

A ‘Brave New World!’

jegan ;-)

]]> By: CoolProducts http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-150027 CoolProducts Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:44:03 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-150027 It's interesting to think of the evolution of money. I wonder if one day we will lose hard currency to some form of electric currency... I don't see how this could be good in the overall though. Does anyone have any opinion on this? It’s interesting to think of the evolution of money. I wonder if one day we will lose hard currency to some form of electric currency… I don’t see how this could be good in the overall though.

Does anyone have any opinion on this?

]]> By: J.D. http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149997 J.D. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:55:50 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149997 Folks, this entry is not meant as support or the gold standard. Though I haven't done much reading on the subject, I've done enough to know that it has problems of is own. It's subject to inflationary pressure, too. In fact, EVERY GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD uses fiat money because there are concerns with the gold standard. To me, this seems like a pretty powerful argument that it's not some panacea. Folks, this entry is not meant as support or the gold standard. Though I haven’t done much reading on the subject, I’ve done enough to know that it has problems of is own. It’s subject to inflationary pressure, too. In fact, EVERY GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD uses fiat money because there are concerns with the gold standard. To me, this seems like a pretty powerful argument that it’s not some panacea.

]]> By: Opfinder http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149987 Opfinder Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:06:28 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149987 This blog is really great. Just found it today. Finally someone who can see through all the smoke screens put out by the central banks, economists, governments etc. If only a lot more people were interested in learning the fundamentals of money the banking cartel could not get away with this phenominal deception. But history has shown time and time again that we as humans learn nothing from history. I'm not totally convinced that a gold or silver standard will work in this modern society, though. I would like to see a monetary system with currency issued by government with its value based on people's labour or products and services contributed to the marketplace. The long term problem here is to keep the people in Government honest. "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely". It doesn't matter wether it is politicians or bankers. This blog is really great. Just found it today. Finally someone who can see through all the smoke screens put out by the central banks, economists, governments etc. If only a lot more people were interested in learning the fundamentals of money the banking cartel could not get away with this phenominal deception. But history has shown time and time again that we as humans learn nothing from history.
I’m not totally convinced that a gold or silver standard will work in this modern society, though.
I would like to see a monetary system with currency issued by government with its value based on people’s labour or products and services contributed to the marketplace.
The long term problem here is to keep the people in Government honest.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. It doesn’t matter wether it is politicians or bankers.

]]> By: mint_intense http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149984 mint_intense Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:30:42 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149984 Agree with everything that Mike says. Unfortunately governments are run by people who beleive they have a right to impose decisions upon others through force. Are you going to trust somebody that is holding a gun to your head to give you financial security? Agree with everything that Mike says.

Unfortunately governments are run by people who beleive they have a right to impose decisions upon others through force.

Are you going to trust somebody that is holding a gun to your head to give you financial security?

]]> By: Peat Bakke http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149980 Peat Bakke Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:10:41 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149980 It's a bit of a tangent, but a few people might appreciate this very real, very concrete example of modern hyperinflation. This banknote is essentially worthless today as legal tender, but it trades on eBay for thousands of times it's bank value. :) http://flickr.com/photos/mistermoss/2899197879/ It’s a bit of a tangent, but a few people might appreciate this very real, very concrete example of modern hyperinflation. This banknote is essentially worthless today as legal tender, but it trades on eBay for thousands of times it’s bank value. :)

http://flickr.com/photos/mistermoss/2899197879/

]]> By: JasonMoran http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149874 JasonMoran Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:10:36 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149874 I've been following the gold and silver markets for some time now and I am disconcerted with the fiat money that we use today. I have multiple posts on my blog about a myriad of topics, but recently I've been bitten with the "silver bug" and I've focused on it a bit more. I talk about some of the history and probable future of silver <a href="http://jasonmoran.blogspot.com/2008/08/silver-spoons.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> (http://jasonmoran.blogspot.com/2008/08/silver-spoons.html) I’ve been following the gold and silver markets for some time now and I am disconcerted with the fiat money that we use today. I have multiple posts on my blog about a myriad of topics, but recently I’ve been bitten with the “silver bug” and I’ve focused on it a bit more.

I talk about some of the history and probable future of silver here (http://jasonmoran.blogspot.com/2008/08/silver-spoons.html)

]]> By: John Egan http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149824 John Egan Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:21:12 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149824 Mike.. Very good comments... It used to be that we were on a gold standard .. And dollar bills stated 'redeemable' on them... If I remember correctly, it was Nixon's administration that abandoned the standard. Now currency just states 'In God we trust'... And seriously, with George 'Dubya' Bush as our countries CEO, God help us all! Because, it sure doesn't look like our government has the understanding or will to do so. jegan Mike.. Very good comments… It used to be that we were on a gold standard .. And dollar bills stated ‘redeemable’ on them… If I remember correctly, it was Nixon’s administration that abandoned the standard. Now currency just states ‘In God we trust’… And seriously, with George ‘Dubya’ Bush as our countries CEO, God help us all! Because, it sure doesn’t look like our government has the understanding or will to do so.

jegan

]]> By: Mike http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149823 Mike Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:14:00 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149823 Fiat money is *not* a store of value. Like a new car driven off the lot, it loses value the second it leaves the printing press, as more bills roll off the printing presses after it. With nothing to to give the dollar intrinsic value, as it had on the gold standard, its value is determined solely by the amount of money available, and how easy it is to get more of it. That is the original and true definition of inflation: an increase in the supply of money. When there is an increase in money, prices go up to match. The increase in prices is the symptom of inflation that people see and feel. All of the booms and busts in our economy are caused by our fiat money and the Federal Reserve system. They create money, create easy credit, and spread out new money liberally and cheaply. The vast amount of cheap money available encourages borrowing and spending and investment in risky ventures. This is the boom, and prices rise as boatloads of cheap money hit the market, as we plainly saw in the housing boom. But booms never last forever, and sooner or later the Fed raises rates, decreases the money supply, makes credit more expensive, and they cause a bust. Sometimes they risk putting themselves out of business, but thanks to their vast financial influence, they are able to get government to force taxpayers to cover their losses and keep them in business. This is the sole reason for the existence of The Fed, the FDIC, the World Bank, the IMF, etc. With fiat money, the longer you hold on to it, the less its worth, because they are constantly printing more. Bailouts won't save our economy, they will make it worse. Only disbanding The Fed, eliminating fractional reserve banking, shrinking government, and returning to a silver or gold standard will. Fiat money is *not* a store of value. Like a new car driven off the lot, it loses value the second it leaves the printing press, as more bills roll off the printing presses after it.

With nothing to to give the dollar intrinsic value, as it had on the gold standard, its value is determined solely by the amount of money available, and how easy it is to get more of it. That is the original and true definition of inflation: an increase in the supply of money.

When there is an increase in money, prices go up to match. The increase in prices is the symptom of inflation that people see and feel.

All of the booms and busts in our economy are caused by our fiat money and the Federal Reserve system. They create money, create easy credit, and spread out new money liberally and cheaply. The vast amount of cheap money available encourages borrowing and spending and investment in risky ventures. This is the boom, and prices rise as boatloads of cheap money hit the market, as we plainly saw in the housing boom.

But booms never last forever, and sooner or later the Fed raises rates, decreases the money supply, makes credit more expensive, and they cause a bust. Sometimes they risk putting themselves out of business, but thanks to their vast financial influence, they are able to get government to force taxpayers to cover their losses and keep them in business. This is the sole reason for the existence of The Fed, the FDIC, the World Bank, the IMF, etc.

With fiat money, the longer you hold on to it, the less its worth, because they are constantly printing more.

Bailouts won’t save our economy, they will make it worse. Only disbanding The Fed, eliminating fractional reserve banking, shrinking government, and returning to a silver or gold standard will.

]]> By: Ryan from Going Carless http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149625 Ryan from Going Carless Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:24:21 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149625 "How to you make change when the price is half a cow?" That cracked me up. One of the underlying themes of this video that interests me is inflation. The kid bought a gallon of paint for $5 and the other guy bought gas for $5. I'll be honest. I don't understand inflation, but videos like this highlight it. www.goingcarless.com “How to you make change when the price is half a cow?” That cracked me up.

One of the underlying themes of this video that interests me is inflation. The kid bought a gallon of paint for $5 and the other guy bought gas for $5.

I’ll be honest. I don’t understand inflation, but videos like this highlight it.

http://www.goingcarless.com

]]> By: Harold http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149614 Harold Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:41:48 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149614 Yeah, I like those old videos. Archive.org has a lot of them too. The Prelinger Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger Paul McKeever (Canadian Freedom Party Leader) has a great series on money & banking. You guys might want to check it out. It's a six-part series, just search "money" in the video box: http://www.youtube.com/paulmckeever Yeah, I like those old videos. Archive.org has a lot of them too. The Prelinger Archive:

http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger

Paul McKeever (Canadian Freedom Party Leader) has a great series on money & banking. You guys might want to check it out.

It’s a six-part series, just search “money” in the video box:

http://www.youtube.com/paulmckeever

]]> By: briand http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149575 briand Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:16:18 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149575 Our money is created from debt. Without debt, the money supply disappears. This google video, although long, explains the history of our monetary system. http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-9050474362583451279 Our money is created from debt. Without debt, the money supply disappears. This google video, although long, explains the history of our monetary system.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-9050474362583451279

]]> By: Jay Vaidya http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149572 Jay Vaidya Sun, 28 Sep 2008 03:27:49 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149572 John Egan makes an excellent point above. The transition of currency from the basics of bartering items to todays immensely complex financial system is incredible. However, I believe that some of today's financial crises are a direct result of the historically recent transition from paper to plastic currency. When the disconnect between the value of plastic currency and the time it takes to earn said currency becomes as great as it is today, it is no wonder America is in a financial crisis. If your fundamental perception of the work to value ratio is at odds with reality, you are going to attempt to live outside of your means and find yourself in financial trouble. John Egan makes an excellent point above. The transition of currency from the basics of bartering items to todays immensely complex financial system is incredible.

However, I believe that some of today’s financial crises are a direct result of the historically recent transition from paper to plastic currency.

When the disconnect between the value of plastic currency and the time it takes to earn said currency becomes as great as it is today, it is no wonder America is in a financial crisis.

If your fundamental perception of the work to value ratio is at odds with reality, you are going to attempt to live outside of your means and find yourself in financial trouble.

]]> By: David http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149567 David Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:19:35 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149567 Dr. Ron Paul has been trying to push this notion for a VERY long time Dr. Ron Paul has been trying to push this notion for a VERY long time

]]> By: John Egan http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149561 John Egan Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:52:42 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149561 Money is just a 'token' which reflects time spent working. You work so many hours, you get so many 'printed pieces of paper'. If you are clever and lucky, you can parlay those pieces of paper into more pieces of paper. With that little stack, you can hopefully buy time off. The equation of time/money is why I feel that theft of your possessions is a major issue. When a thief steals you pile of paper, your TV, your car, he/she is in essence stealing time from you. The item is not important, but every hour that you spent working, is an hour you have lost on this planet. It is an hour that you can never 'buy' back. Theft is not taking a replaceable item, it is the purposeful shortening of your lifespan. My apologies for the early morning philosophy... I've been thinking about what money and possessions really mean a lot lately. (Particularly in light of the stock market decline and drop in home values.) jegan ;-) Money is just a ‘token’ which reflects time spent working. You work so many hours, you get so many ‘printed pieces of paper’. If you are clever and lucky, you can parlay those pieces of paper into more pieces of paper. With that little stack, you can hopefully buy time off.

The equation of time/money is why I feel that theft of your possessions is a major issue. When a thief steals you pile of paper, your TV, your car, he/she is in essence stealing time from you. The item is not important, but every hour that you spent working, is an hour you have lost on this planet. It is an hour that you can never ‘buy’ back.

Theft is not taking a replaceable item, it is the purposeful shortening of your lifespan.

My apologies for the early morning philosophy… I’ve been thinking about what money and possessions really mean a lot lately. (Particularly in light of the stock market decline and drop in home values.)

jegan ;-)

]]> By: jtimberman http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149559 jtimberman Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:49:22 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149559 JD, You need to get a copy of "The Money Masters" DVD if you don't already have it. It is a very informative documentary on money and who really controls it. The presentation is a little dry, but the information is invaluable. http://www.themoneymasters.com/ JD,

You need to get a copy of “The Money Masters” DVD if you don’t already have it. It is a very informative documentary on money and who really controls it. The presentation is a little dry, but the information is invaluable.

http://www.themoneymasters.com/

]]> By: A. Dawn http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149555 A. Dawn Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:35:34 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149555 Once upon a time, our ancestors had nothing like paper money - and they survived. Money has evolved so much, and wondering what type of money technology will bring in the future. Plastic, EFT, Interac, SmartChip ... what's next? A Dawn Journal www.adawnjournal.com Once upon a time, our ancestors had nothing like paper money - and they survived. Money has evolved so much, and wondering what type of money technology will bring in the future. Plastic, EFT, Interac, SmartChip … what’s next?
A Dawn Journal
http://www.adawnjournal.com

]]> By: RDS http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/09/27/what-is-money-a-basic-economics-lesson-from-1947/#comment-149554 RDS Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:07:31 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=2072#comment-149554 One of the reasons that I enjoy economics so much is that it is part math, part science, and part human psychology. Paper currency is only worth something because everybody agrees and believes that it is worth something. It is amazing to me that we built such a complex and (generally) well-functioning financial system based on the common belief that little green pieces of paper have value. RDS http://financialvalues.blogspot.com/ One of the reasons that I enjoy economics so much is that it is part math, part science, and part human psychology. Paper currency is only worth something because everybody agrees and believes that it is worth something. It is amazing to me that we built such a complex and (generally) well-functioning financial system based on the common belief that little green pieces of paper have value.

RDS
http://financialvalues.blogspot.com/

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