Actually Miami, when salt was used for currency, and when peppercorns were used, they were rare, and desired. That is what makes a currency valuable.quote:Originally posted by EdEKit:The easiest to carry is several sheets of paper. That is why we have MONEY.quote:Originally posted by miamizsun:quote:Originally posted by EdEKit:You can't walk into sears with four ounces of gold and walk out with a riding mower either.quote:Originally posted by miamizsun:
There is a difference between bartering for goods and services versus money/currency. If you and a friend have goods or services to exchange and both are better off for it, then good for you, trade or barter away. I encourage it.
However, you can't walk into Sears with 1640 pounds of lead, or 2 tons of salt and say: "I'll take that lawn mower." Gold backed bank notes were invented for the ease of convenience when bartering isn't an option. If you have salt and lead and Sears doesn't need the lead or salt. You trade for something they do need or will accept. Like a bank note backed by gold (universally desired) It is when the banker prints more notes (to loan) than he has gold on demand that we run into a problem, you and I call it counterfeiting, the fed bankers, who have your buddies in DC in their pocket cal it fractional reserve banking. The result is that you have money, printed right out of thin air, easy to manipulate, backed by faith of the counterfeiters (we'll just print more money if we need it) versus sound money backed by a hard asset recognized and desired by the entire planet. Research the Federal Reserve, the gold standard, and why it was abandoned and you'll see. When government wants to finance something it is a h3ll of a lot easier to have the fed "just print the money" and/or borrow it, than to raise taxes. This makes it easier for a politician's re-election as well. Who gets elected on a tax increase platform? Nobody, that's who.
I hope this helps folks understand....
Regards, miamizsun
Which would be easier to carry? Four ounces of gold or several tons of salt? And which could be converted into cash easier? Which has the potential for greater increase in value? I don't see people storing salt or lead in safe deposit boxes? How much salt is in Fort Knox? Or valuing salt or lead like gold either....
How much salt do you have in your portfolio? And how's that working out for you?
When fiat currency, backed by the full faith and credit of people like Bush collapses, you can have the salt, and the green back, the lira or the peso, I'll take the gold and precious metals....
See "economic hit men" or "petro-dollar warfare" for an idea of how propped up our dollar is....
What the "gold standard" requires, beyond all else, is a stable value for Gold. The value of Gold is NOT stable. The value of a dollar is not stable either.
Name a commodity, any commodity that does not vary in value according to supply and demand.
Same is true of currencies. A few years ago I sold a few Solver Dollars for eleven dollars each. I got a dollar ten for silver dimes. The buyer knew that he could recover the silver from the coins, and sell it for more than he paid me for the coins. So did I. It was a "fair exchange." I can buy about one third of a gallon of gasoline for one dollar. That will move me, and my motorcycle about 12 miles. To ride a bus 12 miles costs me one and a quarter dollars. The dollar has value. It's value is not based on how many forks I can make from it, I can't make ANY forks. It's value is based on how many forks I can exchange it for.
As far as the discussion of the value of a dollar, and what determines it, I contend that its value is based on the value produced by the economy of the United States. The value of a dollar is based on the productivity of the American worker, and productivity is measured in dollars. When it is measured in ounces of gold, an hours work will be worth about 1/40th of an ounce of gold.
So, I think it is ridiculous to demand a gold standard. Unless yu really want to give more monetary power to gold miners and less to yourself.