97% Owned- Monetary Reform

[dionysiandame]

[video=youtube;XcGh1Dex4Yo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcGh1Dex4Yo[/video]

Brief Synopsis: The documentary deals with our current monetary system and how it encourages financial malfesceance, debt, financial emperialism, and corporate warfare. To date, there have been no systems aside from Capitalism that has encouraged the kind of "progress" we have come to see since the industrial revolution but at what cost? And what do we do when neo-liberal ideals that fly in the face of actual history and fact, leave a startling number of the population inpoverished while benefitting the lucky few?

Even if you don't wish to watch the documentary (it's a great listen by the way, I had it playing in the background at work and didn't really need to "watch" it) please feel free to chime in on the following questions and or thought droppings?

1) The Federal Reserve: What role, do you think, federal reserves (and I believe in the U.K. this would be the Bank of England) play in encouraging financial crisis if any?

2. There have been calls to abolish the Fed. This documentary actually makes a solid case for either abolishing or regulating its actions. What are you thoughts?

3. Does the grip the financial industry have within our political sphered act as a detriment to Democracy?

4. Should we go back to the gold standard? How could this be accomplished while taking into account the volatility of metals? (The documentary hints at the gold standard being better than our current digital/fiat system.)

5. What are your thoughts on the documentary as a whole.

Looking forward to eating your idea meats humans.

[sailor]

Brief Synopsis: The documentary deals with our current monetary system and how it encourages financial malfesceance, debt, financial emperialism, and corporate warfare. To date, there have been no systems aside from Capitalism that has encouraged the kind of "progress" we have come to see since the industrial revolution but at what cost? And what do we do when neo-liberal ideals that fly in the face of actual history and fact, leave a startling number of the population inpoverished while benefitting the lucky few?

Even if you don't wish to watch the documentary (it's a great listen by the way, I had it playing in the background at work and didn't really need to "watch" it) please feel free to chime in on the following questions and or thought droppings?

1) The Federal Reserve: What role, do you think, federal reserves (and I believe in the U.K. this would be the Bank of England) play in encouraging financial crisis if any?

2. There have been calls to abolish the Fed. This documentary actually makes a solid case for either abolishing or regulating its actions. What are you thoughts?

3. Does the grip the financial industry have within our political sphered act as a detriment to Democracy?

4. Should we go back to the gold standard? How could this be accomplished while taking into account the volatility of metals? (The documentary hints at the gold standard being better than our current digital/fiat system.)

5. What are your thoughts on the documentary as a whole.

Looking forward to eating your idea meats humans.

 
I won't have time to watch it until summer when I get off my current ship.

I suspect that the volatility of the price of gold is a response to the fact that we have a fiat currency, and would mostly go away if we went to to a gold standard.  That being said, gold is used for to many industrial applications to be used as a medium of exchange.

I think that Fed had less of a role over the long term than Congress in the financial crisis. Yes, the Fed made to much money easy to get by keeping interest rates low. On a longer term basis Congress made a reliance on housing and giving benefits to banks, etc that lead to the bigger issues.

[Skyth]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Fed basically handle regulating the banking industry?  Most of the calls to get rid of the Fed were from people that are in the 'regulations==bad' camp (Not to mention people who had a vested interest in the economy not getting better).  The problem is that a lack of regulation is what caused the financial crisis.

I agree that gold would not work as a currency.  Fiat currency works fine, you just have to accept the basic idea behind it.  Currency exists so that a common ground can be found as to what something is worth.

[sailor]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Fed basically handle regulating the banking industry?  Most of the calls to get rid of the Fed were from people that are in the 'regulations==bad' camp (Not to mention people who had a vested interest in the economy not getting better).  The problem is that a lack of regulation is what caused the financial crisis.

I agree that gold would not work as a currency.  Fiat currency works fine, you just have to accept the basic idea behind it.  Currency exists so that a common ground can be found as to what something is worth.

 
Similarly, I thought the Fed only regulated parts of the banking industry.  The FDIC I thought does most of the actual legal regulation.

My impression was that is was Ron Paulites who wanted the return of the gold standard that were against the Fed.

[sailor]

Similarly, I thought the Fed only regulated parts of the banking industry.  The FDIC I thought does most of the actual legal regulation.

My impression was that is was Ron Paulites who wanted the return of the gold standard that were against the Fed.

 
Should have been

"Similarly, correct me if I'm wrong..."

[Skyth]

My impression was that is was Ron Paulites who wanted the return of the gold standard that were against the Fed.

 
Pretty much fits the definition that I gave earlier  Though if memory serves, various Republicans have made comments about getting rid of the Fed.

[HeartShadow]

 
The gold standard - or ANY external standard - doesn't work.  There's a reason we left it.

Gold standard makes sense to people that think wealth is for hoarding - inflation makes hoards shrink.  But hoarding wealth just shrinks the economy - if money doesn't MOVE, everyone suffers.  Even that rich dragon with a bumfull of coinage.

Money in and of itself does not have intrinsic worth.  It has the worth we assign it.  Gold doesn't change that, it just makes it shiny.

[Darkhawk]

Money in and of itself does not have intrinsic worth.  It has the worth we assign it.  Gold doesn't change that, it just makes it shiny.

 
And given that gold's usefulness is industrial, hoarding it in particular is a good way of fucking up a technological economy further.

Basing value on a substance in that way can only not fuck up the economy if that substance is non-essential to the function of the economy - if it's pure luxury good, basically.  (Which means something with no functional value, which means that in a genuine economic collapse something that will be genuinely worthless.  SMRT, as the kids on the intarwebz say.)

[mandrina]

And given that gold's usefulness is industrial, hoarding it in particular is a good way of fucking up a technological economy further.

Basing value on a substance in that way can only not fuck up the economy if that substance is non-essential to the function of the economy - if it's pure luxury good, basically.  (Which means something with no functional value, which means that in a genuine economic collapse something that will be genuinely worthless.  SMRT, as the kids on the intarwebz say.)

can't eat gold, can't wear it for anything other than ornamentation, can't even burn it.

[dionysiandame]

can't eat gold, can't wear it for anything other than ornamentation, can't even burn it.

 
I plan on answering others's post as soon as I finish a report, but I just wanted to chime in to say that  this is PRECISELY why Warren Buffet believes buying gold is ridiculous.

Value shares in gold-mining companies? Sure. Gold itself? Ridiculous.

[Owl]

can't eat gold, can't wear it for anything other than ornamentation, can't even burn it.

Or as Plato ranted on about - Form and Substance.  Substance is what counts (dinner and a safe warm place to sleep), Form is bullshit you pay too much for - no matter how good is feels or tastes.  

The whole financial BS of the betting on whether mortgages would be paid (even if they called it something different) should never have been allowed hurt our economy the way it did.  But our economy no longer pays attention to anything of Substance - only to things of Form.

[Abdi-Ilu]

What are your thoughts on the documentary as a whole.

Looking forward to eating your idea meats humans.

Methinks many people here have never read Ludwig Von Mises or Murray Rothbard nor have read the Case for the Gold Standard.

Mises on Money
Rothbard on Money and Banking

The problem with our economy is we have politicians and appointees who are not economists(or not economically sound economists) in charge of our economy.

And yes I am a Libertarian, so go figure why I hold this viewpoint.