I created a public response to Dr. Paul. Here it is. I would be really happy if he could see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
Nice video, thanks.
Topic: 2013-04-23 Ron Paul slams stability of U.S. dollar and Bitcoin in pro-gold rant (Read 2201 times)
April 26, 2013, 10:06:02 AM
Nice video, thanks.
April 25, 2013, 11:48:31 AM
Although I agree with his views, Bitcoin has made me realize how difficult it is to use PM's as an actual currency, even without government suppression.
That's not right. You are mixing up money and payment mechanisms. Most payments in the 19th century did not involve bags of gold changing hands anymore than most payments in the 20th century involve bags of cash changing hands. It is just as easy in principle to have a bank account denominated in gold as it is to have an account denominated in dollars.
Of course BTC has the great advantage of having its own built-in payment mechanism. That gives it an advantage over both gold and fiat, but given the choice between gold and fiat, gold wins every time.
April 24, 2013, 10:36:20 PM
A better analogy would be a deed, actually. It is a piece of paper that can fit in your pocket (Casascius coin, private key) granting a privilege (a claim to some value of bitcoins held at a public key) to an owner (you) that has a record of ownership (transactions). It's the best analogy I can think of, actually.
April 24, 2013, 10:14:43 AM
I created a public response to Dr. Paul. Here it is. I would be really happy if he could see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
Excellent video Mike, but there is one thing that you might be able to improve on your identity+rock=realestate_owner analogy. You said that no society would ever do this, but once upon a time, the British had a system of sovernign gold debt using sticks. What they would do is when the king/government desired to borrow gold (usually to fight a war) he would require that goldmongers (early bankers) exchange the gold for a stick that has been etched on both ends with the debt amount, and then broken in half. The treasury kept the long end, and the "lender" kept the short end as the record of the "exchange". Theoretically, anyone who had the short end of the stick could come to the treasury in London after the repay date and claim the gold in deposit by matching up the broken ends of the stick. In practice, the king just declared ursury illegal and ordered the treasury sticks burned.
But a society would, indeed, do something like this.
EDIT: BTW, that is where we get the term, "left holding the short end of the stick".
EDIT: Any gold bug worth his salt, and particularly Ron Paul himself, should know this history, BTW.
April 24, 2013, 03:18:20 AM
On businessinsider.com, there is a bit longer Statement from Ron Paul:
http://www.businessinsider.com/ron-paul-on-bitcoin-2013-4
And that's the point.
Nothing agains him, but a majority of his Generation just don't get how it works.
http://www.businessinsider.com/ron-paul-on-bitcoin-2013-4
Quote
"To tell you the truth, it's little bit too complicated. If I can't put it in my pocket, I have some reservations about that. But it has been designed in the free market. If it is a means of exchange, it would not ever be illegal. You shouldn't regulate it in the free market, but I do not think it fits the definition of money, which has been around for 6000 years. People want to see something they can know what it is, they can define it, touch it and put in their pocket. If you do not have a computer and someone running the computer and calculations, you don't have it. I am not a big supporter of that, but I am not opposed to it. I admit, I do not fully understand what is going on with it."
And that's the point.
Nothing agains him, but a majority of his Generation just don't get how it works.
April 24, 2013, 02:52:40 AM
I created a public response to Dr. Paul. Here it is. I would be really happy if he could see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
Excellent vid, thanks Mike. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
April 24, 2013, 01:02:36 AM
I think a lot of what Bitcoin is about would sit well with Ron Paul if he understood the computer side of things a little more, he always seemed pretty weak with technology although he was always all for it. At the end of the day holding some gold is not a bad idea, even if you are pro-Bitcoin. Nobody has come up with a gold-backed digital currency that is feasible and as the unbacked digital currency still trumps the fiat currency then that is what we have.
April 23, 2013, 07:15:55 PM
I created a public response to Dr. Paul. Here it is. I would be really happy if he could see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
excellent video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
April 23, 2013, 07:06:17 PM
Satoshi himself was an advocate of gold so don't be hating on my octogenarian hero for his lack of understanding distributed P2P cryptocurrencies.
Also, please keep in mind that if all people understood money and economics as Ron Paul does Bitcoin would likely never have been created.
Also, please keep in mind that if all people understood money and economics as Ron Paul does Bitcoin would likely never have been created.
April 23, 2013, 06:40:42 PM
I think Paul would be on board with a gold/silver/Bitcoin exchange. It would be a libertarian's wet dream. Gold and silver for storage of wealth, and Bitcoin to transfer value anywhere.
April 23, 2013, 06:37:14 PM
It would be easy to get into an argument about the definitions of money, currency, means of exchange, storage of wealth, but I don't think that's necessary. I'm happy that he took a libertarian view to bitcoin.
Although I agree with his views, Bitcoin has made me realize how difficult it is to use PM's as an actual currency, even without government suppression.
What is the rate of gold generation? Do we really know that? At least with Bitcoin, I know the rate of inflation.
Although I agree with his views, Bitcoin has made me realize how difficult it is to use PM's as an actual currency, even without government suppression.
What is the rate of gold generation? Do we really know that? At least with Bitcoin, I know the rate of inflation.
April 23, 2013, 06:29:11 PM
So he has reservation about things he can't put in his pocket, but is okay with Gold.
Does he walk around with gold in his pocket?
I think he does. He showed it to Ben during one of their friendly conversations. Does he walk around with gold in his pocket?
I am sick and tired of hearing the complaint that "You can't touch or put a bitcoin in your pocket".
These are the same people who would happily pay their utility bills online or whip out an Amex card to pay a restaurant tab. Does a stupid piece of rectangular plastic that you can put in your pocket make all the difference between money and non-money?
I am still convinced that the reason the value of metal gold has languished for 30 years, in inflation-adjusted terms, is that it is fully tangible, and hence useless for 99% of the transactions required in a modern economy. Bitcoin is 21st century monetary gold.
April 23, 2013, 06:27:39 PM
The headline for this topic is a bit unfair. There is nothing in this quotation that suggests Paul was slamming bitcoin. He says he has reservations (fair enough) but that it has emerged in a free market and should not be regulated. Nothing to complain about there.
Agreed. Besides, did we really expect an almost-80-year-old to immediately jump on board of a cybercurrency?
Haha, good point.
Put the bitcoin in the slot on the computer and it will get sucked through the series of internet tubes and come out someone else's disk drive on the other side of the world!
April 23, 2013, 06:25:02 PM
So he has reservation about things he can't put in his pocket, but is okay with Gold.
Does he walk around with gold in his pocket?
I think he does. He showed it to Ben during one of their friendly conversations. Does he walk around with gold in his pocket?
April 23, 2013, 06:21:29 PM
You reversed the date. It should be 2013-04-23
Sorry for not being American, I guess.
April 23, 2013, 06:15:43 PM
You reversed the date. It should be 2013-04-23
April 23, 2013, 06:04:40 PM
You should send Mr. Paul one of your coins. 
This!
PS: great video, Mike. I hope he sees it, too.
April 23, 2013, 06:02:54 PM
So he has reservation about things he can't put in his pocket, but is okay with Gold.
Does he walk around with gold in his pocket?
Does he walk around with gold in his pocket?
April 23, 2013, 06:00:33 PM
I created a public response to Dr. Paul. Here it is. I would be really happy if he could see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
Kudos. Your response is content rich and draws some easy to follow analogies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
I can imagine how tough it is to speak to an empty room. Usually a better format for this kind of presentation is a dialog, with YOU being the expert, and a friend of yours being someone outlining the thought process of Dr. Paul.
Also, since you had all these nice illustrations prepared: You may benefit from having two cameras, one for the full scene and one with a focus on the illustrations. Then, afterwards you can switch between the cameras when you edit the video, allowing the viewer to actually SEE the casascius coin.
You should send Mr. Paul one of your coins.
April 23, 2013, 05:29:44 PM
I created a public response to Dr. Paul. Here it is. I would be really happy if he could see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyD-cmSD50
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