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> I bring this up to remind you of the government we are dealing with, and the actions they take when times are excessively difficult. They are referring to an

> I bring this up to remind you of the government we are dealing with, and the actions they take when times are excessively difficult. They are referring to an action take in 1933. Almost everyone involved in that decision is dead, from the voters to the president is dead. > The Fed aims for inflation to try to reduce the debts of the government. The Fed aims to keep the economy at full employment and inflation stable. > the Fed however, has had great difficulty in stimulating economic inflation in recent years, in large part due to the naturally deflationary effects of technology and automation. The Fed has had problems stimulating inflation and growth recently recently. This has nothing to do with technology and automation and everything to do with interest rates being so very low. (which is caused by a global savings glut, and an aging population) Also we had no problem with deflation in the 70's even though we were also automating jobs and advancing technology. > Now that you understand your part in the economy from the perspective of central banks and economists. This isn't even a strawman. This makes me thing that he's never actually read a mainstream economists. And that his only experience with mainstream economics, is other people ranting about mainstream economics. But the biggest critique of all, is that even if his "theories" (which are all a somewhere between wrong and a stretch) are correct the conclusion doesn't follow. Imagine we're in a depression and a large chunk of the populace prefers bitcoins to dollars. This will cause them to spend dollars, keeping people from hoarding dollars, and keeping the velocity up. This only really becomes and issue if salaries become denominated in bitcoin. And there are a lot of reasons you don't want to pay someone a bitcoin salary, and a lot of reasons you don't want to be paid a bitcoin salary. With one of the biggest being the tax implications.

chrisco255 6y ago
The only reason you wouldn't want to be paid in bitcoin is if you were worried about volatility, since Bitcoin can go down in the short term, by as much as 50%. There would be otherwise no additional concerns with getting paid in Bitcoin, as you would simply sell enough Bitcoin from your weekly paycheck to cover the taxes (same way that stock grants are handled).
- JamesBarney 6y ago
  You're right that volatility would be a large issue too. But I also don't want to be the accountant that's trying to figure out the tax implications of a company that has 50 workers and 18000 line items denominated in bitcoin. Not to mention dealing with first in, first out accounting.
- Volundr 6y ago
  A few reasons I don't want paid in Bitcoin: * There are no proper, FDIC insured Bitcoin banks * Taxes are significantly more complicated * No 401K * Volatility * Lack of privacy * Need to convert to USD to pay my bills
  - chrisco255 6y ago
    Taxes are easier to do now with automated tooling. You can also get VISA or MC debit cards that will automatically sell your crypto from say, your Coinbase account at point of purchase. You can invest in Bitcoin through an IRA. I believe most retirement funds are looking into adding Bitcoin as an investment option. Fidelity has talked a lot about this in recent months. You have far less privacy in the regular banking sector. FDIC deposits wouldn't make sense. Banks needed the FDIC system because they do fractionalized lending with limited reserves. Bitcoin cannot be lent out in this way. It's true you have to trust whatever exchange you store your coin in if you want convenience, but you can also quite easily store Bitcoin in a wallet that you control, and back it up with physical keys that you can store stamped on some titanium in a safety deposit box or wherever you like.
    - Volundr 6y ago
      > Taxes are easier to do now with automated tooling. You can also get VISA or MC debit cards that will automatically sell your crypto from say, your Coinbase account at point of purchase. That's a nightmare from a tax perspective. Every single one of those transactions is a taxable event. Imagine having a separate line on your taxes for each time you visit a fast food restaurant. > You have far less privacy in the regular banking sector. If I have your bitcoin wallet address I can see everything in it and everything you do with it. This is not true of banking. > FDIC deposits wouldn't make sense. Banks needed the FDIC system because they do fractionalized lending with limited reserves. Bitcoin cannot be lent out in this way. It's true you have to trust whatever exchange you store your coin in if you want convenience, but you can also quite easily store Bitcoin in a wallet that you control, and back it up with physical keys that you can store stamped on some titanium in a safety deposit box or wherever you like. With FDIC, I know if I deposit my money I can get it back. If the bank doesn't have it the government will cover it. If Coinbase loses my money, unless they have enough to cover it from other funds I'm hosed. There is no recourse. A wallet I control is even worse, now I'm entirely 100% responsible for the security of my wallet, and I'm not trained for that, nor do I have the resources to be truly effective.

chrisco255 6y ago

The only reason you wouldn't want to be paid in bitcoin is if you were worried about volatility, since Bitcoin can go down in the short term, by as much as 50%. There would be otherwise no additional concerns with getting paid in Bitcoin, as you would simply sell enough Bitcoin from your weekly paycheck to cover the taxes (same way that stock grants are handled).

JamesBarney 6y ago
You're right that volatility would be a large issue too. But I also don't want to be the accountant that's trying to figure out the tax implications of a company that has 50 workers and 18000 line items denominated in bitcoin. Not to mention dealing with first in, first out accounting.
Volundr 6y ago
A few reasons I don't want paid in Bitcoin: * There are no proper, FDIC insured Bitcoin banks * Taxes are significantly more complicated * No 401K * Volatility * Lack of privacy * Need to convert to USD to pay my bills
- chrisco255 6y ago
  Taxes are easier to do now with automated tooling. You can also get VISA or MC debit cards that will automatically sell your crypto from say, your Coinbase account at point of purchase. You can invest in Bitcoin through an IRA. I believe most retirement funds are looking into adding Bitcoin as an investment option. Fidelity has talked a lot about this in recent months. You have far less privacy in the regular banking sector. FDIC deposits wouldn't make sense. Banks needed the FDIC system because they do fractionalized lending with limited reserves. Bitcoin cannot be lent out in this way. It's true you have to trust whatever exchange you store your coin in if you want convenience, but you can also quite easily store Bitcoin in a wallet that you control, and back it up with physical keys that you can store stamped on some titanium in a safety deposit box or wherever you like.
  - Volundr 6y ago
    > Taxes are easier to do now with automated tooling. You can also get VISA or MC debit cards that will automatically sell your crypto from say, your Coinbase account at point of purchase. That's a nightmare from a tax perspective. Every single one of those transactions is a taxable event. Imagine having a separate line on your taxes for each time you visit a fast food restaurant. > You have far less privacy in the regular banking sector. If I have your bitcoin wallet address I can see everything in it and everything you do with it. This is not true of banking. > FDIC deposits wouldn't make sense. Banks needed the FDIC system because they do fractionalized lending with limited reserves. Bitcoin cannot be lent out in this way. It's true you have to trust whatever exchange you store your coin in if you want convenience, but you can also quite easily store Bitcoin in a wallet that you control, and back it up with physical keys that you can store stamped on some titanium in a safety deposit box or wherever you like. With FDIC, I know if I deposit my money I can get it back. If the bank doesn't have it the government will cover it. If Coinbase loses my money, unless they have enough to cover it from other funds I'm hosed. There is no recourse. A wallet I control is even worse, now I'm entirely 100% responsible for the security of my wallet, and I'm not trained for that, nor do I have the resources to be truly effective.