4 ms·

There are two topics here: a) the time value of money, and b) the fractional reserve system. There is also a 3rd topic, which is inflation, which is implied i

by icu 7y ago

There are two topics here: a) the time value of money, and b) the fractional reserve system. There is also a 3rd topic, which is inflation, which is implied in your question. Topic 1: The time value of money is the bit about "a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow". The reason why this is the case, is because if I give you $1 dollar today, and you give me $1 dollar at the end of the year (metaphorically "tomorrow"), than I would have missed out on the interest I could have earned by lending it to the bank (in a savings account) or the Government (in a bond). I hope this makes it clear why there is a greater benefit to receiving money now, rather than an identical sum later. Topic 2: This might be a mind-bender, but bank loans create money, not deposits. Don't believe me? Check out a Bank of England representative say the following in plain English: "...banks create additional broad money whenever they make a loan" "Now, while this is nothing new, it's sometimes overlooked as the main way in which money is created and it runs contrary to the view sometimes put forward that banks can only lend out deposits that they already have." "In fact, loans create deposits, not the other way around." Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvRAqR2pAgw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvRAqR2pAgw Sadly the resources I had pointing to the Fed saying this has been taken down. For more on this read the following: * Werner, R. A. (2014). Can banks individually create money out of nothing (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5IFY-yq0O9IUHNTU0NaWTVQa01TcXdaQWJQZEVwdnF1c0Vz https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5IFY-yq0O9IUHNTU0NaWTVQa0...) * McLeary, M., Radia, A. & Thomas, R. (2014). Money creation in the modern economy (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5IFY-yq0O9IbEtsWlJZUFVxTzkyaGZPVHlfaUJINnl5aURv/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5IFY-yq0O9IbEtsWlJZUFVxTzk...) Topic 3: From the consumer perspective, inflation is stealth taxation... you have $10 at the start of the year... 3% inflation means that at the end of the year the $10 only buys $9.97 worth of goods... you keep that $10 in your pocket and you lose purchasing power in a compounded way (the inflation eats and eats at your purchasing power). You then might ask, "why do the financial press and central bankers all talk about inflation being good?" Well, the fiat fractional reserve financial system relies on inflation... in a way inflation is like a 'healthy' indicator for this messed up system where money has no intrinsic value (i.e. not backed by gold like the US dollar was prior to Nixon closing the gold window in 1971). Basically, the more money created the more value is siphoned away from a population to the banks and government. I think of the world as stuck on this giant hamster wheel where people are forced to keep working, keep spending, keep investing and keep being taxed. This is why the Governments of the world bailed out the banks. Government fiat currency is a con, indeed the whole system is a con. Money is not backed by anything except faith that the Government can seize the wealth of its citizens or tax the wealth creation of its tax residents. I think the last 'real money' died with the Swiss franc which had a legal requirement that a minimum of 40% be backed by gold reserves. However, this link to gold, was terminated on the 1st of May 2000 following a referendum. To illustrate my point, prior to 15/08/1971 (when Nixon stopped US dollars being converted to gold), $35 bought 1oz of gold. Last time I checked 1oz of gold is worth $1,476.06. This should make you stop to consider how much wealth has been transferred via inflation. For a more detailed explanation and history see: * Griffin, G. E. (2018). The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve * Maloney, M. (2013). Hidden Secrets of Money (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE88E9ICdiphYjJkeeLL2O09eJoC8r7Dc https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE88E9ICdiphYjJkeeLL2...) * Still, W. T. (1996). The Money Masters (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTPKJJ_CHjQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTPKJJ_CHjQ)

averros 7y ago
I quite agree with most points of this nice explanation of the debt-based monetary system being a con, I think the explanation of money time preference rate is confusing cause and effect. The reason why I prefer $1 today to $1 a year later is because my lifespan is limited, so if I want to use benefits of that dollar while I'm still able I'd better do it now. This, of course, is the most extreme basis for time preference, but the milder cases (I want to enjoy my purchase now instead of year from now) is just the consequence of that same fact of limited lifespan. The existence of natural time preference along with risk discount (risk is growing with time) is what creates natural interest rate (which offsets time preference rate and risk).
spiralx 7y ago
The "Money creation in the modern economy" paper makes it clear that fractional reserve banking is not how banks work - a fractional reserve system is based on banks lending out deposits, which as you say is not true. > Money is not backed by anything except faith that the Government can seize the wealth of its citizens or tax the wealth creation of its tax residents. Money has always been "backed" by nothing more than confidence in its utility. How often have various governments and rulers throughout history either arbitrarily changed the amount or type of material used to back money or simply not had enough of it around to back up the money in use? Commodity money is just fiat money pegged to an arbitrary amount of stuff, you still have to trust the government to maintain the peg and have the required stuff somewhere.

by icu 7y ago

averros 7y ago

I quite agree with most points of this nice explanation of the debt-based monetary system being a con, I think the explanation of money time preference rate is confusing cause and effect. The reason why I prefer $1 today to $1 a year later is because my lifespan is limited, so if I want to use benefits of that dollar while I'm still able I'd better do it now. This, of course, is the most extreme basis for time preference, but the milder cases (I want to enjoy my purchase now instead of year from now) is just the consequence of that same fact of limited lifespan. The existence of natural time preference along with risk discount (risk is growing with time) is what creates natural interest rate (which offsets time preference rate and risk).

spiralx 7y ago

The "Money creation in the modern economy" paper makes it clear that fractional reserve banking is not how banks work - a fractional reserve system is based on banks lending out deposits, which as you say is not true. > Money is not backed by anything except faith that the Government can seize the wealth of its citizens or tax the wealth creation of its tax residents. Money has always been "backed" by nothing more than confidence in its utility. How often have various governments and rulers throughout history either arbitrarily changed the amount or type of material used to back money or simply not had enough of it around to back up the money in use? Commodity money is just fiat money pegged to an arbitrary amount of stuff, you still have to trust the government to maintain the peg and have the required stuff somewhere.