“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 …
Category: money and currency
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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