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Location: Economy
Discussion: Restore the Gold Standard
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Anonymous |
Restore the Gold Standard
Feb 27 2008, 4:25 AM EST It makes for a more stable currency. 41 out of 53 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Andy38 Andy38 |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Feb 27 2008, 6:35 AM EST I'd prefer private currencies based on a commodity basket. 2 out of 4 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Anonymous |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Feb 27 2008, 6:20 PM EST "It makes for a more stable currency."Not since 1931 ... when gold got to be worth more than the money. I'd rather see the Australian dollar not locked to the US dollar anymore, like before the 1970s. 0 out of 3 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Anonymous |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Feb 27 2008, 6:29 PM EST The Aussie dollar isn't linked the the US$ - it was floated in the 80's. yes, gold price goes up relative to money - that's because money is worthless (or rather, has an artificial value). This will reduce inflation (it won't eliminate - gold still goes up and down relative to other stuff, but prices will be less volatile) 1 out of 3 found this valuable. Do you? |
 trgh |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Feb 27 2008, 7:22 PM EST Since the advent of the practice of Fractional Reserve banking, the only backing of currency has really been the confidence in the ability to pay (ie. through taxes). The backing of Gold - as with any other commodity merely distracts us from reality & tries to enforce the errant view that money is a scarce commodity. 0 out of 3 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Anonymous |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Feb 28 2008, 6:29 AM EST If money wasn't scarce we wouldn't value it. In fact in Zimbabwe inflation is at 100,000% per annum (about 3% per day) because the government is busy making money plentiful. The more plentiful it becomes the less it is worth and in the process those that hold it are robbed of it's buying power. As the rich tend to own assets like land they are generally insulated and the burden falls mostly on the poor. Money should be scarce. 1 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Anonymous |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Feb 28 2008, 6:34 AM EST "I'd rather see the Australian dollar not locked to the US dollar anymore, like before the 1970s.Thats an odd an ignorant comment given that the Australian dollar was fixed to the US dollar as part of the Bretton Woods agreement after WWII. In the early 1970s we shifted to a crawling peg and in 1983 we abandoned any such anchor all together and just let inflation rip. I'd like to return to the way things were pre 1970s when the US dollar was fixed to gold and the aussie dollar was quite specifically locked to the US dollar. It would not be perfect but it would be a heck of a lot better than what the world endures today in currency terms. 1 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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trgh |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Mar 2 2008, 4:43 PM EST If real resources are scarce, then yes - money should be scarce. If there is a disparity between resources and the money available to use them, then there is a monetary issue. If the only shortage is one of money, then we will always see Poverty amidst Plenty, and if production is affected by a restriction of the supply of money, then those who issue the money either have their 'measurements' wrong, or they are in the business of exploitation. Milton Friedman once said "I know of no severe depression in any country or at any time, that was not accompanied by a sharp decline in the stock of money, and equally of no sharp decline in the stock of money that was not accompanied by a severe depression." Is it obvious to anyone, that if there is a scarcity of money in a country of plenty of resources, it is because those who have the power to issue it appropriately - don't? 0 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Anonymous |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Mar 4 2008, 8:46 AM EST Are you suggesting there is or is going to be a depression in this country due to a misunderstanding within the Reserve Bank about the money supply and the economy? Money is not scarce - if there was there would be deflation or at least disinflation. The Bank can't just increase the money supply (lower interest rates) because some people would prefer more money. As for the gold standard, do you want to see a more stable currency internally or externally or both? I would argue that there is nothing wrong with low, stable inflation, and most economists agree it is preferable to zero inflation. As for the volatile exchange rate, it is necessary for financial integration and allows monetary policy to focus on domestic matters. 0 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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trgh |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Mar 4 2008, 5:34 PM EST No, I am not suggesting there is, or is going to be a depression in this country. I am merely pointing out that the current financial policy of only issuing money into circulation as a debt, to be repaid with interest, continuously maintains the situation that there is not enough money in circulation to distribute all the goods and services available. The RBA would indeed be incompetent even in their own interests if they allowed their policy to COMPLETELY confiscate the wealth of the country. When you consider that he who has control over the source of all new money in Australia, loans it into circulation but expects more back (the interest) than he has given out, then its obvious that not all people in Australia will be able to pay off their loans because not enough money has been issued to enable it to happen. The extra money has to come out of circulation. Either some will have to go bankrupt, or merge & write off losses, or go into more debt, or export madly to bring more money into the country, or overproduce just to generate wages, or invent new unnecessary industries, etc. etc. etc. C.H.Douglas called this the 'Tragedy of Human Effort' The current policies of the banks ensure that these practices (which, incidentally rape the environment) continue. I believe that the RBA's hidden policy is to keep us from being evicted (or elevated) from poverty street. Just as in 1929, a depression will only happen if the banking authority desires it. And if they do desire it - it will happen. And they will be the only benefactors - being able to foreclose on assets and restrict the recovery. In my opinion, ANY inflation transfers assets to the bank and is therefore contrived, and immoral. Only Keynesian, Marxist & Socialist economists prefer low inflation to zero inflation. NO INFLATION = MAXIMUM STABILITY: this is common sense, so it is difficult for the 'well trained' economist to accept. 1 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Anonymous |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Mar 5 2008, 9:52 PM EST "I know of no severe depression in any country or at any time, that was not accompanied by a sharp decline in the stock of money, and equally of no sharp decline in the stock of money that was not accompanied by a severe depression." Try Zimbabwe. 1 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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trgh |
RE: Restore the Gold Standard
Mar 5 2008, 10:11 PM EST Your comment is out of context. I would hardly call Zimbabwe a land of plenty. Their case is almost opposite - plenty of money but no resources. Thanks for pointing it out though, it is a good example of what happens if this situation of disparity between the resources and the money that is supposed to reflect it, is not taken into prime consideration when releasing new money. I believe that new money - issued as a credit, not a debt, and not tied to employment, is the answer to filling the gap between the produce and the consumer. The situation in Zimbabwe (as far as my limited knowledge goes) is further indication of what can happen when these two elements (price of goods vs. money to buy goods) are treated independently. This example strengthens my case, thanks. 0 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |