Doakes Droppings (#1)
By Mitch Berg
Joe writes:
“Aside from a few thousand years in China, Byzantium, Roman Empire, Spanish Empire, British Empire, German Empire and the first century of the United States, when has the Gold Standard ever created prosperity and stability for anyone?”
Joe Doakes
Como Park
August 28th, 2012 at 11:20 am
There is no magic in a currency based on gold.
In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith described in detail the shenanigans that individuals, banks, and government engaged in to manipulate the value of gold and silver to their advantage. History shows that, when we had a gold standard in the U.S., the economic highs and lows were more extreme than they are today, and the currency still experienced inflation, especially during periods of war.
Too bad King Banaian doesn’t comment here.
August 28th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
How unusual. A wingnut waxing nostalgic for the 19th century. You loonies can continue using gold dubloons to pay off you blacksmith and chimney-sweep bills. Angry clown likes Paypal.
August 28th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
In an attempt to flaunt his tech-cred, angryclown endorses PayPal. No ‘bitcoins’ or ‘micro-currencies’ for him! You can probably send him some cash at angryclown@aol.com. 😉
August 28th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Angry Clown waxes nostalgic at the thought of mommy changing him.
August 28th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
No indeed, Trojan Man. You can e-mail Angryclown your praise, admiration and creepy mash notes at angryclown@troyisashithead.com.
August 28th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
“How unusual. A wingnut waxing nostalgic for the 19th century.” How usual. Bozo the lib saying..nothing.
August 30th, 2012 at 7:54 am
You can pin your future to the amount of unique metal in society or to the value of a politician’s promises. The amount of that unique metal remains relatively constant. The value of a politician’s promise . . . .
No system administered by humans is perfect, foolproof, or perfectly foolproof. But the fewer opportunities for graft, corruption, manipulation, deceit and trickery that are built into the system, the more likely it will work as intended for the benefit of society as a whole, not just the ones temporarily in charge.
Humans live such short lives that it’s hard to realize how poorly things are going in a long-term sense. Our current Federal Reserve system has lasted barely 100 years and in that, the value of a dollar has dropped 95%. An item you could have purchased in 1913 for $4 now costs $100. As a monetary system (in which “money” is defined as a store of value), the federal reserve is a complete failure. No better system long-term than the gold standard has yet been devised.