Topic: 2013-04-14 - NY Times - Antisocial Network - Paul Krugman - page 2. (Read 2279 times)
A completely voluntary currency that's not based on coercion and violence and doesn't permit systematic theft? Yep, that's the "anti-social" one.
History will not be kind....
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paper currencies have value because they’re backed by the power of the state.
He forgot to complete the phrase: paper currencies have value because they’re backed by the power of the state to expropriate citizen's property.
yes that's quite ridiculous. All statistics clearly show how mass purchasing power dropped dramatically in the last decades.
Typical central bank loving hatchet job from the man who thinks Ben Bernake knows best.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/opinion/krugman-the-antisocial-network.html
I was willing to tolerate his bullshit until he made the inflation remark. My food and energy bills are up over 10 percent from this time last year. Also the skulldeggery from the Bank of England is keeping my housing costs sky high
Krugman is full of shit. How did this cunt get a New York Times column. I want a New York Times column!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/opinion/krugman-the-antisocial-network.html
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What is bitcoin? It’s sometimes described as a way to make transactions online — but that in itself would be nothing new in a world of online credit-card and PayPal transactions. In fact, the Commerce Department estimates that by 2010 about 16 percent of total sales in America already took the form of e-commerce.
The similarity to goldbug rhetoric isn’t a coincidence, since goldbugs and bitcoin enthusiasts — bitbugs? — tend to share both libertarian politics and the belief that governments are vastly abusing their power to print money. At the same time, it’s very peculiar, since bitcoins are in a sense the ultimate fiat currency, with a value conjured out of thin air. Gold’s value comes in part because it has nonmonetary uses, such as filling teeth and making jewelry; paper currencies have value because they’re backed by the power of the state, which defines them as legal tender and accepts them as payment for taxes. Bitcoins, however, derive their value, if any, purely from self-fulfilling prophecy, the belief that other people will accept them as payment.
However, let’s leave that strangeness on one side, along with the peculiar “mining” process — actually a process of complex calculation — used to add to the bitcoin stock. Instead, let’s focus on the two huge misconceptions — one practical, one philosophical — that underlie both goldbugism and bitbugism.
The practical misconception here — and it’s a big one — is the notion that we live in an era of wildly irresponsible money printing, with runaway inflation just around the corner. It’s true that the Federal Reserve and other central banks have greatly expanded their balance sheets — but they’ve done that explicitly as a temporary measure in response to economic crisis. I know, government officials are not to be trusted and all that, but the truth is that Ben Bernanke’s promises that his actions wouldn’t be inflationary have been vindicated year after year, while goldbugs’ dire warnings of inflation keep not coming true.
The similarity to goldbug rhetoric isn’t a coincidence, since goldbugs and bitcoin enthusiasts — bitbugs? — tend to share both libertarian politics and the belief that governments are vastly abusing their power to print money. At the same time, it’s very peculiar, since bitcoins are in a sense the ultimate fiat currency, with a value conjured out of thin air. Gold’s value comes in part because it has nonmonetary uses, such as filling teeth and making jewelry; paper currencies have value because they’re backed by the power of the state, which defines them as legal tender and accepts them as payment for taxes. Bitcoins, however, derive their value, if any, purely from self-fulfilling prophecy, the belief that other people will accept them as payment.
However, let’s leave that strangeness on one side, along with the peculiar “mining” process — actually a process of complex calculation — used to add to the bitcoin stock. Instead, let’s focus on the two huge misconceptions — one practical, one philosophical — that underlie both goldbugism and bitbugism.
The practical misconception here — and it’s a big one — is the notion that we live in an era of wildly irresponsible money printing, with runaway inflation just around the corner. It’s true that the Federal Reserve and other central banks have greatly expanded their balance sheets — but they’ve done that explicitly as a temporary measure in response to economic crisis. I know, government officials are not to be trusted and all that, but the truth is that Ben Bernanke’s promises that his actions wouldn’t be inflationary have been vindicated year after year, while goldbugs’ dire warnings of inflation keep not coming true.
I was willing to tolerate his bullshit until he made the inflation remark. My food and energy bills are up over 10 percent from this time last year. Also the skulldeggery from the Bank of England is keeping my housing costs sky high
Krugman is full of shit. How did this cunt get a New York Times column. I want a New York Times column!
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