Posted on 03/01/2014 7:33:41 AM PST by Kaslin
A large percentage of the people who support bitcoins support large government safety nets.
The rest don't care what governments do so long as they can bribe the right governmental official to look the other way while they continue to flaunt the law.
That's why people are so desperate to find something else.
Someone should point this out with the trading schemes Al Gore has lined up for his “carbon tax credit$”.
There is not such thing as a bitcoin. Anyone with any brains has already converted the ephemeral currency into dollars or commodities.
Bitcoin is going down fast. If you have any now, you'd better spend them today. Buy anything from anyone who will accept it. By this time next week bitcoin will not be accepted anywhere by anyone.
By his own words, neither does the dollar.
My Filipino bud says aso’ means dog.
I’ve been a spectator rather than a participant.
But I’ve found the saga quite interesting.
Mediums of exchange can be used to represent real money as a convenience. Who wants to carry around bales of cotton all the time? One of the most innovative and secure methods of exchange was the Tally Stick. It was used for 700 years in England.
Bitcoins, which are limited and requires work to make, are more real than the Federal Reserve Notes that are conjured up out of thin air by the private, foreign owned, for profit corporation known as the Federal Reserve, which is neither Federal, nor has reserves. FRNs aren't even real mediums of exchange because they don't represent real money. FRNs represent debt. FRNs are anti-money and destroy wealth.
Until you can't. For whatever reason.
Granted, I am referring to extraordinary, unlikely circumstances here but not out of the realm of possibility these days.
He forgot "unit of account," which is also a requirement for money. Still, his citation of "central bank regulation" was a red flag for me as to where Mr. Kudlow stands.
Liberals are of course too economically illiterate (OK - I'll accept stupid, too) to ever comprehend even the above basic fact.
One last thought - the points in the first paragraph above are not mine - I think they came from my favorite economist, Dr. Walter Williams. Even if they didn't, I want him to have credit.
>>For anyone who really thinks Bitcoins are a legitimate currency, I’d ask a simple question: Would you ever take a job with an employer who paid you in Bitcoins?
If I wanted to do the job, sure. If I didn’t, no amount of currency would get me to do it. Job satisfaction isn’t only about the money.
“More than a thousand retail locations would disagree...
It is an exchange of value that is outside government control (largely).”
Except not a single one of these retailers holds their bitcoins more than a few milliseconds before they convert them to an actual currency CONTROLLED BY A GOVERNMENT. Not to mention pricing is 100% in terms of the putative “value” of a bitcoin in terms of an actual currency CONTROLLED BY A GOVERNMENT.
Therefore, bitcoins in the retail world would be 100% useless unless immediately convertible to an actual currency CONTROLLED BY A GOVERNMENT and no retailer would accept them. In other words, bitcoin is NOT a currency, does not function as a currency, and has value as a medium of exchange solely because of its convertibility into an actual currency CONTROLLED BY A GOVERNMENT.
Things have never been better for Bitcoin. It’s about to get very, very real.
I agree that it wouldn't be totally out of that realm for banks to restrict how much cash you can withdraw. Doesn't hurt to stay a few weeks ahead on expense money.
There are a few things that make sense. One is to pay a few months ahead on utility bills....better on account with them since it's paying 0% in the checking account anyway. That maneuver eliminates all possibility of late fees.
Another one is to stay ahead on purchases of things that last and you know you'll need in a few years. It's like insurance against price increases, quality decreases, and shortages.
“Still, his citation of “central bank regulation” was a red flag for me as to where Mr. Kudlow stands. “
Kudlow is confused about what constitutes a “currency”. While a number of attributes are required for a medium of exchange to be considered a currency, “central bank regulation” is not one of them. e.g., see “wampum” (before it was devalued by counterfeiting).
In general, currency is a money that is freely circulated. In general, useful money must be durable, divisible, convenient (or portable), stable in value, limited in quantity, and universally accepted. Nowhere in those definitions is a “central bank” required.
To "divisible" I would add "into an understood unit of quantity." Currency without a dollar, guilder, krone, or franc; i.e., without a single defined "unit of account" would be a pain in the ass. Even gold dust had "ounces" with which to account.
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