I'm not sure how much good it would do since government would just cause inflation during the gold standard and abandon it before dollars can be redeemed for gold. That how we got here.
https://headlineusa.com/three-gop-reps-introduce-gold-standard-bill-to-stabilize-the-dollars-value/
Why bother when we have Bitcoin?
@Metal-Brain
You really specialize in stupid.
If you have a gold standard, it means you have to have the capability for anyone to convert paper to gold.
Problem there is we in the US have a total gold reserve of 8,000 odd tons, enough to cover about 300 billion, say Elon Musk and Bezos got together and bought it all out, but as an economy thing, we would have to have about 600,000 tons of gold in reserve to actually have enough to be a real standard.
Problem with THAT is there has been only about 200,000 odd tons of gold mined by all the humans in the past 8000 years or so, TOTAL.
What your ridiculous buddies just tried is a non starter.
There was a reason we went off the gold standard.
With 8000 tons of gold in reserve, it could work if gold sold for 100,000 dollars an ounce.
Back in the day when gold was 35 dollars an ounce, 8000 tons would not have gone very far at all.
@sonhouse
The reason we went off the gold standard is because they printed more money than they could (or wanted to) redeem for gold. They obviously printed more dollars than they had gold because they had no intention of staying on the gold standard.
Now they can increase the money supply as much as they want creating an inflation tax. That is because the money supply is centrally controlled by the FRS. Bitcoin is decentralized and there is a limit to the increase of Bitcoin creation. That puts a cap on inflation.
@metal-brain saidWho is "they"? You mean the entire world? Because no one uses the gold standard anymore.
@sonhouse
The reason we went off the gold standard is because they printed more money than they could (or wanted to) redeem for gold.
The gold standard was abandoned for multiple reasons that don't include what you just said.
@metal-brain saidWhy bother when we have Bitcoin?
I'm not sure how much good it would do since government would just cause inflation during the gold standard and abandon it before dollars can be redeemed for gold. That how we got here.
https://headlineusa.com/three-gop-reps-introduce-gold-standard-bill-to-stabilize-the-dollars-value/
Why bother when we have Bitcoin?
I would "bother" because owning crypto currency is owning a finite amount of - nothing. In addition to hacking and security risks, crypto currency is highly volatile. Great if you want to gamble with your nest egg, but I sleep better at night with American Eagle and Canadian Maple Leafs tucked away in my safe deposit box.
@vivify saidWell what MB said was certainly a major reason.
Who is "they"? You mean the entire world? Because no one uses the gold standard anymore.
The gold standard was abandoned for multiple reasons that don't include what you just said.
Tying the amount of economic activity a society can engage in to how much of a shiny metal its members can get there hands on was always a stupid idea though.
@no1marauder saidThank you for the correction.
Well what MB said was certainly a major reason.
@metal-brain saidThe only “good” such a law would create would be increased power for the billionaires hoarding money.
I'm not sure how much good it would do since government would just cause inflation during the gold standard and abandon it before dollars can be redeemed for gold. That how we got here.
https://headlineusa.com/three-gop-reps-introduce-gold-standard-bill-to-stabilize-the-dollars-value/
Why bother when we have Bitcoin?
@vivify saidThe entire world went off the gold standard because the USA did. The US dollar was the world reserve currency and the USA was and is the biggest economy in the world. It wasn't hard to get nations to give themselves the ability to tax their people with inflation after going off the gold standard.
Who is "they"? You mean the entire world? Because no one uses the gold standard anymore.
The gold standard was abandoned for multiple reasons that don't include what you just said.
The only purpose of a gold standard is to limit inflation. Once inflation is created despite the gold standard it is obvious the whole goal is to abandon it and have an inflation party the disproportionately hurts the poor. It is the perfect tool for economic warfare. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
The gold standard was abandoned for exactly the reason I stated. The USA printed more dollars than they had gold to redeem. The USA cheated to create inflation. Then when France and other nations suspected that and started to redeem dollars for gold in a big way the USA screwed everyone over and refused to honor it.
I do not doubt you can find reasons for disadvantages of a gold standard, but none that was pressing at the time the USA abandoned it except to refuse payment in gold. Abandoning the gold standard was obviously the end goal since they printed more dollars than they had gold.
@metal-brain saidThe UK went off the gold standard before the U.S. did. But overall, your post is correct.
The entire world went off the gold standard because the USA did.
@mchill said"In addition to hacking and security risks, crypto currency is highly volatile."
Why bother when we have Bitcoin?
I would "bother" because owning crypto currency is owning a finite amount of - nothing. In addition to hacking and security risks, crypto currency is highly volatile. Great if you want to gamble with your nest egg, but I sleep better at night with American Eagle and Canadian Maple Leafs tucked away in my safe deposit box.
Have you heard of stable coins? It depends on the cryptocurrency. Stable coins are not volatile at all. Why would I want to pay with a CBDC instead of a stable coin? Calling something nothing when people accept it for transactions is silly. Why did Russia say it was open to accepting Bitcoin for oil and other transactions? Tell El Salvador they are embracing nothing.
Super wealthy people can pump and dump gold just as can be done with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Like gold, anybody can buy and hold Bitcoin instead of selling it because of volatility.
@vivify saidDid the UK go off the gold standard for the same reason, currency debasement?
The UK went off the gold standard before the U.S. did. But overall, your post is correct.
Like the US dollar today, the UK's pound sterling was the world reserve currency back then.
@metal-brain saidI don't know. I do know that the fist World War brought doubts as the reliability of the gold standard during such times and caused many issues.
Did the UK go off the gold standard for the same reason, currency debasement?
Like the US dollar today, the UK's pound sterling was the world reserve currency back then.
Maybe (I don't know for sure) that could have influenced the U.K.'s decision.
@vivify saidWW2 was expensive. They had to tax people with inflation to pay for it so they planned to go off the gold standard and that brought an end to the pound sterling as the world reserve currency. Nobody wants to hold a currency that doesn't hold value well.
I don't know. I do know that the fist World War brought doubts as the reliability of the gold standard during such times and caused many issues.
Maybe (I don't know for sure) that could have influenced the U.K.'s decision.
A gold standard only works to limit inflation if redemption for gold is honored. Any nation can decide to stiff the currency holders and refuse to redeem for gold, that is the problem.
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@mchill saidI agree with you.
Why bother when we have Bitcoin?
I would "bother" because owning crypto currency is owning a finite amount of - nothing. In addition to hacking and security risks, crypto currency is highly volatile. Great if you want to gamble with your nest egg, but I sleep better at night with American Eagle and Canadian Maple Leafs tucked away in my safe deposit box.
You should know that those coins are legal tender and it's illegal to have legal tender in safety deposit boxes. To get around it you should focus on coins from other countries.
They could easily be confiscated if it's legal tender from your country. Also, remember during COVID lockdowns the vaults stayed shut for long periods of time so I'd recommend a different location.