Pre on Nostr: Watched https://youtu.be/xRX7l_2HZEw this morning. I like Richard, and agree with him ...
Watched https://youtu.be/xRX7l_2HZEw this morning.
I like Richard, and agree with him quite often. But he has a very fixed idea of what he calls "money", which is a very new one really that's only existed since the 70s. From his definition of "money" there wasn't any money before that. Which is obviously wrong.
He should surely really accept that there are more than one type of money.
This narrow thinking about what money is leads him to the mistakes in that video:
1) "Deflation means every pound has to be be worth less". Not sure if he just misspoke there, but deflation means the value of the pound goes up, not down. In a growing economy with a fixed number of pounds each pound has to be worth more to make sure there's enough money to go around.
2) "When we face a deflationary situation people stop spending" - this may be a true fact, but what our environment and economy urgently needs is degrowth. We need people to stop spending, to stop heating up the world. Also: Inflationary money requires this constant growth but this doesn't mean spending is actually better than saving. saving is good too, and in a deflationary economy we get more saving. Is Richard against savings?
3) He seems to think volatility makes a thing useless as a hedge against inflation. My personal accounts would suggest otherwise. It's hedged against inflation just fine for me. The volatility is a result of the rapid monetization of the asset, over-leverage and speculation. But none of those things have prevented bitcoin going up faster on average than the money supply has inflated.
4) "Bitcoin can't be digital gold", he reckons, "because other cryptocurrencies exist". But this would imply Gold can't be Gold because other metals exist. It's just wrong. Those other thing's aren't Bitcoin. They do not have the longest chain with the most proof of work. Only Bitcoin has that. Bitcoin is now more limited in supply than gold. His suggestion that there is no limit to bitcoin issuance because other things can be used instead is wrong.
5) "At least gold has some uses", this is where he's wrong about money again. Having some use other than money is a BAD thing for a money. Gold is being taken off the market because people want it for electronics and for jewellery. That's bad for gold being money, and it's even worse for electronics and jewelry because they pay the monetary premium. A money is a better money if it has no other use than money. This doesn't make it worse, it makes it better.
6) "It is just an entry in a ledger, literally meaningless worthless empty. Bitcoin is a myth, it doesn't exist". And yet that is also all true of the pound. An entry in a bank ledger. Meaningless and empty, doesn't really exist. Only pounds of course are being diluted all the time, expanded by government as the economy grows. And when it doesn't. Growing less valuable every day.
No money creates value. It's a measure. A meter ruler doesn't create space, only measures it.
All money is a giant ponzi scheme, including pounds and dollars and bitcoin. And dollars/pounds may be worse because Tories can just print up billions of them to give to their mates in corrupt procurement deals.
I like Richard, and agree with him quite often. But he has a very fixed idea of what he calls "money", which is a very new one really that's only existed since the 70s. From his definition of "money" there wasn't any money before that. Which is obviously wrong.
He should surely really accept that there are more than one type of money.
This narrow thinking about what money is leads him to the mistakes in that video:
1) "Deflation means every pound has to be be worth less". Not sure if he just misspoke there, but deflation means the value of the pound goes up, not down. In a growing economy with a fixed number of pounds each pound has to be worth more to make sure there's enough money to go around.
2) "When we face a deflationary situation people stop spending" - this may be a true fact, but what our environment and economy urgently needs is degrowth. We need people to stop spending, to stop heating up the world. Also: Inflationary money requires this constant growth but this doesn't mean spending is actually better than saving. saving is good too, and in a deflationary economy we get more saving. Is Richard against savings?
3) He seems to think volatility makes a thing useless as a hedge against inflation. My personal accounts would suggest otherwise. It's hedged against inflation just fine for me. The volatility is a result of the rapid monetization of the asset, over-leverage and speculation. But none of those things have prevented bitcoin going up faster on average than the money supply has inflated.
4) "Bitcoin can't be digital gold", he reckons, "because other cryptocurrencies exist". But this would imply Gold can't be Gold because other metals exist. It's just wrong. Those other thing's aren't Bitcoin. They do not have the longest chain with the most proof of work. Only Bitcoin has that. Bitcoin is now more limited in supply than gold. His suggestion that there is no limit to bitcoin issuance because other things can be used instead is wrong.
5) "At least gold has some uses", this is where he's wrong about money again. Having some use other than money is a BAD thing for a money. Gold is being taken off the market because people want it for electronics and for jewellery. That's bad for gold being money, and it's even worse for electronics and jewelry because they pay the monetary premium. A money is a better money if it has no other use than money. This doesn't make it worse, it makes it better.
6) "It is just an entry in a ledger, literally meaningless worthless empty. Bitcoin is a myth, it doesn't exist". And yet that is also all true of the pound. An entry in a bank ledger. Meaningless and empty, doesn't really exist. Only pounds of course are being diluted all the time, expanded by government as the economy grows. And when it doesn't. Growing less valuable every day.
No money creates value. It's a measure. A meter ruler doesn't create space, only measures it.
All money is a giant ponzi scheme, including pounds and dollars and bitcoin. And dollars/pounds may be worse because Tories can just print up billions of them to give to their mates in corrupt procurement deals.