For those of you who missed last week's newsletter, let me catch you up. I asked everyone to answer the poll, which you can get to by clicking the button above, about which form of currency would be best. This comes off many side conversations and debates I have had recently as to what form of currency would be the best option both morally and
economically for the society in which we currently live. The results after the first week are as follows...
Gold or Other Natural Resource got 58% of the vote
Fiat, BTC, and the "Other" option all got 13% of the vote each
I am closing this poll, Tomorrow.
This week I am going to briefly discuss the pros and Cons of Fiat currency. Next week I will tackle BTC and the week after that I will consider Gold. Once I finish my relatively shallow dive into each form of currency, I will create a new poll and see if the results change at all. Eventually I will give my personal
opinion on the subject.
Okay, on to the Greenbacks! (I will not be discussing fiat currencies the world over; I am only looking at the US Dollar in this short writeup.)
The US Dollar is the current king of currency, and it would seem that nothing has the power to dethrone it
anytime soon. So, what are the pros of the current King...
- ACCEPTANCE: It is already widely accepted throughout the world. Meaning there will be no severe economic backlash for implementing it since it is already King.
- QUASI
CHRISTIAN GOVERNANCE: Despite all the divisive political news of the day, the US Dollar is maintained by a government and a people that is at least Christian in their Constitution. America may not be the ideal, but if a country is to be the controller of the world currency, then America is about as good as we got here on earth.
- INFLATION
PROTECTION?!: There are some checks and balances on the US Dollar that keep inflation in check to a degree, not a high degree, but a degree none the less.
- SOMEWHAT PEACE KEEPING: It is a peace keeping force in the world. The US is the largest economic and military power in the world, and this keeps China, Russia
and Iran on their toes. Many criticisms could be thrown at the power of the US or lack thereof, but the US has been a key player in ending world wars and maintaining relative peace because of their military power that was given to them because of their economic power which is rooted in that almighty dollar.
- IT KIND OF WORKS: I know I am
setting the bar here very low, but very few of us here in the US our dying of starvation and the necessities to life are pretty obtainable for lower middle-class workers. Huge improvements need to be made, and yes much of our economic good fortune comes from the US Populations ability to innovate, but the US Dollar does play a role, perhaps even a crucial role in our good fortunes.
On to the Cons...
- GOVERNMENT MANIPULATION: Yes, this is the obvious one. The US government has complete control over the currency and even though the Federal reserve and the Whitehouse are not supposed to be connected, we all know that certain corruption takes
place.
- MAN MADE NOT GOD GIVEN: The $ is man made and controlled by man, therefore it is going to have issues. This is perhaps why so many voted for Gold in the initial poll. Gold is the only option that is not man made. Something so controlled by the greedy heart of man will of course end up with an unjust outcome of highly concentrated income into the
hands of the corrupt and powerful.
- STRANGLE HOLD ON THE WORLD: The US is overbearing on the rest of the world, sometimes for good but often times for ill. The $ limits the sovereignty of other nations in very real ways. The US is King, and the King does not like challengers, therefore the US can be seen through history squashing potential economic rivals
because of fear of being hindered in some way. Sorry to be vague on this point, but this one bullet could be a thousand-page book. Kings tend to deal harshly with challengers.
- HOUSE OF CARDS: The US dollar is backed by the US government who is trillions of dollars in debt and losing its foothold on being the dominant force for innovation in the world because
75% of the economic output is in the abstract not the real (THINK: Stock Market over tangible goods). All this combined with the rising tensions in the world seem to be inevitably leading to devastating war and true economic disaster.
- MORE DIGITAL THAN TANGIBLE: BTC, Gold, and a Fiat Paper Currency will all be kept in digital wallets, debit cards, and phone
apps. Some think that the digital theft problem only exists for BTC but it is prevalent in all forms of currency in a global society where it becomes burdensome to lug around more than just a pocket-sized card or your phone. BTC may even be the best at keeping the digital hackers out while fiat and Gold may be more susceptible because they lack the blockchain technology and just rely on individual banks and their security systems.
Overall, the best argument for Fiat currency is that it has worked somewhat well for this long, why change it if the other options have uncertain aspects? On the other hand, the best argument against Fiat Currency is we have used it this long and numerous problems keep coming up so why not make a change? I don't plan on giving away my personal opinions until the end of this little series, but one thing that should be completely
clear is that no form of currency will ever be perfect because currency is really just a measurement of exchange that is used by man and man is notorious for mucking things up.