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Something underlies the value of bitcoin (proof of work), gold (rarity, utility, beauty, portability), cigarettes (addiction). Think through what underlies the
by pjmorris 9y ago
Something underlies the value of bitcoin (proof of work), gold (rarity, utility, beauty, portability), cigarettes (addiction). Think through what underlies the value of fiat currencies like the US dollar. I'm with the chartalists [0]/Modern Monetary Theorists [1], believing that a government's ability to tax is the anchor for the currency's value.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartalism
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Monetary_Theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Monetary_Theory
- conanbatt 9y agoHave barely scanned these articles, but even if I agreed that tax collection is what gives currency most of their circulatory value, thats no reason to have taxes, let alone making them higher.
- pjmorris 9y agoSomething's got to circulate. There's not enough bitcoin+gold+barter-able commodities to go around, so fiat currency is necessary to the economy as it stands. If you agree that taxes give currency most of its circulatory value, you have to figure out what else would give it value if taxes were taken away.
- conanbatt 9y agothere is more than enough bitcoin/gold/barterable commodities to go around.. they are divisible objects like any other. And any bank could run its own bank notes, as it was in the past. Having taxes to have circulatory value sounds pretty dumb to me.