Self depreciating money?
 

Bobabode's post regarding Rand Paul inspired me to bring up this idea. It hit me earlier today while vacuuming. Such is the lameness of ideas.

Our political discomforts seem to be hinged on which club has enough money to carry out their visions. That seems to be why one side hates gold and another side hates printing cash.

The trend solution seems to be heading in the direction of a universal global currency such as BitCoins. The idea, I guess, is that the people with the best marketing ideas will end up as the winners.

What is missing in that idea is the urgency of being kind to each other.

What if instead of gold or BitCoins, we implemented a system of currency that became worth less as time went on?

The idea is merely a seed. It seems that generations of thinkers have tried to implement such a system through estate taxes, progressive income taxes, and the like.

The difference between those systems and self-depreciating currency might be one of time. How long is long enough? One generation such as twenty years? I don't know. But a time certain might be a step in the right direction. It seems that people want certainty in their lives.

"The future's uncertain and the end is always near", The Doors.:)

Why would one desire any type of inflation, runaway or otherwise?

The idea of a universal currencey has been tried - Euros anyone? The problem is that when the value of your currencey is set by some outside agency (Brussels) that is not accountble to you there is no control over your finances. That is why most nations have a central bank answerable to the government. Then we go and have several banks answerable to no one aka The Federal Reserve.

I thought that was our existing system.

Pete

That is our existing system when inflation is present. The problem we have now is that wages are stagnant. Couple that with QE and we have an unpredictable situation on our hands that makes citizens uncomfortable.

What made me think of depreciable currency was something I read about live-aboard sailboaters. They are a frugal bunch and call money "freedom chips" or something along that line. They don't really care to amass wealth or change the world. They just want to be free and go with the wind.

I am completely comfortable. But, then, I am also completely crazy.

Dave

I'm comfortably numb. It could be the Weller's 12 year old bourbon I'm sipping on, tho.

If money invested earns interest, inflation is inevitable.

There's a little big of "chicken or the egg argument" at play in your statement. One of the reasons for the level of interest on loans is to account for inflation.

One cannot have it both ways. Low inflation but a high ROI.
Besides the Federal reserve controls money supply using a very complex formula and they are an independent organization.

On fixed income securities or bank interest, you're right. With equity investments (stocks, real estate), not so much. The stock and housing markets have climbed appreciably in a time of low interest rates.

When you look around the table, and you don't know who the sucker is...

Chas