I hope that people don't fixate on taxes, because taxation is an essential part of how fiat currency works (as well as a necessary correction of the inequality created by capitalism). While it's technically true that the Federal Government doesn't "need" to collect taxes in order to spend money, taxes help control inflation but moreover they *underpin* demand for the dollar. Because if you *need* US Dollars to be right with uncle sam or risk going to jail for tax evasion, then you better get some USD. If we abolish taxes, it's possible that commerce would continue in USD simply out of habit, but it's likely that there would be some incentives to switch to some other currency and USD would fail completely.
What I hope people *do* take away from this is that a politician saying "how do you pay for X?" is grade-A bullshit. Because (as Bernie & his supporters will remind you), that question is never asked when we deploy military resources, or increase the Pentagon budget.
At the end of the day, the only real limits of fiat currency are inflation. And yes there is *some relationship* between creating a bunch more currency and infusing it into the economy and inflation, but that relationship is complex, and far from one-to-one. Moreover, if you do this in a way that facilitates an increase in production (for example, by building or improving infrastructure), you could have no inflation or negative inflation as a result.
The question is always this: if people have money, does it work? That is to say, do they have goods & services they can purchase with it? Inflation becomes a problem when production is depressed, because then you have fewer goods being chased by more money. So with businesses shutting down or pausing and economic stimulus on the way, I think inflation is a legitimate concern *in this one instance*. But when the economy is humming, businesses are producing, farms are producing, there is room in the economy for way better quality of life for everyone. There is no actual *need* for homelessness or inferior and incomplete healthcare. There is no real *limit* to how good we can make our educational system other than our own imagination.
Societally, we are not limited by money. Or at least, we don't have to be. ✌️
Great response! Anthony lost me with the govt boogeyman talk. Taxes are not a form of population control, they provide for the common good. Libertarianism is only convenient for those with already adequate means.
Pomp revealed in his CoinTelegraph talk that business/markets are his "sport." Once you buy into BTC as an asset, you stretch to find any way to convince everyone else to buy in. I'm not saying BTC cannot work as money, just that it would take a more gradual and sustained effort to make it work correctly. Transitioning humans from an inflationary currency to a deflationary one is a gargantuan, generational effort.
A situation where everyone is stacking sats relentlessly for fear of the USD printing presses will naturally end the same way as in the 30s: the govt will shut the party down. And, if we're lucky, that means setting a price cap and seizing it rather than shutting down all the exchanges. Mind you, this would be a deserved reaction.
BTC economics do not look good right now. The distribution curve is even worse than fiat-measured inequality. BTC will only exasperate wealth inequality nothing unless we find a way to get it into the hands of the masses BEFORE it meaningfully appreciates. Otherwise it is another play thing for the wealthy...like Pomp.
I hope that people don't fixate on taxes, because taxation is an essential part of how fiat currency works (as well as a necessary correction of the inequality created by capitalism). While it's technically true that the Federal Government doesn't "need" to collect taxes in order to spend money, taxes help control inflation but moreover they *underpin* demand for the dollar. Because if you *need* US Dollars to be right with uncle sam or risk going to jail for tax evasion, then you better get some USD. If we abolish taxes, it's possible that commerce would continue in USD simply out of habit, but it's likely that there would be some incentives to switch to some other currency and USD would fail completely.
What I hope people *do* take away from this is that a politician saying "how do you pay for X?" is grade-A bullshit. Because (as Bernie & his supporters will remind you), that question is never asked when we deploy military resources, or increase the Pentagon budget.
At the end of the day, the only real limits of fiat currency are inflation. And yes there is *some relationship* between creating a bunch more currency and infusing it into the economy and inflation, but that relationship is complex, and far from one-to-one. Moreover, if you do this in a way that facilitates an increase in production (for example, by building or improving infrastructure), you could have no inflation or negative inflation as a result.
The question is always this: if people have money, does it work? That is to say, do they have goods & services they can purchase with it? Inflation becomes a problem when production is depressed, because then you have fewer goods being chased by more money. So with businesses shutting down or pausing and economic stimulus on the way, I think inflation is a legitimate concern *in this one instance*. But when the economy is humming, businesses are producing, farms are producing, there is room in the economy for way better quality of life for everyone. There is no actual *need* for homelessness or inferior and incomplete healthcare. There is no real *limit* to how good we can make our educational system other than our own imagination.
Societally, we are not limited by money. Or at least, we don't have to be. ✌️
Well said. I liked this more than the podcast.
Great response! Anthony lost me with the govt boogeyman talk. Taxes are not a form of population control, they provide for the common good. Libertarianism is only convenient for those with already adequate means.
Pomp revealed in his CoinTelegraph talk that business/markets are his "sport." Once you buy into BTC as an asset, you stretch to find any way to convince everyone else to buy in. I'm not saying BTC cannot work as money, just that it would take a more gradual and sustained effort to make it work correctly. Transitioning humans from an inflationary currency to a deflationary one is a gargantuan, generational effort.
A situation where everyone is stacking sats relentlessly for fear of the USD printing presses will naturally end the same way as in the 30s: the govt will shut the party down. And, if we're lucky, that means setting a price cap and seizing it rather than shutting down all the exchanges. Mind you, this would be a deserved reaction.
BTC economics do not look good right now. The distribution curve is even worse than fiat-measured inequality. BTC will only exasperate wealth inequality nothing unless we find a way to get it into the hands of the masses BEFORE it meaningfully appreciates. Otherwise it is another play thing for the wealthy...like Pomp.
This will END and It will be forgotten @paydayloanguy