4 ms·

Actually currency is more a debt than an agreement. When you have a 20 € bill, the European Central bank "owns you 20 €". Since people have faith in the bank

Actually currency is more a debt than an agreement. When you have a 20 € bill, the European Central bank "owns you 20 €". Since people have faith in the bank ability to pay its debt, everybody uses the note as money.

anamax 16y ago
> Actually currency is more a debt than an agreement. When you have a 20 € bill, the European Central bank "owns you 20 €". What does it mean for the central bank to owe me 20 euros? Specifically, what do I get when they pay me what I'm owed? If the answer is 20 euros....
- brianbreslin 16y ago
  I think they mean $20 worth of value be it gold or some other bankable theoretical material. Originally us dollars were tied to physical gold assets
  - anamax 16y ago
    > I think they mean $20 worth of value be it gold or some other bankable theoretical material. Originally us dollars were tied to physical gold assets. While dollars were originally tied to physical assets, I'm asking about what the central bank give me today for my 20 euros or dollars.
    - jsharpe 16y ago
      It doesn't matter. You get nothing directly, but that's not the point (and is part of the reason they got rid of the gold standard). The point is that the store will accept it as payment for an actual thing, and its employees will accept it as payment for actual work, and the stores they go to will accept it as payment for actual things, and their employees will accept it as payment for actual work, etc. What you get is the stuff that you buy. Or more directly, what you get is buying power.
      - anamax 16y ago
        > It doesn't matter. The person who claimed otherwise disagrees - he said that it was a payable debt. > You get nothing directly, but that's not the point Except that it is. If the answer is "nothing", than a 20 euro note is nothing more than confidence in competence of the financial system. While you may not see any alternatives to said confidence, that doesn't mean that it is justified. How much confidence do you have in them?
- sesqu 16y ago
  20€ worth of government work.
  - eru 16y ago
    Actually, it's more like 20 Euro worth of paying your taxes, and thus not going to jail.
- shin_lao 16y ago
  The note is the debt, like a check. 20 € bill = currency (debt in paper) 20 € on your account = money
dev_jim 16y ago
Currency is not a debt. Money in general is a store of value and a unit of account. You can buy things with money, you can't buy things with debt.
- thomasrynne 16y ago
  In general, currency is not a debt, but in practise it is. See http://www.moneyasdebt.net/ http://www.moneyasdebt.net/

anamax 16y ago

> Actually currency is more a debt than an agreement. When you have a 20 € bill, the European Central bank "owns you 20 €". What does it mean for the central bank to owe me 20 euros? Specifically, what do I get when they pay me what I'm owed? If the answer is 20 euros....

brianbreslin 16y ago
I think they mean $20 worth of value be it gold or some other bankable theoretical material. Originally us dollars were tied to physical gold assets
- anamax 16y ago
  > I think they mean $20 worth of value be it gold or some other bankable theoretical material. Originally us dollars were tied to physical gold assets. While dollars were originally tied to physical assets, I'm asking about what the central bank give me today for my 20 euros or dollars.
  - jsharpe 16y ago
    It doesn't matter. You get nothing directly, but that's not the point (and is part of the reason they got rid of the gold standard). The point is that the store will accept it as payment for an actual thing, and its employees will accept it as payment for actual work, and the stores they go to will accept it as payment for actual things, and their employees will accept it as payment for actual work, etc. What you get is the stuff that you buy. Or more directly, what you get is buying power.
    - anamax 16y ago
      > It doesn't matter. The person who claimed otherwise disagrees - he said that it was a payable debt. > You get nothing directly, but that's not the point Except that it is. If the answer is "nothing", than a 20 euro note is nothing more than confidence in competence of the financial system. While you may not see any alternatives to said confidence, that doesn't mean that it is justified. How much confidence do you have in them?
sesqu 16y ago
20€ worth of government work.
- eru 16y ago
  Actually, it's more like 20 Euro worth of paying your taxes, and thus not going to jail.
shin_lao 16y ago
The note is the debt, like a check. 20 € bill = currency (debt in paper) 20 € on your account = money

dev_jim 16y ago

Currency is not a debt. Money in general is a store of value and a unit of account. You can buy things with money, you can't buy things with debt.

thomasrynne 16y ago
In general, currency is not a debt, but in practise it is. See http://www.moneyasdebt.net/ http://www.moneyasdebt.net/