Subject:
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Re: A hypothetical economics question...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 4 Mar 2002 20:25:57 GMT
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Viewed:
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458 times
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I think you have been making some oblique references to the Euro. As far as
I am able to discover, there was some talk about two years ago in regards to
linking the Euro with gold in some ratio -- but I am unable to find anything
recent that asserts that this came to fruition. I have no idea whether the
Euro is backed by gold or not. My guess is not. It was thought that if the
Euro were backed by gold it would force the U.S. to support the dollar in the
same manner. It was also thought that this would result in higher values for
gold as a traded commodity. I'd be keen to get more information on this topic.
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Pedro Silva writes:
> However, that does not mean I need the gold. I don't eat it, and my trust in
> it as an intermediary currency unit can be shifted to another one of the
> "rare and uncreatable" elements. Gold and Silver are traditional, but are
> hardly unique choices - so this means the rule expressed in the constitution
> may be "updated" to include a wider variety of relation choices for the buck.
I agree that is a question of faith no matter what we agree to use as a means
of exchange, but gold and silver are not just historically imbued with value
-- gold and silver both have many unique uses, utility IS a factor! Scarcity
is part of the equation as well. I don't have any reason to object to other
worthy substitutes to gold and silver, but I would place the onus of proving
gold and silver *unworthy* on anyone trying to alter the Constitution as
regards this issue. Why exactly should we view gold and silver as lacking in
the] attributes that would make for a more stable monetary unit over paper
and ink?
> Alright, it IS a question of faith (we have Germany in the 1920's to
> remember us). But it is also a practical issue: why have a wallet heavy with
> gold when you can have paper instead, representing that same value? Another
> issue, often overlooked (probably obsolete anyway...), is to pevent Gold
> theft: in the old days, when coins were minted individually, people would
> file the coin to get some Gold powder (honest!), causing devaluation of the
> currency.
In the old timey days, warehouse exchanges often housed actual gold while
people traded notes of various denominations of value in precious metals.
I have never had any serious theoretical objections to things like silver
certificates provided a careful accounting is made of a 1 to 1 ratio existing
between metal on hand and certifcates in circulation. Obviously, there would
exist a strong temptation on the part of the warehouses' to print more
certificates than they could actually back with metal. That could be a
problem, but not necessarily an insurmountable one.
Standards of weights and measures are used to combat the devaluation of coins,
as are other simpler techniques like the ridged edges of coins (smooth edged
coins being easier to devalue).
> True, up to a point: debt is dependance, not necessarily slavery! I must pay
> the bank, but I have a certain margin on how to do so (negotiable BEFORE the
> loan). OVERDEBT is slavery, that I agree.
I mean slavery to the extent that failure to pay the debt results in enormous
economic sanction to the debtor -- losses often equal many years of accrued
wealth. If nothing else one becomes slave to one's contracted level of debt
-- a kind of modern day indentured servitude. One makes a calculated decision
to trade sweat to come for a kind of gain in the here and now.
-- Hop-Frog
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: A hypothetical economics question...
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| (...) No harm done! I wrote "I think" and "I hope" for a reason! :-) (...) Ah, ok. My mistake then. In my place money is understood to have correspondance with central bank reserves (USD + Gold). Now it may have changed, with the new "Strong (...) (23 years ago, 1-Mar-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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