is the US Dollar.....
14 Trillion WHAT?
It's funny, because some opponents of bitcoin claim bitcoin is a scheme, and they compare it to the US dollar and other so called "stable" currencies.
But all world currencies are based on debt, unless they are local currencies based on work or hours.
If a currency is based upon debt, then it cannot continue indefinitely, and likewise, it's collapse is guaranteed and so is the economy it supports.
The US government contracted with the Federal Reserve in 1913 to borrow credit some a foreign offshore banking cartel. Ever since then, the US has gone further and further into debt. It took 20 years, until 1933, when all the gold we held, that was placed as collateral against the borrowing of the fiat currency, was extinguished and owned by the loaning cartel banks, controlled from the Bank of England.
It's just common sense that if the central banks loan out 100 million dollars, and charge 5% interest, then, at the end of the year, 105 Million dollars must be pulled out of circulation to pay back that debt. But, whet the banksters do, is they keep the majority of that fiat currency in circulation, so they can pull out more and more debt without anyone noticing very much. The result is the same though. When that extra 5 million is given back to the banksters, people lose their homes and property because there was not enough "debt" given out by the banksters in circulation with which to pay back that interest. That's a classic ponzi scheme. Eventually the banksters own it ALL, including the people themselves.
How is bitcoin different?
Hardware must be bought, currently, in order to maintain the mining, but that hardware still has some value, even with a given period of time. Eventually it will be worthless. In this way, one could say bitcoin is similar, however the difference is the bitcoin wealth is not borrowed, it's rather "harvested" in a way that produce is harvested or gold and silver is mined. Yes, there are costs involved currently, but in the long run, when 21 million coins exist and no more are "minted", then there is no inflation that can happen and there is no debt that can accumulate from it's mere existence and circulation.
What is "money"? Is what is the question.
Currently, the money we use, is debt, not credit. If it were credit we actually created, then things may be a little different and our society would thrive instead of drowning. Credit is created with a signature, from someone who loans their credit to someone else, however, the receiver of that credit, becomes, by nature a debtor. So, generally, anytime someone creates credit, someone else borrows it, and interest in charged, we have a major problem. Unlimited debt. But the real problem lies in the fact that credit is borrowed from one central source, instead of all the various people who have skills and can hire people or create projects useful to society. Instead, we are made to turn to one central group of people, we call "bankers". That's another major element of a ponzi scheme. We are given no choice of lenders, but yet we must all pay interest, and one group of people collects it all. PONZI, PONZI, PONZI...PYRAMID!
What will keep bitcoin from becoming nothing more than a fly by night pyramid, pump and dump scheme?
All it really takes is more people to use and accept bitcoins. If people are happy with it, it will succeed. If people support it, and create software and solutions that help it grow, it will be stable and long lasting.
Will it ever die?
Possibly, but all known fiat currencies have only lasted a century at the most, so eventually most currencies go by the way side.
If it has the potential to become a pyramid and people abandon it, how will it be worth becoming involved with today?
If we can use bitcoin as a vehicle to achieve our united goals of ending the debt based slave driven monetary system, then is it really important if it fixes the entire problem and lasts forever?
Just so long as it's not as flagrant, cheap, debt based, centrally thief owned and mobster controlled Ponzi pyramid scheme as the US dollar, then it's better than what we have now.