The traditional argument for fiduciary media and ultimately unbacked fiat money was based on the costs of production. The real resources otherwise used for gold mining and minting could, under a fiat standard, be used for other productive purposes and thus enrich society as a whole.
— Read on mises.org/wire/euro-shows-fiat-money-system-more-expensive-we-thought
Conventional wisdom says that savings is the amount of money left after monetary income was used for consumer outlays, implying that saving is synonymous with money. Hence, for a given consumer outlays an increase in money income implies more saving and thus more funding for investment.
— Read on mises.org/wire/why-we-need-savings-produce-what-we-need
Saving is the good investment
QUESTION: RE: ….& Coming Barter System. So, are you suggesting that we may see a shift to Silver by private individuals as the only way to sidestep Government stupidity, or will it be even worse, like trading whiskey for toilet paper?? TWE ANSWER: Assuming government attempts to follow the IMF’s advice and create cryptocurrencies to replace paper money, then the only alternative will be the barter system. To make this clear, the likelihood of the USA following this route is a last resort. It will NOT be the first, but the last. We will see this in Europe before we will ever see it in the USA. This cannot be a question that is answered based upon OPINION, for we all have one. The only rational way to approach that question is to look at history and see how people responded to similar but not identical positions. What comes to mind in Japan. Each new emperor devalued the money issued his own coins worth 10x that of the coins of the previous emperor. People resorted to bags of rice and they used the coins of China. Everyone refused to use Japanese coins. The result was that Japan LOST the right to issue coins at all for 600 years. Moving to a cryptocurrency to stop the underground economy from using paper money will simply switch it to foreign currency (dollars in Europe) or something commodity based. In federal prisons, when they banned smoking back in 2004, packs of mackerel industry became the prison currency. Everyone operated an internal economy. They used cigarettes as their currency of choice to purchase anything from food and home-brewed prison hooch. They also used books of stamps. Prisoners could ship books of stamps out and they could resell them at a discount. Mackerel became the small change at about $1 a pack. There are fully developed economies within prisons. Someone skilled at drawing would make cards for holidays, while others were good at a trades tailoring to fix your clothing. Others would take a scarf and turn it into a warm knitted hat. Once you eliminate the freedom that paper money provides, the government may believe it will get 100% of every tax it ever dreamed of but the underground economy will flip to barter. As far as silver is concerned, I would prefer silver coins that are recognizable to the average person. Offering bars of silver would be at a discount, for it will require knowledge and testing.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/markets-by-sector/precious-metals/silver/why-silver-barter-becomes-the-alternative-to-cryptocurrency/
[Excerpted from chapter 13 of Guido HĂĽlsmann’s The Ethics of Money Production (2008).]
— Read on mises.org/library/morality-fiat-money
Currency
While the BitCoin people have hated me for not agreeing with them that a private currency could displace the currencies of all nations and BitCoin would be the new “reserve currency” killing the dollar, to me they are in serious need of help. They have ZERO comprehension of governmental power and ZERO understanding of what is going on behind the curtain. The IMF has come out and stated that each nation should issue their own cryptocurrency and these fools cheers claiming I am not with it and do not get this new age of technology. Sorry, but these people are really clueless if not perhaps undercover people with a mission to get people willing to surrender their final liberty – paper money. While cryptobugs advocate gold is dead and BitCoin will conquer the financial world, they miss the point entirely. The IMF is by no means embracing cryptocurrencies for the same reason these people have claimed it will bypass central banks. The IMF is advocating the end of paper money to kill the underground or black economy solely to aid the hunt for taxes and to PREVENT bank runs. If there is no paper money, how can you run to the bank in a panic demanding to withdraw your money? They also argue eliminating paper money will end crime. Now, Michael Andrew, the man appointed by the Australian Federal government to lead the ‘Black Economy Taskforce’ at the end of 2016, is arguing for an interim-step. He believes tracking the currency denomination is the best solution in stopping the underground/black economy and grabbed taxes if you found a $50 or $100 bill on the street and failed to give the government their 50%. Governments are going broke. They will not listen and instead, they are obsessed with just a solution for the next quarter. They lack any vision of the future and will NEVER tax responsibility for their own mismanagement. Their single solution is to always raise taxes rather than reform. The more they press toward this cashless society the greater the economic implosion. What comes after the elimination of cash and the budgets are never balanced with institution starting to shift to private assets rather than government bonds that pay nothing and present huge risks will be the default on social programs without the corresponding reduction in taxes. This all leads to the inevitable collapse of Western Society just as we witnessed the collapse of Communism in 1989. Our model is famous for forecasting the collapse of Communism and even the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9, 1989; 1989.857). The likelihood of Western Socialism surviving as some benevolent government will come to an end by 2041.457. The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests that culminated on June 4th, 1989 (1989.424). This means we should begin to see a sharp rise in civil unrest cyclically speaking beginning October 28th, 2020 going into the US Presidential elections. The future appears very dark unless we can convince the world governments that they face a hopeless path to secure its power. In this hunt for taxes, they are destroying all liberty. They cannot reasonably pretend to be governments of the people and by the people in a wonderful land of democracy and opportunity when they need to track everything we do and have. Paying a babysitter will be illegal with cash. Society will not run to cryptocurrencies with open arms. We will be forced to return to barter systems.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/economics/australia-inserting-nano-chips-in-50-100-bills-to-track-underground-economy-coming-barter-system/
More control from Uber paranoid control freaks
US Dollar Status as Global Reserve Currency? | Wolf Street
— Read on wolfstreet.com/2018/12/31/us-dollars-status-as-global-reserve-currency/
The Best in uncensored news, information, and analysis
— Read on www.blacklistednews.com/
This way the banks get their cut of everything. This is about control.
Our country is beset by a large number of economic myths that distort public thinking on important problems and lead us to accept unsound and dangerous government policies. Here are ten of the most dangerous of these myths and an analysis of what is wrong with them.
— Read on mises.org/wire/ten-great-economic-myths
QUESTION: Marty, your account of Carausius and Postumus being the ancient Brexit is really interesting. Am I correct that whilst this separatist movement failed, it was this Brexit that forced Rome to reintroduce silver? HM ANSWER: Correct. Diocletian introduced the silver Argenteus in 294AD after the defeat of Carausius’ separatist movement. It is highly likely that old silver denarii were still being used at a huge premium. We do find many denarii worn rather extensively indicating that they did see a lot of circulation. Here is a coin of Postumus (260-268AD) and the reverse is a political statement. The reverse side states “RESTITVTOR GALLIAR” with Postumus standing left with foot on the captive barbarian, resting on his spear and raising a kneeling figure of Gallia holding a cornucopia. This is portraying him as the great restorer of order and savior of Gaul. This goes directly to the political instability emerging. His rebellion was by no means an attempt to seize the empire but to split from Rome and establish the Gallic Empire. This is where the coinage PROVES a very important point. The debasement we see in the coinage of Rome clearly created a CONTAGION. Even though Postumus split creating a separatist movement with the Gallic Empire, he could not maintain a silver standard for the coinage he would strike simply vanished from circulation as was the case in Rome proper. Consequently, we find that the coinage of Postumus shows that he too had to debase the coinage keeping in line with the debasement in Rome under Gallienus. The silver was being hoarded even within this new separatist movement. However, when we look at the second Ancient BREXIT movement 14 years later, things did calm down and confidence was beginning to return for Carausius issues a silver denarius and then Diocletian is compelled to follow in 294AD with the re-introduction of silver coinage known as the Argentius. The most interesting aspect of this is that here the Second Ancient BREXIT influenced monetary reform in the Roman Empire working in reverse. The first reign under Postumus separated when the coinage was still silver. So the debasement in Rome compelled the same response in the Gallic Empire. The Second Ancient BREXIT takes place post-debasement and it issues a silver denarius to prove it is prosperous there in Britain. Thus, the influence moves back the other way. Therefore, the sequence matters. What this demonstrates is that if Europe cancels the currency and moves to its own cryptocurrency as the IMF is suggesting, people will then immediately begin to hoard the paper currency of the USA, Scandinavia, Switzerland, and perhaps even China. This could result in forcing other countries to move to cryptocurrencies to control capital flows. This is NOT what I hope for. If we can get just one country to adopt our solution of eliminating debt, this will put pressure on everyone else to follow. The danger cryptocurrency introduces is OFF THE CHARTS!. The sales pitch has been that they will bypass central banks. In reality, when government outlaws private cryptocurrencies and compels people to use the official cryptocurrency, then the global capital flows will be threatened profoundly. All I can do is understand the economics of the situation and hope for the best.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/europes-current-economy/will-brexit-force-change-in-eu-people-hoard-dollars-fearing-the-euro-can-be-cancelled/
COMMENT: Dear Martin, I would like to share any information on the subject “The Hunt for Taxes and the Abolition of Cash” that you comment on so often: Citi closes accounts of customers who withdraw cash instead of using credit cards The Peruvian author and journalist Jaime Bayly, who lives in Florida, comments political and arts issues in his daily TV show. Recently, he mentioned that the Miami subsidiary of Citi bank closed all his accounts because he withdraws too much cash from his account instead of using his credit card to pay his expenditures. His objection that he prefers to use cash for personal reasons was countered by the bank that he is suspicious of money laundering! Thank you so much for your work and for maintaining a blog that I review daily with great interest, kind regards, U. G. REPLY: What people do not realize is that the regulations being imposed upon banks all to hunt for taxes are rarely every discussed in mainstream media. Effectively, the government has put all banks in a position where THEY must be the judge, jury, and prosecutor whereas the government could NEVER impose such restriction upon individuals without a Constitutional violation of Due Process of law. They force banks to be the police because you are NOT entitled to Constitutional Due Process of law when it is not a LEGAL proceeding that could result in the confiscation of your property or imprisonment. Like FATCA, they imposed regulations upon foreign banks that they MUST report WHATEVER an American does overseas and if they own more than 5% of any company. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) lists 30 some business categories that have been linked to “high-risk activity,” including marijuana dealers, gun sellers, home-based charities, payday loans, dating services, escort services, fireworks suppliers, cable box de-scramblers, coin dealers, credit card repair services, gaming and gambling websites, and telemarketing companies. The coin dealers they deal are selling people things off-the-grid and gun dealers because they may be helping to arm you against the government. Then there was the pornography industry that Michael Avenatti is allegedly just usurped Stormy Daniels to become famous in suing Trump in hopes of running for president himself. It was reported that Chase closed hundreds of porn stars accounts with no explanation whatsoever. Chase bank merely sent out letters to porn industry workers revealing the accounts would be closed the following month. The letters offered no reason for the closure and just made a non-sincere apology for the inconvenience. Banks now do background checks and continue to monitor all transactions that are made once the account is open. The FDIC also recommends that banks look at the volume and nature of consumer complaints filed on websites like the Better Business Bureau. A company that has a large number of returns or charge-backs due to customer dissatisfaction can find themselves out of business unable to even have a bank account. Another red flag is certainly cash deposits or withdraws can easily find themselves booted out of the bank. For personal accounts, there’s a whole other set of warning signs that banks are required to look for. Chief of the list is no record of current or past employment but make frequent, large transactions, you don’t live or work anywhere near the city or state where you’ve opened an account. You do not have a valid phone number. Then there is the usual issue of a chronic overdrafters who banks will get rid of quickly. They will also monitor your account for any sudden surge in account activity. They will also flag multiple round-number transactions like $50,000 or deposits just under $10,000. Even constant visits to safe deposit boxes send a RED FLAG THAT YOU ARE USING IT TO HIDE CASH. They will also monitor big purchases of precious metals or fine art. They view that as taking money off the grid. Effectively, your bank reserves the right to shut your account at any time, for any reason. They are doing so because they are fined if you do something. Hence, Congress has turned banks against their own clients compelling them to be judge, jury, and prosecutor. They will close your account and report you to the government on the drop of a dime or even a penny.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/regulation/why-banks-have-become-judge-jury-prosecutor-and-will-shut-you-down-judged-guilty-for-nothing-that-is-actually-illegal/
As governments run up more debt, this will only get worse
John Barleycorn 
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