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Moonlapse

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Blog Comments posted by Moonlapse

  13. Gaius Octavius

    Posted

    Do you think that it could happen today? (Of course you know that I am waiting in ambush.)

    I'm sure that sort of thing can happen, but I don't know the current specific limitations on the creation of shares. I'm not quite into that topic yet. :D You can't prevent people from finding new ways to commit fraud so anything can happen, what matters is the consequences.

     

    That's an interesting comment Moonlapse. Where are you going with that?

    What I mean is, when you centralize the control of anything, then that centralized control becomes a handle and anyone that can get a hold of that handle, by whatever means, has the control. For instance, the FDA provides a convenient handle for pharmaceutical corporations, its just a matter of finding a way to get a hold of it.

  14. Gaius Octavius

    Posted

    In a free market economy the government's job is to punish fraud and violations of property and individual rights. I understand this has to do with how fraud and rights are defined, but I'd say that Gould's actions were certainly fraudulent. However, if the government's role extends deeply into the market, then the potential for corruption runs just as deep.

  18. Gaius Octavius

    Posted

    From historical observation, when control of fiat money is in the hands of politicians and bankers, the temptation to create money from nothing has always been irresistible. Show me an exception, and I'll consider otherwise.

     

    Some forty years ago, a noted economist at Salomon Bros. & Hutzler, warned against the coming gimmics, i.e. such as derivatives and CDO's. I wonder what else is hiding in the woodpile?

    I'm not sure I want to know...

  19. Lost_Warrior

    Posted

    I have similar struggles, here's some things to consider:

     

    Are you eating right and drinking enough water?

     

    Do you get sufficient and consistent sleep?

     

    Do you vigorously exercise on a regular basis?

     

    Do you do yoga/meditate/completely relax?

     

    Have you tried taking St. John's Wort?

     

    Do you spend time outdoors?

     

    Your body's condition can have a huge effect on your mind. If you can fulfill the above I guarantee you will feel better, but its a difficult challenge to do all those things. Also, spending a lot of time in front of a computer can really drag my mood down.

  20. Gaius Octavius

    Posted

    But remember that we were accommodating a huge influx of immigrants. We had excellent GDP growth and slightly dropping prices at the same time. If the currency had been inflated, it would have taken a horrible toll on the poorest people by devaluing any savings and driving up prices. Inflating currency benefits those who get their hands on the newly created money first, the bankers. By the time it makes its way into the economy the cost in terms of value has been socialized to the people who get their hands on it last. Any savings they have are devalued and anything they want to buy is more expensive.

     

    The point is, those people would have been poor regardless. Many came to America with practically nothing. Inflation would have made them poorer. Despite the fact that they were poor, their standards of living grew considerably.

  25. Gaius Octavius

    Posted

    "Do you think that gold could support the above?" What specifically are you referring to?

    If the money supply were not able to expand, how would a company with little money and good credit expand? They couldn't sell gold bonds. How would a consumer with the same attributes, purchase anything? Here I am not talking about companies, nor people with 30 credit cards, and not enough wealth to buy a postage stamp.

    How does a person have energy without cocaine? Interest rates would be naturally low since prices would tend to deflate instead of inflate and gold production, without intervention, would sufficiently accommodate market demand for money. Any gold overproduction would automatically make mining less profitable and reduce supply. There would be a much higher rate of saving and investing, capital would tend to be used toward its most efficient ends rather than being destructively squandered, trusting in fiat bailouts. It's not as if credit would disappear, it would be allocated more wisely. Once upon a time people saved up and earned interest in order to consume in the future instead of borrowing and paying interest at the expense of future consumption in order to consume now.
    "Would our economy be what it is if not for a fiat currency?" No. I think it would be far more stable and sustainable in the long term. Market corrections would be fast and short. Not proven.
    We haven't had a real correction in many decades, if you are comparing the deflationary panics in the 19th century to the inflationary downturns we've had more recently. Can I trade the next decade for a typical 19th century panic, please?

     

    Our GDP wouldn't be 70% credit driven consumption and we wouldn't be on the verge of stagflation. Agreed. The government would be limited to a realistic budget. A budget without corporate welfare. A budget without pork barreling and shrouded ear-marks. Personally, I would take great pleasure in strangling every member of Congress, and his family to the first degree, who voted to increase the national debt. Your retirement funds would retain value over time. Remember what you said about monarchs debasing gold currency.
    That's why any form of debasement or fraudulent expansion should be outlawed, and politicians should not be able to get their foot in the door on this matter.

     

    Gold is not a good way to make a profit, its a way to preserve purchasing power because its the most ideal natural means of exchange, as proven by thousands of years of human history. Thousands of years of history have proven that the vast majority of people could not move out of poverty.

    Indeed, our republican experiment was something new, and our 19th century monetary system, while flawed, accommodated an unbelievable amount of immigration and some of the most impressive gains in the standard of lower class living ever seen, simultaneously. Despite the unavoidable social turmoil, I seriously doubt any other system could have accomplished the same. Consider how long gold has been used and its particular usefulness as currency, and consider the times in history when debasement was most limited, and consider the short lifespan of fiat monetary systems.

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