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Replace all of the ports on the bill with a single USB-C port and call it revolutionary? Edit1: /s Slightly more seriously, you could promise to anyone who b

Replace all of the ports on the bill with a single USB-C port and call it revolutionary? Edit1: /s Slightly more seriously, you could promise to anyone who bought a $10 bill that in some x number of years they could redeem that bill for $20. This is called "being the Treasury and Federal Reserve". The hard part is finding a way to invest the $5 of profit they gave you in an asset which will appreciate faster than your promised return. Edit2: This is not advisable, see "Bernard Madoff, Ponzi Scheme".

Razengan 8y ago
That gave me another idea which I haven't considered the implications of, but it sounds fun and video game'y: Electronic/Smart bills, that keep track of how many times they've been used to purchase stuff with. After a bill has been circulated N times, it increases in value by Y, and/or unlocks special artwork. Some bills may become highly sought-after collectibles worth far more than their face value. Would it help or harm the economy?
- huffmsa 8y ago
  Well that shifts the value away from the bill being a promissory note and back to being the actually valuable item. Kind of like a commodities backed currency, which most nation's try to avoid.
  - Fjolsvith 8y ago
    The amazing thing about currency being actual valuable things (like precious metals or gems) is that it cannot be devalued by "printing" more of it from non-valuable things. Nations try to avoid this because they can spend freely on a promissory note currency system. It is a recipe for disaster in the long term.
542458 8y ago
The difference being that the fed can actually reliably keep that promise, since they can issue new currency and borrow at extremely low rates... Edit: https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/5400/why-is-the-fractional-reserve-banking-not-a-ponzi-scheme https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/5400/why-is-the-fr...
- huffmsa 8y ago
  I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but only a bit.

Razengan 8y ago

That gave me another idea which I haven't considered the implications of, but it sounds fun and video game'y: Electronic/Smart bills, that keep track of how many times they've been used to purchase stuff with. After a bill has been circulated N times, it increases in value by Y, and/or unlocks special artwork. Some bills may become highly sought-after collectibles worth far more than their face value. Would it help or harm the economy?

huffmsa 8y ago
Well that shifts the value away from the bill being a promissory note and back to being the actually valuable item. Kind of like a commodities backed currency, which most nation's try to avoid.
- Fjolsvith 8y ago
  The amazing thing about currency being actual valuable things (like precious metals or gems) is that it cannot be devalued by "printing" more of it from non-valuable things. Nations try to avoid this because they can spend freely on a promissory note currency system. It is a recipe for disaster in the long term.

542458 8y ago

The difference being that the fed can actually reliably keep that promise, since they can issue new currency and borrow at extremely low rates... Edit: https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/5400/why-is-the-fractional-reserve-banking-not-a-ponzi-scheme https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/5400/why-is-the-fr...

huffmsa 8y ago
I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but only a bit.