Our economy knows many middlemen: persons and organizations that stand between the original producer of a good and the ultimate purchaser. These past few years, certain categories of middlemen have come under pressure, owing to the rise of the World Wide Web as a retailing tool. Consider how difficult it is for conventional travel …
Category: money and currency
Aug 28 2022
Third-Party Forgiveness
Joseph Sobran once composed an instructive parable that went something like this: Davis is listening to Jones speak of some injustice done to him by Smith. Davis waits until Jones runs down, and then says, “Oh, that’s all right. I forgive Smith for what he did to you.” How do you suppose Jones …
Aug 18 2022
Gauges Of Popular Confidence
Today, David Reavill at Independent Sentinel writes about one of the financial mainstays of Americans who pursue home ownership: the 30-year mortgage: For most of us, purchasing our home is the largest single financial transaction we will ever make. It is also a tremendous obligation. As we sign that mortgage loan for the …
May 23 2022
One For The Nerds, The Geeks, And The Dweebs
If you’ve been wary about the cryptocurrencies, you’re in good company – mine. Crypto, regardless of the “brand,” is a mathematical construct implemented in a rule-based system. And a certainty upon which you, I, and everyone can rely is that it will have a vulnerability in it somewhere. Porretto’s Pessimistic Principle of Engineering applies …
Mar 23 2022
Outsourcing Tyranny
Many Gentle Readers are already acquainted with this subject, owing to the rise of cancel culture and the impediments the giants of Big Tech have dropped upon our freedom of expression. Mind you, while there are many persons ready, willing, and able to offer opinions about what should be done, the subject is considerably …
Mar 20 2022
I Try Not To Use Certain Words
Indeed, I try really hard. But sometimes, I can’t resist. Today’s word is inevitable: Analysis of the Russian attack on Ukraine has rightly focused on the strategic, military and humanitarian considerations of the conflict itself. Soon, however, domestic implications will begin to impinge on the geo-political. Maintaining public support will be critical …
Mar 12 2022
Painful Remedial Lessons
If you’ve seen Tucker Carlson’s show of last night — I catch it on YouTube – I hope you paid close attention to his exposition on inflation. The Usurper Regime and their media handmaidens are doing their damnedest to persuade Americans that the cause of today’s inflation, which we experience as price increases in …
Mar 11 2022
If You’ve Been Puzzled By The War on Cash…
…have a brief video from a British subject that will chill your blood: Rogan: “Do you feel like you are sounding the alarm for People that don’t understand what the Fuck is going on?”@MaajidNawaz @joerogan pic.twitter.com/2pJCq3D0K2 — Peter Lardelli (@QuestCovidTruth) February 20, 2022 Could it be any simpler?
Jan 19 2022
Trial Balloon Warning
It’s almost a pity people have stopped watching CNN. That makes it far too easy for the network to slip something like this past us: London (CNN Business) – People are paying a lot more for food, gas, cars and services, and inflation isn’t over yet as the pandemic continues to distort the …
Jan 17 2022
Revolutions Without Bloodshed Part 1
They’re rare. The State that finds its hegemony threatened almost always responds with violence. Violence, after all, is the State’s stock in trade. It’s the characteristic method of rulers to use force and violence to work their wills upon us. In the majority of cases, they could get their way in no other …
Nov 18 2021
From The Smoke-Filled Rooms (UPDATED)
“Control the coinage and the courts. Let the rabble have the rest.” – attributed to Shaddam IV, Padishah Emperor of the known universe at the time of the rise of Paul Atreides a.k.a. Muad’Dib It’s been a while since that image was used as a metaphor for the machinations of central bankers. I’m …
Oct 02 2021
“We Can Afford To Spend As Much Of Your Money As We Like.”
Listen as a top Congressional Democrat tells you exactly that: On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-KY) said that $3.5 trillion in spending under the reconciliation bill “is pretty inconsequential when you consider all the benefits to the American people,” and “The federal government can afford anything …
Sep 21 2021
Something To Tell The Minimum-Wage Cranks
The following is a table of minimum wage levels, set by Congress, alongside another figure whose meaning I’ll withhold for now: YEAR Federal Minimum Wage Per Hour ??? 1964 $1.25 $0.90 1970 $1.00 $1.50 1980 $3.10 $14.05 1990 $3.80 $3.80 2000 $5.15 $4.15 2010 $7.25 $27.70 2020 $7.25 $23.90 Did you know the …
Jun 07 2021
Dedication To Reality
Reality, it was once said, is all the stuff that, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away. That’s as good a definition as any, considering that defining reality is essentially impossible. To define is to limit: to say that “an X is this and not that.” It is inherently exclusionary…but what can …
Mar 12 2014
The Nature Of Money And Currency Part 4: The Emergence Of Banks And Banking
The “Money and Currency” series has attracted a lot of email. To date, we have: This discussion of the properties of money and currency; This discourse on Gresham’s Law and bimetallism; This narration of the transition to a fiat dollar. I was tempted to continue on into the sociopolitical pressures that have propelled the massive …
Mar 08 2014
The Nature Of Money And Currency Part 3: The Great Transformation
To one who grasps the logic of monetary evolution — from less satisfactory to more satisfactory money commodities as technology advances and the scope of trade expands — the great question that inevitably arises is “How on Earth did we get here?” It’s a good question that takes a fair amount of historical research to …
Mar 08 2014
The Nature Of Money And Currency Part 2: Bimetallism And Gresham’s Law
The previous essay merely set forth the properties that distinguish a money commodity from a currency. I trust it was clear that I greatly prefer moneys founded on a precious metal — once was once known as a specie standard — to currencies that cannot be redeemed in a similarly valuable and durable commodity. Yet …
Mar 04 2014
The Nature of Money and Currency
Being an old fart, my education included a few items that are, let us say, no longer deemed suitable for dissemination to the impressionable young. However, had those young folks been exposed to a few of those items, quite a lot of our current miseries might well have been averted. Two of those …
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