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Interesting thread until it turned into a petty argument .... thanks black flag. (sarcasm)
Seems to me with such uncertainty about the world political, social & financial environment, owning top commodities like gold and silver is a wise move. Picked up a few ounces from apmex during this recent fall in prices.
Last edited by airborne373; 03-16-2012 at 10:27 AM.
Life is not a movie & liberty will not be delivered on a bed of feathers.
Nice try at a weak non-sequitur, troll.
I talked about artificial obstacles as barriers to entry as it applies to "other" forms of currency, and you respond with a side-tracking, FRN-centric non-sequitur, arguing from the baseless premise of your worthless theory that the reason FRN's are the dominant currency is that people "chose" it as their form of "money". Forget that it was a reasonably sound, prior-existing currency in a completely different form, one that everyone was dependent on, which got later FULLY hijacked. No, in your mind, people actually "chose" FRN's. They preferred them doncha know. Right from the git-go. And why did they prefer them, according to your noodle-brained theory? Well, because they "wanted" something to pay their taxes with, that's why!
Stop licking windows and pay attention. If you try to use hard specie (e.g., U.S. minted gold and silver coins) as money, the US Treasury that minted those very coins will not see them as currency, but only commodities. You're not "converting" one currency to another, you're "buying and selling" commodities that are subject to various taxes, capital gains being one of them. Likewise, various states will see those same coins, not as money, but also as taxable commodities, subject to sales tax. Those are barriers to entry.No such tax exists today to so to interfere with your choice. Your argument here is specious!
You're not that daft, that obtuse. You're trolling. I'm pretty sure you knew that already, but I could be wrong. If I'm right, you're just dishonest, that's all. If I'm wrong, and you really didn't know that about capital gains and sales taxes be, then you're incredibly stupid, having missed that to go along with the rest of the knowledge you appear to have.
How does your argument square with a currency that went from fully redeemable at times for gold and/or silver, to only sometimes redeemable, to not redeemable at all. Was that also a market choice, each step of the way, made by individuals? When a government "chooses" to demonetize a given metal as currency, is that also the "choice" of the people (aka - individuals in the market)?The people chose their money - this is another fundamental and riveting point Mises made, for it explains perfectly well why money becomes "not money".
Last edited by Steven Douglas; 03-16-2012 at 10:37 AM.
Hahahhaha
Riiighhht!
There is no such barrier.I talked about artificial obstacles as barriers to entry as it applies to "other" forms of currency, and you respond with a side-tracking, FRN-centric non-sequitur, arguing from the baseless premise of your worthless theory that the reason FRN's are the dominant currency is that people "chose" it as their form of "money".
You can import whatever currency you want and use it with no restrictions - you can price your goods in terms of that currency, and insist on trade with it.
What is stopping you?
Nothing.
In fact they did, as they are using exactly that.. No, in your mind, people actually "chose" FRN's.
Now, you can argue against Mises - however, I have found that he rarely loses...
What the US Treasury sees is of no concern to me or anyone else.If you try to use hard specie (e.g., U.S. minted gold and silver coins) as money, the US Treasury that minted those very coins will not see them as currency, but only commodities.
If they decided to use blueberries wouldn't change a thing either - unless, they demand blueberries as payment for taxes - then, eventually, blueberries would become money - not because the government said it was money, but because people needed to pay their taxes would trade in blueberries, and by that marketability, blueberries would become money.
Precisely.
The actual economic good changed, as did the money.
Money is merely the most marketable good - and yes, the US removed gold making it illegal. The people picked up the most marketable - FRBN - as a replacement.
I don't judge whether the choice made by Americans is right or wrong - but they accepted it. They could have revolted against it, but they didn't - they accepted the FRBN and here we are.