Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why? There's nothing wrong with the gold standard we have now. To rely on something as unstable as gasoline prices... well, I just don't ... I mean,.... what!?
We haven't been on the gold standard since 1971...
As gas is more or less a commodity derivative of another commodity prices are all over the place. Ergo a gas based dollar's value would be all over the place guaranteeing short term price instabilities with occasional big swings up and down. All of this would kill investment, kill rational budgeting and ultimately kill productivity as productivity is driven by investment.
A gasoline standard would be the worst macro-economic move of all time.
Hmmm. Whose gasoline would serve as the standard? Just gasoline made from petroleum we produce? What happens when we tap out our reserves. Also, the government-owned supply is not what controls the price of gasoline, and gasoline does not keep forever, like gold. The majority of the gasoline supply is controlled by corporations, each and collectively with an agenda that might not align with the use of their product to maintain a stable currency. Not to mention, we are not entirely self-sufficient. It looks like a good opportunity to put us even further at the mercy of the big petroleum producing countries. Let's think about where and who they are. Is that really what they want? This is beginning to sound like an even worse idea than it looked on the surface.
Would it make more people fill up gasoline in grocery bags?
I haven't seen that. I have seen a guy at a gas station filling up one of those 3 or 4 gallon popcorn cans with gas, and the can was in his trunk. I decided to have fun and called 911. Fire department showed up, gently dragged the guy away from his car, and then filled up the car with foam. The hazmat truck showed up and took away that can, plus several other unapproved containers he had filled. The guy was really mad, saying he needed to store the gas and couldn't afford a real gas can. All I could think about was that can turning over in the trunk and spilling the gas, or someone hitting him from behind and creating an inferno. Firefighters said I did the right thing.
You would have a token with a value guarantee. The valuation of the token would swing wildly to other currencies. The option was tried by Venezuela, but nobody believed in the underlying value of the token being delivered and the currency quicly failed. I'll disagree with most others on this one and say that a currency may be too far, but that may be how a relevent crypto market could be stabalized somewhat. A crypto backed by the producer of something makes sense.
But wouldn’t it be a good idea they used to have the gold standard what if we had the gasoline standard?
Let me know when an ounce of gas is still an ounce of gas a year later. An ounce of gold today will weigh an ounce a year from today. Gas contains a variety of additives that vary throughout the year. How do you account for E85, 87, 87, 91, 93, 95 octanes? The taxes which vary from state to state, county to county, town to town? Ethanol and non-ethanol?
Stick with your Forever postage stamps. Far easier.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
