Is Money A Terrible Thing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_dollar#Gold_standard

http://www.kwaves.com/fiat.htm

^ Both articles cover gold backing for paper currency, if you want to get a better idea of how it works.

 

The gold standard is pretty terrible, all reasons for amount of gold in circulation and inflationary ability, the fact is gold has no inherent value, it's value changes like any other commodity. Watch what happens when this gold bubble bursts again like it did in the 80's.

 

actually, i'm fairly certain that there isn't a major economy in the world that still adheres to the gold standard. I know the US abandoned the gold standard under FDR.

true. That is also the purpose of the Federal Reserve.

 

It doesn't really have an inherent value, but it does have monetary value. This value is gained by the fact that it's viewed as an item of luxury and wealth, and also because it's something that we can't make more of. Because it's of a limited supply, demand pushes it's monetary value up significantly. Not to say that the value doesn't fluctuate though (because it does, seeing as it's based on money, which also fluctuates.)

@Meliai:

You are indeed correct about that. I thought that I remembered learning in school that we use a physical backing but I just read in that Wiki article which said that with the exception of foreign exchange, the gold standard was no longer of any use.

It's really fun, because on top of learning something new every day, I also find out that I was misinformed about something or another every day.

 

you have a very good understanding of economics for an 18 year old. are you seriously only 18?

I had to doublecheck myself as well before I posted that; you made me doubt myself as well. Thats why I love hipforums

 

Everything that I say about economics is pretty much inferred from common sense. I've never taken a class about it (That's a lie. I took an econ class, but I used to be one of those anti-school punks, so I refused to learn anything from it.). So yeah, much of my knowledge is just gathered what seems to be common sense.

And yeah, I'm only 18. Just graduated from high school this year. Woot woot

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkhX5W7JoWI"]YouTube - Money - Pink Floyd + Lyrics

 

gold is one of the five more popularly traded precious metals. the other four include silver, platinum, palladium, and rhodium. all of these metals have uses in industry, but only gold and silver have been used throughout the world as a vehicle for monetary exchange. why doesn't the whole world drop viewing gold and silver as money, and use the other three metals as a monetary vehicle? After all, they are even rarer and have more actual uses.

 

Greed is a personal problem. Money did not invent greed. That's like blaming McDonald's for being fat.
What money does offer is a standardized bartering system, which benefits everyone.

 

every dollar.. every penny you spend is the real voting going on in this country... the more money you put into big business and conglomerates... the more they are able to influence the government... if you keep your money local.. then it grows stronger.. and out does the big business..

take for example.. very small scale example.. Krispy Kreme donuts started selling their donuts in town here.. anyone who has ever been to this town knows the best donut in the world is a Bloedow's donut(pronounced Blay-doh's)... Krispy Kreme lasted like 2 months and left because they could not compete with the local mom and pop bakery.. which also provided gas stations with donuts that also sold Krispy Kremes

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDLBGTkLgow"]YouTube - Choking Victim - Money

 

Money didn't invent greed, but it certainly didn't help in getting rid of it.

The only problem with this mindset is that a lot of people don't think that they can afford to spend the extra money that it costs to buy local. My mom is a perfect example. As much as she wants to buy local and/or organic, as a very frugal woman, she can't pay the extra few cents or dollar or two on her purchases.

People with this view point don't really understand the impact of local purchases, and after a lifetime of buying the cheaper franchise products, it's hard to change their habit(s).

 

its not the money its the market that's going up

 

Same thing happened in my town with a Dunkin Donuts and an upscale coffee shop. Turns out people would prefer to pay a little extra for gourmet coffee and pastries and a great atmosphere rather than paying less for bland coffee and stale donuts. Thats a beautiful thing, but pretty rare. Usually giant chains end up running the locally owned businesses out.

i agree 100% about keeping money local; thats a very good point. I think a lot of corruption in this country stems from the drift from localized economies to a huge global economy. I think with the sheer number of people in this world, a global economy is inevitable, but the local economy should serve as the support of the global economy. The global economy should not entirely crush the local economy as we see happening now.

 

The local economy is completely interwound with the global economy. The fact I can go onto ebay and buy say painted living room places from Hungary with the click of a mouse is pretty awesome.

 

it is... but i don't think ebay takes political sides... or should i say never heard them do so

 

Considering that the purpose of money isn't to wipe out greed, so what?

 

i wish there was a mega Bartering website like ebay where you could barter certain goods for other goods throughout the world like ebay

 

Gold is still our only money, the debt- papers called $ or whatever are no real money and have no real value. The FIAT money system is auto destructive and will plunge the whole world in a terrible chaos, inevitabely.

 

except how would you pay for shipping?