3 ms·
That's not unique to bitcoin. We're all born into this world with no money. When the youngins want money, they don't beg Jerome Powell to print them USD, or Sa
by do_not_redeem 2y ago
That's not unique to bitcoin. We're all born into this world with no money.
When the youngins want money, they don't beg Jerome Powell to print them USD, or Satoshi to linearly mint them BTC--they get a job and work for it.
- itsalwaysgood 2y agoIt's a tired trope, but time is money. Fiat currency works because of this idea. Fiat currency fails when a nation defaults on its loans because people lose faith in the currency. The money printing scares everyone because of the US's rising debt. If it cannot be balanced at some point, people will think inflation is permanent. It's difficult to cut costs because the US economy must pay to maintain its status. The only way to reduce our debt is to increase our GDP: aka, sell more shit and do more with less.
- TZubiri 2y agoIncorrect. Taxes and printed money are used as a redistributive system. Newborns enjoy unemployment benefits, basic health care, schooling etc... Bitcoin does not have this property, it's basically its whole ethos.
- do_not_redeem 2y agoThat is a property of society, not of the currency itself. Taxes pay for those things, and the US taxes economic activity in all currencies including bitcoin.
- TZubiri 2y agoI get the argument that taxes might not be a property of the coin (its is, you don't pay taxes in btc, you pay them in usd) But the ability of the government to print usd to pay for social benefits is 100% a property of the coin. The argument is simple, Bitcoin has a limited supply and usd has constant minting, therefore btc gives more power to old farts, and usd gives power to everyone (citizens of the us) Don't overthink the simple.
- do_not_redeem 2y agoI can assure you the printed money is not paying for any social benefits—that is 100% taxes. If the government were so benevolent as to print money to pay for kids' education, the country would be far better off. Teachers would not be making paltry wages and paying for classroom supplies out of pocket. And bitcoin would not exist. Bitcoin was created by someone who didn't approve of what the old farts did with the money they print, and wanted to give power back to everyone (citizens of the world). Don't overthink the simple.
- TZubiri 2y ago"If the government were .. to print money to pay for kids' education" Let me cut your hypothetical right there to simplify and ignore the rest. It does, government prints money to pay, among other things for education. Even in ordinary money creation, yes the government borrows money, but it borrows it to fund state expenses like schools. They are paying interest which they just printed to fund these operations. Then exceptionally, (if they are ever insolvent or need money), they directly create money. 2008 crisis, 2021 covid crisis, wars. I don't understand how you simultaneously believe that the government prints money, but doesn't fund government expenses with printed money. Do they just print money to devalue savings and spite you?
- do_not_redeem 2y agoQE money goes straight to the banks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing > A central bank enacts quantitative easing by purchasing, regardless of interest rates, a predetermined quantity of bonds or other financial assets on financial markets from private financial institutions.[12][13] This action increases the excess reserves that banks hold. The goal of this policy is to ease financial conditions, increase market liquidity, and encourage private bank lending. -- > I don't understand how you simultaneously believe that the government prints money, but doesn't fund government expenses with printed money. Do they just print money to devalue savings and spite you? "The government" is not a monolithic entity. Money printing is monetary policy. Taxes and social services are fiscal policy. I think you are mixing those two things up. The arm of the government that prints money is not doing it to spite the citizens (Hanlon's razor). They're doing to maximize employment, stabilize prices, and moderate long-term interest rates[1]. Funding schools is not part of those goals. That happens elsewhere in government, far away from the money printers. [1]: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/225a https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/225a