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I have this strange idea that once the government-agents really understand what e-payments, even block-chain-powered e-currencies bring to the table, in terms o

by atmosx 11y ago

I have this strange idea that once the government-agents really understand what e-payments, even block-chain-powered e-currencies bring to the table, in terms of money control, they'll embrace it. It's a no-brainer. That said, taxes are not inherently bad. Governments on the other hand... Have an awfully bad track-record of power abuse.

toomuchtodo 11y ago
Several central banks are interested in cryptocurrencies because it allows them to devalue the currency from a central point. Cash is hard because it can be hoarded, therefore indirect measures are taken to devalue said currency. http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=27870 http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=27870 http://in.rbth.com/economics/finance/2015/09/21/rusias-bitruble-to-be-worlds-first-state-controlled-cryptocurrency_426465 http://in.rbth.com/economics/finance/2015/09/21/rusias-bitru... http://cointelegraph.com/news/115312/azerbaijan-mulls-its-own-cryptocurrency-cryptomanat http://cointelegraph.com/news/115312/azerbaijan-mulls-its-ow...
- AndrewBissell 11y ago
  "If the controls we've imposed aren't working to revive the economy, it must mean we need to use new and ever more intrusive ones!"
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” Seriously. You have an aging population causing consumption to decline, a global recession along the horizon, ever-increasing productivity replacing the need for labor, and you think your interest rates are going to a damn bit of good? We'll need to keep interest rates at 0 just to keep the whole thing going, forget about negative interest rates (which is going to cause a run on the bank and asset bubbles in commodities, real estate, anything else that can be a value store).
freshhawk 11y ago
"Governments on the other hand... Have an awfully bad track-record of power abuse" Well ... yes, but isn't that just an unnecessarily specific version of the true statement "Humans have an awfully bad track record of power abuse"?
- jMyles 11y ago
  That's the big question in a nutshell: Are some humans just bad? Or does power make any human bad?
  - ionised 11y ago
    All are capable of doing evil, given the power and opportunity.
    - jMyles 11y ago
      It seems obvious, right? From this premise (and lots of other reading of the political "sciences"), I also find it easy to conclude that the internet and open source are preferable to government as methods of diffusing power.

by atmosx 11y ago

toomuchtodo 11y ago

Several central banks are interested in cryptocurrencies because it allows them to devalue the currency from a central point. Cash is hard because it can be hoarded, therefore indirect measures are taken to devalue said currency. http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=27870 http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=27870 http://in.rbth.com/economics/finance/2015/09/21/rusias-bitruble-to-be-worlds-first-state-controlled-cryptocurrency_426465 http://in.rbth.com/economics/finance/2015/09/21/rusias-bitru... http://cointelegraph.com/news/115312/azerbaijan-mulls-its-own-cryptocurrency-cryptomanat http://cointelegraph.com/news/115312/azerbaijan-mulls-its-ow...

AndrewBissell 11y ago
"If the controls we've imposed aren't working to revive the economy, it must mean we need to use new and ever more intrusive ones!"
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” Seriously. You have an aging population causing consumption to decline, a global recession along the horizon, ever-increasing productivity replacing the need for labor, and you think your interest rates are going to a damn bit of good? We'll need to keep interest rates at 0 just to keep the whole thing going, forget about negative interest rates (which is going to cause a run on the bank and asset bubbles in commodities, real estate, anything else that can be a value store).

freshhawk 11y ago

"Governments on the other hand... Have an awfully bad track-record of power abuse" Well ... yes, but isn't that just an unnecessarily specific version of the true statement "Humans have an awfully bad track record of power abuse"?

jMyles 11y ago
That's the big question in a nutshell: Are some humans just bad? Or does power make any human bad?
- ionised 11y ago
  All are capable of doing evil, given the power and opportunity.
  - jMyles 11y ago
    It seems obvious, right? From this premise (and lots of other reading of the political "sciences"), I also find it easy to conclude that the internet and open source are preferable to government as methods of diffusing power.