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Paper bills can be printed off as the Treasury sees fit, but that doesn't mean it has any inherent value other than the fact that we say it does.
Some people are paid more, some people are paid less. Decided by those in upper eschelons.
These days money is simply a number electronically transmitted in and out of bank accounts. It's no longer solely in the form of printed bills or paychecks, and certainly there are not enough precious metals or gems in all the world to back up all of the trillions of dollars we hear about.
What is money if nothing more than an intangible point system with tremendous power that everyone works so hard for?
Why would there need to be enough precious metal? We don't have the capacity or use for large amounts of gold, so we don't barter with it in raw, mostly. And currency, as I understand it, is worth we decide it is worth. As long as everyone 'acts as if', then it does have tremendous value.
The unregulated creation of currency quickly leads to inflation. There are specific scientific measures taken, at least in the US and at least in theory, to regulate how much is produced.
All value is determined by what we say that value is, even metals and gems. That's why those items can change value based on demand by consumers and manufacturers. Which is also why you can't say there isn't enough metals or gems to back it all up...because there is no set conversion rate to say X number of gems and ounces of metals cover it.
THis idea that precious metals are some holy grail of monetary policy is the realm of gold bugs and survivalists sitting in their bunkers waiting for the world to collapse. It's a thing to collect so when their hope of the global economy collapsing (or whatever doomsday scenario) happens, a current world where they are depressed losers, they can live their fantasy of becoming a winner at life showing up all those people who doubted them.
Plus it is easy for those who don't have many of those points (dollars) to play sour grapes and say they are worthless. Money isn't the be all and end all of life...but it's what we have till we find something better.
Good luck with getting a straight answer from this topic. Value is a slippery concept, I agree. But I am not sure you can equate the concept of value with money. Money has no value, it only makes exchange of goods easier. The value is in the goods you are exchanging. Money is just a proxy for goods, so you don't have to carry those around with you.
You are right that there is no objective value in anything - gold, diamonds, tulips, or bitcoins. But some things clearly have more usefulness (like rice and gasoline) and it is easier to see some intrinsic value in those items. The value of such things is all relative value, as in one gallon of gas is worth (to me) two loaves of bread. So again, money is just a proxy for those things that you would be trading.
Even though people talk about the US Govt printing money whenever it needs some, it doesn't really - the money is backed by debt obligations, issued as bonds. It cannot print any more money than it has sold bonds to back up the money.
The USD has been created out of thin air since Nixon took us off the gold std. in 1971. Today the USD is backed by the full faith and trust in the US Gov't, it's people, its long term security and productivity.
Private banks create money through the loan process.
The Fed can create money out of thin air.
The Treasury (Executive Branch) can create money through coinage.
The USD has been created out of thin air since Nixon took us off the gold std. in 1971.
See? Then how could there ever be a shortage of money? Why are lowlier people deemed less worthy than others to earn as much imaginary money?
Even in other forums today I read people judging how much pay certain jobs are worth. If money is a nebulous, manmade point system with no inherent value, what gets us thinking this way? Why is the work that some humans do deemed more valuable than that of others?
Who here believes Nixon's decision to remove us from the gold standard was a good move for this country? Why?
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