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Boom and bust cycles are inherent to capitalist markets, you can't have capitalism without it. Blaming it all on the Fed isn't accurate. Markets boomed and bust

Boom and bust cycles are inherent to capitalist markets, you can't have capitalism without it. Blaming it all on the Fed isn't accurate. Markets boomed and busted long before the Fed existed. > hardly a bastion of price stability Relative to BTC, USD is much, much more stable. This is what I don't get about these kinds of arguments. What are you comparing the Fed to in this case?

aww_dang 5y ago
I'd go even further than that. The mismanagement of markets by central planners set the stage for cryptocurrencies. We're living in an era of speculative mania. Savings accounts have a negative real interest rate. This currency must go somewhere. Centralized payment services are vulnerable to regulators, see eGold and Liberty Reserve. Note that BTC emerged shortly after these services were destroyed. Anti-terror legislation was used. Of course there are always price fluctuations, but attempting to fix prices (i.e. interest rates) results in greater imbalances. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression#:~:text=The%20central%20bank's%20policy%20was,and%20bonds)%20and%20capital%20goods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression....
- thr0wawayf00 5y ago
  > Centralized payment services are vulnerable to regulators, see eGold and Liberty Reserve. Note that BTC emerged shortly after these services were destroyed. Anti-terror legislation was used. According to Wikipedia, Liberty Reserve was used to launder over $6B stolen from offshore banks. That sounds like a pretty legitimate reason to shut a service like that down to me. You argue that central banks are incompetent and need to be disrupted, yet you don't hold services like these to the same standard. Instead, you argue that they're victims of regulatory overreach and that we should create that allow this kind of activity to thrive. Where's the anti-money laundering mechanism in crypto? It doesn't exist. I truly do not believe that the full anonymity provided by crypto does anything but benefit those with the most resources in the system. As long as that remains true, how do we expect it result in a more fair system than what we already have?
  - aww_dang 5y ago
    >a pretty legitimate reason to shut a service like that down to me Meanwhile physical cash is preferred for criminal acts. Would you similarly blame the issuer of cash for these crimes? What about footwear? Most criminals wear shoes or boots. Running shoes can be used to evade capture. Should we hold Nike accountable? >does anything but benefit those with the most resources in the system. As long as that remains true, how do we expect it result in a more fair system than what we already have? If fairness is the virtue we are seeking, then how does the plunge protection team protect fairness? If fairness is the virtue we are seeking, then how do Cantillon effects factor into your argument? If fairness is the virtue we are seeking, then how does a central bank formed by the blue-blood oligarchy advance this cause? If fairness is the virtue we are seeking, then why does the central bank protect financial markets at the cost of all participants in the market? (Pseudo?) Anonymity is what protects individuals from regulatory overreach and confiscations of wealth. True to the form described by regulatory capture, the IRS disproportionately attacks the income of small business owners vs. the super rich, who can afford to keep a small army of tax accountants, lawyers and lobbyists on retainer. Meanwhile the tax code grows ever more byzantine by the year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cantillon#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20he%20posited%20that%20the%20original%20recipients%20of%20new%20money%20enjoy%20higher%20standards%20of%20living%20at%20the%20expense%20of%20later%20recipients.%5B63%5D%20The%20concept%20of%20relative%20inflation%2C%20or%20a%20disproportionate%20rise%20in%20prices%20among%20different%20goods%20in%20an%20economy%2C%20is%20now%20known%20as%20the%20Cantillon%20Effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cantillon#:~:text=Furt.... https://www.mdtaxattorney.com/resources/irs-targeting-small-businesses-audits/#:~:text=Experts%20Suggest%20the%20IRS%20Is,%24400%2C000)%20get%20audited%20most%20frequently https://www.mdtaxattorney.com/resources/irs-targeting-small-.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Group_on_Financial_Markets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Group_on_Financial_Mar... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve#:~:text=In%20economics%2C%20the%20Laffer%20curve,of%20the%20government's%20tax%20revenue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve#:~:text=In%20econ.... https://www.marketplace.org/2015/10/20/how-secret-meeting-jekyll-island-led-fed/#:~:text=he%20organized%20a,Federal%20Reserve%20Act https://www.marketplace.org/2015/10/20/how-secret-meeting-je....
    - giaour 5y ago

aww_dang 5y ago

I'd go even further than that. The mismanagement of markets by central planners set the stage for cryptocurrencies. We're living in an era of speculative mania. Savings accounts have a negative real interest rate. This currency must go somewhere. Centralized payment services are vulnerable to regulators, see eGold and Liberty Reserve. Note that BTC emerged shortly after these services were destroyed. Anti-terror legislation was used. Of course there are always price fluctuations, but attempting to fix prices (i.e. interest rates) results in greater imbalances. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression#:~:text=The%20central%20bank's%20policy%20was,and%20bonds)%20and%20capital%20goods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression....

thr0wawayf00 5y ago
> Centralized payment services are vulnerable to regulators, see eGold and Liberty Reserve. Note that BTC emerged shortly after these services were destroyed. Anti-terror legislation was used. According to Wikipedia, Liberty Reserve was used to launder over $6B stolen from offshore banks. That sounds like a pretty legitimate reason to shut a service like that down to me. You argue that central banks are incompetent and need to be disrupted, yet you don't hold services like these to the same standard. Instead, you argue that they're victims of regulatory overreach and that we should create that allow this kind of activity to thrive. Where's the anti-money laundering mechanism in crypto? It doesn't exist. I truly do not believe that the full anonymity provided by crypto does anything but benefit those with the most resources in the system. As long as that remains true, how do we expect it result in a more fair system than what we already have?
- aww_dang 5y ago
  >a pretty legitimate reason to shut a service like that down to me Meanwhile physical cash is preferred for criminal acts. Would you similarly blame the issuer of cash for these crimes? What about footwear? Most criminals wear shoes or boots. Running shoes can be used to evade capture. Should we hold Nike accountable? >does anything but benefit those with the most resources in the system. As long as that remains true, how do we expect it result in a more fair system than what we already have? If fairness is the virtue we are seeking, then how does the plunge protection team protect fairness? If fairness is the virtue we are seeking, then how do Cantillon effects factor into your argument? If fairness is the virtue we are seeking, then how does a central bank formed by the blue-blood oligarchy advance this cause? If fairness is the virtue we are seeking, then why does the central bank protect financial markets at the cost of all participants in the market? (Pseudo?) Anonymity is what protects individuals from regulatory overreach and confiscations of wealth. True to the form described by regulatory capture, the IRS disproportionately attacks the income of small business owners vs. the super rich, who can afford to keep a small army of tax accountants, lawyers and lobbyists on retainer. Meanwhile the tax code grows ever more byzantine by the year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cantillon#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20he%20posited%20that%20the%20original%20recipients%20of%20new%20money%20enjoy%20higher%20standards%20of%20living%20at%20the%20expense%20of%20later%20recipients.%5B63%5D%20The%20concept%20of%20relative%20inflation%2C%20or%20a%20disproportionate%20rise%20in%20prices%20among%20different%20goods%20in%20an%20economy%2C%20is%20now%20known%20as%20the%20Cantillon%20Effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cantillon#:~:text=Furt.... https://www.mdtaxattorney.com/resources/irs-targeting-small-businesses-audits/#:~:text=Experts%20Suggest%20the%20IRS%20Is,%24400%2C000)%20get%20audited%20most%20frequently https://www.mdtaxattorney.com/resources/irs-targeting-small-.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Group_on_Financial_Markets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Group_on_Financial_Mar... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve#:~:text=In%20economics%2C%20the%20Laffer%20curve,of%20the%20government's%20tax%20revenue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve#:~:text=In%20econ.... https://www.marketplace.org/2015/10/20/how-secret-meeting-jekyll-island-led-fed/#:~:text=he%20organized%20a,Federal%20Reserve%20Act https://www.marketplace.org/2015/10/20/how-secret-meeting-je....
  - giaour 5y ago