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Bitcoin has many benefits for the average man, provided it is in wide use. Currently it isn't, so the advantages are not yet substantive. For one thing, the go

by chisleu 12y ago

Bitcoin has many benefits for the average man, provided it is in wide use. Currently it isn't, so the advantages are not yet substantive. For one thing, the government doesn't control the inflation of bitcoin like it does with dollars. The fed aims for ~2.5-3% "inflation" every year, however this is inflation beyond the massive deflation that occurs year over year due to technology and efficiency increases... The supercomputer that cost millions in 1970 dollars cost you a couple hundred (and fits in your pocket to boot.) The inflated 1970's million USD is gigantic in today's dollars, but only because of the inflation created by the fed because they believe it is the only way to keep the fiat money system working. If people realized the deflationary power by simply not spending, the consumer driven economy would crash and burn quickly. What bitcoin offers is an escape from that inflationary cycle. If it's use spreads, it will allow people to protect their money in banks (although, they will be more like safety deposit boxes.) Banks can still offer loans, but it will be at a real rate in the market place. Fractional reserve banking will be a thing of the past. Federal (debt-backed) subsidies will no longer apply. The inflationary spiral that keeps reducing wealth for anyone who wants to save without participating in the inflated stock market will end. I see bitcoin as the cure to the woes of today. We have a real problem with the environment, and I believe much of it would be better if the money supply were not manipulated to support the consumer-driven economy. We would still have smart phones, but we probably wouldn't have throw away cases that we changed out with every outfit..

Frondo 12y ago
"the government doesn't control the inflation of bitcoin like it does with dollars"-- This is exactly the thing about Bitcoin that concerns me most; it has economic implications baked into its design and operation, but We, the People, have no voice in deciding those implications. What if We, the People, want to change the inflationary/deflationary properties of the money? If we're on bitcoin, someone else made that choice for you, and you have no recourse. I'm not at all comfortable giving away that kind of agency; after such a long arc toward greater democracy, it's hard to see bitcoin as anything but a substantial step away from democratic governance.
- chisleu 12y ago
  You assume that We, the People, have a say in current US economic policy. We don't. If Ee, the People, are on bitcoin, we have already made the decision to use a gold-like limited resource as a currency that will absolutely become deflationary at some point. You have no agency in government; no matter how great your use of punctuation.
  - Frondo 12y ago
    Of course you have agency in government. You do vote, don't you? You go and meet your politicians, right? You talk to your fellow citizens and organize among them, right? I, as an individual, have put policy bugs in local politicians' ears just by showing up, shaking hands, making a persuasive case. And that's just from a few years off-and-on involvement, no money changing hands, no campaign funding, etc. I guess if you stay home and do nothing, then yeah, you have no agency.
    - dismal2 12y ago
      Go ahead and vote for the next FED chairman!
      - dragonwriter 12y ago
        There is a big excluded middle between "all government officials are directly elected" and "the general public has no agency in government policy".
        dismal2 12y ago
        So are you going to vote for the guy who opened Guantanamo and started illegal wars that cost thousands of innocent lives of the guy who won't close Guantanamo and uses robots to kill thousands of people with no oversight who end up being classified as enemy combatants as long as they are male, Arab, and of fighting age? Or maybe the leader who illegally spies on all the citizens of his country or the other guy who will do exactly the same thing. Decisions decisions...
shawnb576 12y ago
By your argument the cost of food/goods are going up because we're becoming less efficient at producing it. This is not how inflation works, and that's not how deflation works. Maybe go bone up on your basic economics?
- jbooth 12y ago
  Basic economics are just, like, what the man wants you to think, man.
- chisleu 12y ago
  No... That isn't my argument at all. I guess you should go back and read my argument again because you clearly can't understand it in a single go. The reason the prices go up are because the fed absorbs all of the technology-powered reductions in price in order to maintain an artificial level of inflation. You are a baboon.

by chisleu 12y ago

Frondo 12y ago

"the government doesn't control the inflation of bitcoin like it does with dollars"-- This is exactly the thing about Bitcoin that concerns me most; it has economic implications baked into its design and operation, but We, the People, have no voice in deciding those implications. What if We, the People, want to change the inflationary/deflationary properties of the money? If we're on bitcoin, someone else made that choice for you, and you have no recourse. I'm not at all comfortable giving away that kind of agency; after such a long arc toward greater democracy, it's hard to see bitcoin as anything but a substantial step away from democratic governance.

chisleu 12y ago
You assume that We, the People, have a say in current US economic policy. We don't. If Ee, the People, are on bitcoin, we have already made the decision to use a gold-like limited resource as a currency that will absolutely become deflationary at some point. You have no agency in government; no matter how great your use of punctuation.
- Frondo 12y ago
  Of course you have agency in government. You do vote, don't you? You go and meet your politicians, right? You talk to your fellow citizens and organize among them, right? I, as an individual, have put policy bugs in local politicians' ears just by showing up, shaking hands, making a persuasive case. And that's just from a few years off-and-on involvement, no money changing hands, no campaign funding, etc. I guess if you stay home and do nothing, then yeah, you have no agency.
  - dismal2 12y ago
    Go ahead and vote for the next FED chairman!
    - dragonwriter 12y ago
      There is a big excluded middle between "all government officials are directly elected" and "the general public has no agency in government policy".
      - dismal2 12y ago
        So are you going to vote for the guy who opened Guantanamo and started illegal wars that cost thousands of innocent lives of the guy who won't close Guantanamo and uses robots to kill thousands of people with no oversight who end up being classified as enemy combatants as long as they are male, Arab, and of fighting age? Or maybe the leader who illegally spies on all the citizens of his country or the other guy who will do exactly the same thing. Decisions decisions...

shawnb576 12y ago

By your argument the cost of food/goods are going up because we're becoming less efficient at producing it. This is not how inflation works, and that's not how deflation works. Maybe go bone up on your basic economics?

jbooth 12y ago
Basic economics are just, like, what the man wants you to think, man.
chisleu 12y ago
No... That isn't my argument at all. I guess you should go back and read my argument again because you clearly can't understand it in a single go. The reason the prices go up are because the fed absorbs all of the technology-powered reductions in price in order to maintain an artificial level of inflation. You are a baboon.