The collapse of the dollar

[SIG_Fiend]

Lets see here. A currency backed by absolutely nothing, worth only about the paper it's printed on, which can be printed at will with practically no restriction since any fear-mongering reason is justification enough to print some more up, a currency who's annual net result consistently remains an ever increasing level of inflation which steals just a little bit more of our wealth/buying power every year.......um yes, this sounds like a perfectly reasonable and efficient currency to be using. Sorry, I disagree with you, Alan Greenspan in 1966 before he sold his soul disagrees with you, Peter Schiff of EuroPAC disagrees with you, most Austrian economists disagree with you, pretty much everyone from the Ludwig Von Mises institute disagrees with you, and the history of currencies around the world disagree with you.

Hell, now they don't even actually "print" money for large amounts such as bailouts, government loans, etc. The Fed just types up some numbers in a computer, and bam you have $700 billion. Yeah, that's a system that sure can't be abused. The argument that our current monetary system's elasticity is a benefit for progress is a double-edged sword. Sure, it works great and things progress drastically. That is until decades later when inflation has bankrupted everyone, the dollar isn't even worth using to wipe your butt, and a cheeseburger cost $50,000 (think Weimar Republic hyperinflation). If I was able to print up my own money, I can guarantee you by the end of business today (Thursday) I would have an exotic car collection to shame the Sultan of Brunei, I would own several of my own islands and hell maybe some third world countries, I would fly around all day in an SR71 because I can, and my wealth would be praised by all.....and by the close of business on Friday I would be broke and my currency would be worthless, and the news would whine about it and blame the Republicans.

I would invite some of you to learn about the Austrian school of economics. Check out Ludwig von Mises Institute - Homepage as there is an unbelievable amount of free information there.

All of that aside, one thing is for sure. No matter what system we have, you just can't trust those godd@mn bureaucrats because they will inevitably find a way to screw up even the most perfect systems of finance and economics.

 

[DCortez]

Saw this on Charlie Rose last night. Once you filter through the political bias and get down to brass tacks, it was very interesting to me.


http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10458

 

[NewTxn]

Here's an interesting chart comparing food and fuel prices between the 60's and today:

[url]http://www.survivalblog.com/2009/07/the_case_for_accumulating_and.html[/URL]

 

[Texas1911]

Lets see here. A currency backed by absolutely nothing, worth only about the paper it's printed on, which can be printed at will with practically no restriction since any fear-mongering reason is justification enough to print some more up, a currency who's annual net result consistently remains an ever increasing level of inflation which steals just a little bit more of our wealth/buying power every year.......um yes, this sounds like a perfectly reasonable and efficient currency to be using. Sorry, I disagree with you, Alan Greenspan in 1966 before he sold his soul disagrees with you, Peter Schiff of EuroPAC disagrees with you, most Austrian economists disagree with you, pretty much everyone from the Ludwig Von Mises institute disagrees with you, and the history of currencies around the world disagree with you.

The important fact is that history does not disagree with me. The economies of major nations have only recently, relative to time, accepted the gold standard. Currencies were often minted in precious metals, but the basic notes weren't, and throughout history we've only seen hyperinflation in times of war, where even the mighty gold standard was cast aside by the government as a means of protecting the nation.

The reason we are not on a gold standard is simple... we have more currency available than there is gold. Simply reducing the currency available on the market would change nothing. You will increase the scarcity of the dollar and everyone would be happy for all of a single week while the entire market exhausts itself trying to correct every price point and salary on the market. The end result is nothing... it's a waste.

The gold standard has not prevented anything. Countries have forever dropped it at their convenience as a means of printing money and lining their pockets in the time of need. The only true benefit is that we'll have a coffer full of gold and other precious materials available to hawk away like the Brits did in WWII; at the same time they dropped the gold standard to expend beyond their means, as a measure of national security.

The root of this problem is not the measure of our currency, but the measure of the people we are putting into Washington. We refuse to hold them accountable for their actions and expenditures.

I don't discredit the gold standard as a viable means to conduct one's economic policy, but I discredit the notion that it is a miracle solution to our growing trend. History has proven otherwise.

 

[M. Sage]

The root of this problem is not the measure of our currency, but the measure of the people we are putting into Washington. We refuse to hold them accountable for their actions and expenditures.

I don't discredit the gold standard as a viable means to conduct one's economic policy, but I discredit the notion that it is a miracle solution to our growing trend. History has proven otherwise.

I agree with this.

Why is gold worth so much, anyway? Simply because we all agree that it is. It's only moderately useful, really... And it's completely useless when it has to sit around in a vault somewhere.

This is the same reason money has value: we all agree that it does. Erode trust in the money, though, and we all agree that it's worth less.