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679 Comments
- inactive, on 04/05/2008, -33/+409People keep dropping this subject as conspiracy but it really isn't.
- kalleanka, on 04/05/2008, -76/+324Lol, what a ***** stupid example "if we would have gold standard, you could buy this nice car for only $1.200".
Well that's all fun and game until you realize that your salary would have been around $2.12 a day if we kept the gold standard.
I'm not saying the gold standard is good or bad. I just say the example he gave like that was completely ***** and misleading. - BeeArePro, on 04/05/2008, -12/+244Like my great great great grandfather used to say..."They invented paper money to take my gold, and then they invented plastic to take my paper money."
Wise words, they were. - inactive, on 04/05/2008, -13/+153This video is very depressing
- scamper22, on 04/05/2008, -11/+93Digg is quite confusing.
Bad dollar / big government issue = CHEER RON PAUL
Big government / spend money like crazy = CHEER OBAMA
quite comical. - brad3378, on 04/05/2008, -1/+64What comes after plastic? paypal?
- RPliberty, on 04/05/2008, -5/+62Silver is at a good price right now - heavy resistance @ $17.
- NSResponder, on 04/05/2008, -18/+69"it's impossible, because there isn't enough gold in the world to back the US dollar."
It's entirely possible, and we've even done it once before. The way you retire a fiat currency is very straightforward: 1) you stop issuing any more of it. 2) you establish its true unit valuation, and 3) you redeem the fiat currency for that valuation. The amount of gold available on the market is beside the point, it only means that the unit of gold to the unit of the fiat currency is much smaller than the 1/35 of a troy ounce that it was back in the 1970's.
Actually, there's another way to get off a fiat currency, and that's in a catastrophic collapse. We've done that once in this country too, and that's why we have the gold and silver clause in the constitution.
"Some of you Ronulans"
Do you think that inventing epithets like this supports your position in any way? Do you think it makes you look clever?
Now, whether or not you believe that the disadvantages of fiat currency are outweighed by the convenience it offers to governments that want a sneaky way to tax us and destroy the value of our savings, the fact is that our constitution doesn't permit it. We have not amended the constitution to give the federal government any power to compel us to accept a fiat currency, and in fact the constitution only permits the congress to coin money. Issuing a fiat currency isn't coinage.
-jcr - pstroll, on 04/05/2008, -3/+48My 401k consists of gold, ammo and canned goods!
- inactive, on 04/05/2008, -24/+64The Federal Reserve is a system that transfer real wealth created by the people to the creator of money (worthless paper). They feed on us like parasites.
- Jereome209, on 04/05/2008, -7/+44That's why Gold is a rich mans money. Silver is the smaller denomination for middle class people. But really does it matter how much gold or even silver you have? you could make a paper currency that represents any weight you want. Gold or silver. But oddly there are still a lot of people who want to allow the government (or the Fed) to force us to use the worthless paper that THEY get to print. So don't be surprised when your government gets to powerful.
- ZeroFeetAbove, on 04/05/2008, -11/+42I'm going to get dugg down to hell for this, but it should be said. There is an estimated 142,000 tonnes of gold having ever been mined. At a price of 1000$ USD per ounce, this equates to approximately 4 trillion USD worth of gold. Total US (not the whole world) circulation of money has been estimated at slightly upwards of 7 trillion USD. If the US were to switch back to the gold standard now, gold prices would increase (more demand, less supply). This would drastically reduce its effectiveness.
Sources:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/current/ ...
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-303/OFR_02-303.p ...
Warburton, C. "The Monetary Disequilibrium Hypothesis," in Depression, Inflation, and Monetary Policy, Selected papers, 1945-1953 (Johns Hopkins Press, 1966), pp. 25-35. - TomK88, on 04/05/2008, -113/+142Wow, there's something called inflation. It is actually a good thing as long as it is kept in a certain range (usually 2% is the target). The US is less than a percentage off from this goal and has been relatively stable for the past few decades.
http://www.miseryindex.us/irbyyear.asp
Quit believing everything you watch in some idiotic YouTube video. There are many reasons why no country in the world uses a gold standard. America should adopt inflation targeting monetary policy like the UK, Canada, Australia, and many other countries have if they want to keep a tighter control on inflation. - yootubefan, on 04/05/2008, -19/+46It is not misleading at all. It is a fact that this is what is happening. You are making a correlation to something that was never meant to be. You are making it seem like I stated that everyone would own a covette or 2 of them. I was merely stating that this is the inflation and devaluation rate that people can see with a buying of a product that they are all familiar with. You are right that we would surely be making a LOT less money. That we can agree on.
- ralphthemagi, on 04/05/2008, -59/+84Wow. A video from Ronulus.
All you need to know about "Let's get back to the gold standard," is that it's impossible, because there isn't enough gold in the world to back the US dollar. Even if we aquired ever piece of gold that exists, it wouldn't even cover half.
And let's say that, hypothetically, there was enough gold. Then it also wouldn't matter, because there'd be so much if it, its value would be only a fraction of what it is today, and since we'd have to have every single last piece, all we would manage to do is ***** up the value of gold and no one would want it.
Let me say it again:
FIRST, there isn't enough gold IN THE WORLD to back the US.
SECOND, even if, theoretically, we had a gold backed currency, nothing would *really* change. The value of gold would simply be less, because in order to back the US dollar, there'd have to be a tremendous amount of gold in the world.
Debt is debt. It doens't matter if it's in dollars, gold, rocks, or rubies. The only real advantage to such as system, is that it limits the amount of money you can print (in theory). But you can do that in a purely fiat system as well.
Some of you Ronulans think that just because Ron Paul said we need to go back to the Gold Standard, he meant it or it's a good idea. The reason he says things like that is to get the point across that we need to stop printing money, not that he actually thinks it's a good idea. It's not even possible. - cheesejaguar, on 04/05/2008, -9/+30You're right. It isn't a conspiracy. But it still sucks.
- Jenovaside, on 04/05/2008, -16/+36You are right. Anyone who knows anything about economics agrees a small inflation is a good thing. Gold slandered (mostly) stops that, and can cause deflation. deflation is bad.
- wissler, on 04/05/2008, -7/+26The problem you don't seem to grasp is that if the value of the dollar is constantly in flux, it wrecks people's bank accounts and makes it impossible to make sane economic decisions on any scale.
- PeppermintPig, on 04/05/2008, -7/+26You act as if people shouldn't care about inflation because the government is determining what level of inflation constitutes a certain good. People can and will disagree with that.
If the price of a given commodity rises, it is an individual's prerogative to determine whether they will buy it or not. People will economize on scarce resources. To the extent that government allocates scarce resources inefficiently, it is not economizing and in turn must raise taxes to adjust for the waste it creates.
Individuals should be free to choose a currency that works for them. Do most people consciously choose to support their national currency? Do you believe that one or two people should have the power to enforce their opinion on others? Do you believe in persuasion, or force? I believe you've proven why fiat currency is so dangerous by not questioning what it is you actually support and assuming it is within everyone's self interest to support it. - GoodNewz, on 04/05/2008, -41/+57Very inaccurate in stating the facts....Whoever made this video needs a lot more education in economics and has no basci understanding of the subject whatsoever. The value of gold has not increased in value and has actually decreased(accounting form inflation) from the 1980 until now. And has a long way to go before reaching the level it was in 1980s. Be careful when you watch videos like this and ask your local economist of what the facts actually are. There are a lot more inaccuracies in this video.
- Pake, on 04/05/2008, -6/+22"You are right that we would surely be making a LOT less money."
That's EXACTLY why it's misleading. The video makes it seem like we'd make the same numerical income (let's say $35,000 for a low paid employee) as we do now, but somehow the car would be only $1,200. - brad3378, on 04/05/2008, -6/+22The only problem I had with the video was when they described Nixon as one of the worst presidents ever. I don't agree or disagree with this statement, but opinions don't sway people like facts.
- vbullinger, on 04/05/2008, -2/+17Money As Debt: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-905047436 ...
The Money Masters: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560 ...
Fiat Empire: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5232639329 ...
Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-466210540 ...
Monopoly Men: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-706517734 ...
The Creature from Jekyll Island: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6507136891 ...
Zeitgeist: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-594683847 ... - hoffey, on 04/05/2008, -8/+21But... but... Obama is such a great public speaker!
*sigh* -- too bad he will never address the Fed. Reserve, IRS, Income Tax, or anything that actually matters for that reason. He will just sing 'hope' and 'change' until the sheep have elected him. - Elliuotatar, on 04/05/2008, -12/+24It is a conspiracy. It's a conspiracy to tax us without us being aware that we're being taxed, so they can tax us as much as they like without complaint or accountability.
- inactive, on 04/05/2008, -21/+33another monstrosity by clueless people that've no idea about economics.
- inactive, on 04/05/2008, -1/+13yap then implanted microchips
- devindotcom, on 04/06/2008, -2/+14What year is this?! How did these prospectors get on Digg?
- keithgplayer, on 04/05/2008, -5/+17"He will just sing 'hope' and 'change' until the sheep have elected him."
Then he will go on with business as usual, with no change and definitely no hope. Obama is just another typical politician. - Nidy1, on 04/05/2008, -0/+11Um, I'm not disagreeing with the video or anything (I'm not educated enough on economics to make a sound comment on it), but what's the point of the video if you're not going to suggest a solution for the average citizen? Because I kinda just watched that and went "*****, I'm *****."
- TomK88, on 04/05/2008, -7/+18No they don't. They use the CPI. Nice try though.
- hoffey, on 04/05/2008, -4/+15I do!
There is no way in hell I will ever vote for Obama, McCain, or Clinton. They are all bad choices, and until they can rethink their foreign policies and talk about abolishing the Fed. Reserve and Income Tax, there is no reason to even talk about them. - hoffey, on 04/05/2008, -4/+15It will take a few years of a depression to actually wake these people up. Shouldn't have to be that way, but people are too stupid to realize you shouldn't vote for some guy just because you saw him on Oprah.
If you sit down and actually look at what makes sense, I don't think anyone in their right mind would even consider voting for McCain, Obama, or Clinton. Especially if the question of 'electability' was thrown out... - gavinonymous, on 04/05/2008, -2/+12look at the gold inflation adjusted price history chart. it was worth much more in 1980.
- faizal5k, on 04/05/2008, -13/+23Watch Part 3 on Zeitgeist on the truth about the Federal Reserve!
http://advancedcomputingdevices.com/zeitgeist/p3/ - Tetraca, on 04/05/2008, -1/+10We don't need to vote him into president for him to do this. If he wanted to do anything about your issues he could have introduced legislation already.
- RomeyRome, on 04/05/2008, -2/+11I bought a ***** @ $4 5 years ago. I'm thinking it might it $30 the end of the year. If you look at a 5 year trend, whenever it drops $3-8, it rebounds over the course of the year and gains an additional $8-10 on top of the original price.
- TheLastProphet, on 04/05/2008, -14/+23We pay the Fed interest for letting them print our money.
90% of your taxes go to pay this interest.
The Fed controls the ups and downs of the market, they make and break the bubbles.
The more money the Fed prints the less worth the dollar has (rarity = worth)
Inflation is THEFT. If your $1,000 can only buy $500 worth of stuff, the Fed just stole $500 from you.
The Fed takes 40% of your paycheck and even more through devaluation of the dollar. Feel like a slave yet? - Clark3934, on 04/05/2008, -1/+9The Fed eliminated the M3 and now relies on the MZM to show the money supply.
The CPI is also inaccurate because it doesn't take into account such things as the rising cost of housing.
The core inflation they refer to doesn't take into account the cost of food or energy.
Need I go on? - Peko, on 04/05/2008, -0/+8The US Core CPI does not include gas or food. So that means inflation is low as long as you don't eat or drive.
- compulsive1, on 04/05/2008, -1/+9Inflation doesn't matter to the banks as the amount of the loan they give you is created from nothing. They give you 200k for your house in return for a promise to repay about 400k-500k over 30 years. But, the kicker is, the bank doesn't own the money they give you for your house. So, anything you bring back to the bank is pure profit- regardless of inflation. It's 500k they didn't have. As you repay your mortgage, they use your money as basis for more loans at 10:1 ratio. For every dollar you bring back, they by law can lend out 9 to other people- at interest again. If you grasp this concept, you will realize that this creates an ever accelerating curve representing the amount of money in circulation-thus inflation. The system only works if constant loans are issued, otherwise there is not enough money in the system to repay the old loans with interest. That's why, when loans go bad the economy suffers so dramatically. Not only are the principals not repaid, but the lack of interest payments interrupts the necessary for normal function net growth of money in the system.
If you consider that promise to repay a mortgage is used as the basis for issuance of up to 100 times the amount of new credit or leverage, no wonder the economy as a whole suffers when millions of mortgages go bad. - Look4Truth, on 04/05/2008, -22/+29Global bankers have been robbing us for decades...how does it feel Amerika?
- roflcopters, on 04/05/2008, -0/+7The object itself is worthless. Money is a promise of wealth. And it's valuable because it is generally excepted to be, which is usually backed by law. If gold was considered invaluable, then it could not be used for money.
- Parisjune, on 04/05/2008, -0/+7You are confusing a low wage with low purchasing power. American's purchasing power is lower now than it was in 1912. Back when you could buy a new car for $1200, it took fewer payments to do so. Taking five years, or more, to pay off a car would have seemed crazy to your great-grandparents.
- Thoraseya, on 04/05/2008, -1/+8It's not a conspiracy, no one denies it. The government deliberately pursues a slightly inflationary policy to encourage economic growth. Healthy inflation is anywhere from 1 to 2 percent a year. A reasonable amount of inflation helps people who borrow money, whether they are farmers, small business owners, or major corporations. That way, when they take out a loan, they have to pay the bank back less value. That encourages people to take out loans, which in turn leads to greater economic growth. Unfortunately, inflation hurts wage earners, who see their buying power diminished by a weaker currency. The government tries to find a balanced level of annual inflation. However, recently, there has been a lot of inflation (though the federal government says it is still 3% a year, they are most likely lying. Private sector analysts put inflation as high as 9% for this year.) and the economy is slowing down, which can have dire economic consequences for everyone.
- heymike, on 04/05/2008, -1/+7I will agree with that. There was recent discussion though on a zero inflation rate target being ok as well. Evidence showed that, despite the theory, aggregate wages do adjust in deflationary times. Long-term debt remains stable of course so positive inflation does reduce the risk for people holding it, but I am starting to question if we should be target ting for 0.2% instead of 2.2% inflation. Money should be stable, a 2% compounding annual rise is not stable.
- t3rmv3locity, on 04/05/2008, -3/+9I don't think people people understand the purpose of inflation (or even Macroeconomics for that matter).
I'll start here: Banks Create Money. The loan out about six times as much money as they actually possess, and if they were to stop our economy would CRASH. All businesses rely on loans to grow, and without the banks there to smooth that process with loans, our economy would slow to a standstill and we would enter another great depression. ANY economist would tell you going back to the gold standard is the stupidest ***** thing any country could do. We have a fundamentally different economical model where banks create large amounts of money to help new companies grow, and those companies employees turn the economic wheels.
The gold standard is an outdated economic model, and any modern country which attempted to use it today would fail. Inflation is just the price which is paid for a flourishing economy. - llurker, on 04/05/2008, -2/+8I do like his ideas on competing currencies. It is next to impossible right now to buy e-gold because of US gov interference. It wouldn't have to be that all shops are required to take this 'new stronger' currency, but having an e-gold or similar account with an ATM/Debit card linked to it would be nice. They did the same thing to Liberty Dollar.
But alas, the bottom line remains that the Fed doesn't like competition and since they own the government it will remain that way. -
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