General Discussion

Fred Bastiat

(5 posts)

91. Is this post satire or

Tue Oct 23, 2012, 10:42 PM

Oct 2012

or are you really serious about printing endless fiat paper money? A continuous QE? Have you ever read about Zimbabwe and their 100 trillion dollar paper money currency? You can buy a note as a novelty below or just wait a few years of endless QE's and ramping up the printing press and our currency will need to be revamped to include 100 trillion dollar notes that you will need a wheel barrow to carry to buy a loaf of bread.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-TRILLION-ZIMBABWE-DOLLARS-CURRENCY-MONEY-INFLATION-BANK-NOTES-MINT-UNC-BILL-/120793060726?pt=Paper_Money&hash=item1c1fd3d576

Your logic is so full of fail that it reminds me of the broken window fallacy, which I am sure you have never read. Give it a read as a primer to basic economics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window

When you are done with that get the book linked below. It is basically economics for dummies, which I think you really need as you obviously have no formal education in economics or have read up on the subject.

http://www.amazon.com/Economics-One-Lesson-Shortest-Understand/dp/0517548232/

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If You Have The Ability to Create Your Own Currency, How Can You Ever Be Broke? [View all] Yavin4 Oct 2012 OP

K&R abelenkpe Oct 2012 #1

It's all a ruse RegieRocker Oct 2012 #2

Eco 101 explains why this is a bad idea Gman Oct 2012 #3

I've never taken a real Econ class in a college or university slackmaster Oct 2012 #92

Correct. bemildred Oct 2012 #4

Why would anyone ever work then? Boetie Oct 2012 #67

You'ld like this cartoon... hunter Oct 2012 #70

Maybe those idiots on the island Boetie Oct 2012 #101

To get money. It's paper now, eh? And it's still legal tender. bemildred Oct 2012 #71

How can you "underdo" it? Boetie Oct 2012 #99

Not print enough, not put enough in circulation, not pay working people enough, bemildred Oct 2012 #100

What if the value of people's money Boetie Oct 2012 #102

First off, it has no intrinsic value, it's paper. Nowadays it's not even that. bemildred Oct 2012 #103

bemildred...American workers have a decreasing share of the national wealth. This "no consequence" Romulox Oct 2012 #106

That's because the game is rigged. As Ms Warren says. bemildred Oct 2012 #107

Rampant inflation (e.g. of housing prices) does not and has not helped common people. nt Romulox Oct 2012 #109

Indeed. nt bemildred Oct 2012 #112

How is it rigged? And how do we "re-rig" it? Boetie Oct 2012 #111

Our money supply is in the hands of bankers and the wealthy. bemildred Oct 2012 #114

What stats are you referring to? Boetie Oct 2012 #116

Concentration of wealth. "Redistibution". bemildred Oct 2012 #121

By confiscation you mean taking property by force, is that right? Boetie Oct 2012 #123

Taxes. bemildred Oct 2012 #126

Do you wish harm to me if I don't want to hand over my property? Boetie Oct 2012 #132

Of course not. Do you wish to harm me if I raise taxes? nt bemildred Oct 2012 #134

No. Why do you advocate redistribution and taxation if you don't wish harm on others? Boetie Oct 2012 #136

The present arrangements are not harmless either. nt bemildred Oct 2012 #139

Who are you backing for President? Thanks for answering my simple question. uppityperson Oct 2012 #149

What are businesses competing for? Boetie Oct 2012 #120

Power and control. Money is one of the tools, one of the counters. nt bemildred Oct 2012 #122

Do they compete for your business, your money? Boetie Oct 2012 #124

They hate competition. But yes, they want your money. nt bemildred Oct 2012 #127

Is this not a voluntary act, you giving a business money in exchange for a good? Boetie Oct 2012 #131

That depends on whether you are being coerced. bemildred Oct 2012 #133

So, business in the free market is voluntary, and the state is coercion, yes? Boetie Oct 2012 #137

Businesses are perfectly capable of coercion, as everybody knows by experience. bemildred Oct 2012 #141

When you exchange money for a product, are you not voting for that product (in an economic sense)? Boetie Oct 2012 #143

No. I'm buying something I presumably need or want. I may or may not have choices. bemildred Oct 2012 #145

Yes, because you can go without, or you can buy it. No one is putting a gun to your head. Boetie Oct 2012 #146

PS: I'm not saying there are no consequences to inflation. I lived through the 70s and 80s. bemildred Oct 2012 #110

Your first point is correct, your second way off base. Romulox Oct 2012 #117

What is wealth? Boetie Oct 2012 #119

Whatever people think it is. bemildred Oct 2012 #125

What do you mean "there is nothing to appreciate?" Boetie Oct 2012 #108

It's little magnetic dots somewhere, that's what I mean. bemildred Oct 2012 #115

Doesn't everything we value come from our perceptions? Boetie Oct 2012 #118

I think food, for example, is much realer than money. bemildred Oct 2012 #128

Are my productive efforts (mowing a lawn, designing a building) an abstraction or are they real? Boetie Oct 2012 #129

Quite real, unlike our money. nt bemildred Oct 2012 #130

If money represents productive real effort, than why do you advocate its arbitrary creation? Boetie Oct 2012 #135

Money represents whatever the hell you want, including that. It's ARBITRARY. bemildred Oct 2012 #138

Ok. Boetie Oct 2012 #144

Because the more money you print the less it is worth, in relative terms. Agnosticsherbet Oct 2012 #5

The Worth of Anything (including money) Is What Others Are Willing to Pay for It Yavin4 Oct 2012 #14

The world is already trying to move in many places to start displacing the dollar form oil... Agnosticsherbet Oct 2012 #29

The U.S. Treasury no longer prints Currency. (they DO still mint Coins) Volaris Oct 2012 #32

Where is there a country that bases their currency on the value of labor? Agnosticsherbet Oct 2012 #38

Paper money is printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), Art_from_Ark Oct 2012 #52

That May Be Multiple Decades Away Yavin4 Oct 2012 #35

My crystal ball isn't working... Agnosticsherbet Oct 2012 #40

Hyperinflation can be just as bad. hack89 Oct 2012 #6

+1 It takes wheelbarrows full of money to buy bread. GreenPartyVoter Oct 2012 #23

True. If you print more $, it loses its value. nt Honeycombe8 Oct 2012 #84

Exactly ... 1StrongBlackMan Oct 2012 #7

Precisely. Just Look at some of the responses on this thread. Yavin4 Oct 2012 #17

But you can make your currency worthless hack89 Oct 2012 #25

Tell it to Greece and the Soviet Union KurtNYC Oct 2012 #37

Easy. You're broke when others view your currencey as worthless. n/t sharkman25 Oct 2012 #8

Yes everything is hunky dory dipsydoodle Oct 2012 #9

Ask the natives of Yap Island slackmaster Oct 2012 #10

Holy Shit. What the hell do schools teach about economics these days? PavePusher Oct 2012 #11

+1 1-Old-Man Oct 2012 #12

"our currency is based on our willingness to go to work tomorrow and to pay taxes on our earnings" Yavin4 Oct 2012 #15

So you are suggesting that our currency has no relevance for domestic use? 1-Old-Man Oct 2012 #19

No. Yavin4 Oct 2012 #24

Tell Me Where I Am Wrong Yavin4 Oct 2012 #16

However, your money can be worth less Dash87 Oct 2012 #33

A quadrillion of something with no value cannot pay for even the cheapest things. (nt) Posteritatis Oct 2012 #73

Any realistic economic theory would adhere strictly to the Laws of Thermodynamics, ronnie624 Oct 2012 #13

can you describe that in Thermodynamic terms? Volaris Oct 2012 #36

I have neither the time nor the skills to write such an essay, ronnie624 Oct 2012 #53

The rich have $50 trillion in wealth. The US just needs $1 trillion of that to balance the budget. reformist2 Oct 2012 #18

we have two 1%ers running for president. what else would you expect lol nt msongs Oct 2012 #21

Yes. The Weimar Republic could simply print all the Marks they needed. Nye Bevan Oct 2012 #20

You beat me to it. PavePusher Oct 2012 #31

Or the festivities in Zimbabwe a few years ago Posteritatis Oct 2012 #74

Have you ever looked at how much money was printed during those years? Taitertots Oct 2012 #88

Perhaps you can tell me what other nations were completely dependant on the German market Egalitarian Thug Oct 2012 #94

this is not correct, imho Enrique Oct 2012 #22

No. My Argument Is That If You Can Print Your Own Currency,... Yavin4 Oct 2012 #26

You are correct. People are just hyperizing about doing this long term, which is in fact bad. reformist2 Oct 2012 #28

ok then, let's raise social security checks to $1 million per month Enrique Oct 2012 #30

We Could Do That And Still Not Be Broke Yavin4 Oct 2012 #34

"i'm not an economics expert". That much is certain, and is the first thing you should consider when Egalitarian Thug Oct 2012 #95

Wozniak prints his own money lumberjack_jeff Oct 2012 #27

You can't be broke. hunter Oct 2012 #39

Technically, the Weimar Republic didn't go broke, but the people suffered greatly. badtoworse Oct 2012 #41

It's really not that simple though. frostfern Oct 2012 #51

The problem is inflation davidn3600 Oct 2012 #42

The upsides to hyperinflation are Zalatix Oct 2012 #43

OK. Now I know DU economics threads do not tend to be academically rigorous Nye Bevan Oct 2012 #45

Weimar is unlikely to happen. Zalatix Oct 2012 #46

Dude. Hyperinflation is not OK just because you have an apple tree. Nye Bevan Oct 2012 #47

There are SEVERAL kinds of inflation. Zalatix Oct 2012 #48

You used the phrase "The upsides to hyperinflation are". That's all I really need to say. (nt) Nye Bevan Oct 2012 #49

Import-price hyperinflation is possible. Zalatix Oct 2012 #50

"you need to bone up on some basic economics". i think you might want to read some basic econ.... dionysus Oct 2012 #87

I would answer your argument... but wait, you made none! Zalatix Oct 2012 #89

There are no upsides to hyperinflation. (nt) Posteritatis Oct 2012 #62

There are no upsides to depression either. bemildred Oct 2012 #72

Hey guys, you're BOTH right! We don't want hyperinflation OR depression! Nye Bevan Oct 2012 #76

Yes! I think you've got it. nt bemildred Oct 2012 #77

With as many jobs as we're sending overseas, both are inevitable. Zalatix Oct 2012 #85

you can't have just seriously proposed such a stupid thing. krugman wept. dionysus Oct 2012 #86

If our gobstoppingly high trade deficits don't abate, it is not stupid, but rather, INEVITABLE. Zalatix Oct 2012 #90

The Greeks should renounce the Euro and give every citizen a billion Drachmas. Problem solved! Throd Oct 2012 #44

If it were only that easy KFredrick Oct 2012 #54

Humans are only motivated by a desire to "earn money". ronnie624 Oct 2012 #55

Yet at this time nobody has money to buy anything. And they're working their asses off. Zalatix Oct 2012 #57

Post removed Post removed Oct 2012 #56

Post removed Post removed Oct 2012 #58

Hyperinflation spidly Oct 2012 #59

"Broke" isn't the problem. lumberjack_jeff Oct 2012 #60

That's Correct. Yavin4 Oct 2012 #79

I like this idea Darth_ Deciduous Oct 2012 #61

Only by creating so much that others lose faith in your ability to generate sufficient Egalitarian Thug Oct 2012 #63

W. T. F. ? Marinedem Oct 2012 #64

The U,S, Is Not "Broke" Yavin4 Oct 2012 #66

No. Marinedem Oct 2012 #68

I Never Said That There Wouldn't Be Inflation Yavin4 Oct 2012 #82

Could you possibly expand your argument beyond merely nay saying? Egalitarian Thug Oct 2012 #97

Obvious Question Boetie Oct 2012 #65

OP didn't really say anything about working leftstreet Oct 2012 #81

I believe the that the very topic Boetie Oct 2012 #98

"Cigarettes replace the reichsmark as Germany�s currency" One_Life_To_Give Oct 2012 #69

In because this thread is famous Darth_ Deciduous Oct 2012 #75

Ow mythology Oct 2012 #78

So, You Buy Into the Phony Lie About The U.S. Being Broke? Yavin4 Oct 2012 #80

Super Dollar StokeyBob Oct 2012 #83

Is this post satire or Fred Bastiat Oct 2012 #91

Welcome to DU Fumesucker Oct 2012 #96

The "Parable of the Broken Window" doesn't work when the rich are hoarding so much, though... Romulox Oct 2012 #104

Ooooo. Your Mightt Libertarian Brain Is Tooo Much For Me... Yavin4 Oct 2012 #113

Debt is what it is Lurker Deluxe Oct 2012 #140

Look dude Boetie Oct 2012 #142

The "Given this.." in my statement refers to the fact that people accept your currency. Yavin4 Oct 2012 #148

Just like any commodity rrneck Oct 2012 #93

Then let's just print a Kazillion-Brajillion bucks for each of us, and we'll all be RICH! Romulox Oct 2012 #105

Funny thing about imaginary constructs like money.. LanternWaste Oct 2012 #147

Um, money isn't an "imaginary construct". It's very real. Romulox Oct 2012 #150

Post removed Post removed Oct 2012 #151

Just hide the M3 upi402 Oct 2012 #152