Saturday, December 14, 2013

Ron Paul Comes Out as Bitcoin Skeptic

Joshua Byers of Pittsburgh Libertarian emails:
On a recent Ron Paul Channel video this is what Ron had to say about Bitcoin: 
“Now you might say that you don’t need gold any more because you have Bitcoin. Its very popular and its moving along. Who knows, maybe times have changed, maybe Bitcoin will satisfy the demands that the people have for holding and using a monetary unit. I’m a skeptic in that area because it’s quite different than what’s happening in gold. That doesn’t mean that Bitcoin might not be used for a purpose in finance, but it doesn’t really fit the qualities that the past 6,000 years has required as what a money should be like” – Ron Paul December 12, 2013 “RON’S GOLD UPDATE: This Week’s Gold and Dollar Futures on the Ron Paul Channel

10 comments:

  1. The bottom line problem is that it is scrip, and 'managed' by humans, thus subject to manipulation as to quantity issued, fraud, etc. It doesn’t even have the legal tender laws that force usage of govt-issued fiat ’Money’. I prefer using a commodity as money because it has market value when not used as money, thus never goes to zero value, or has excessive inflation. Such a commodity should have these characteristics (from Chap 4 of my 'Monetary Rev...' book , posted at part 2 in left side of my Forward-usa.org site)
    xxxx
    To achieve broad use, commodity coins must be made of, or contain, a material that has these nine characteristics:
    1) Rare, with a low amount in existence now, and limited new supply,
    2) Malleable; can be pressed/stamped into coins,
    3) Stable physically and chemically; doesn't break, rust, or rot; can be stored; lasts through much handling,
    4) Easy to identify, and determine purity and weight,
    5) Difficult or impossible to counterfeit,
    6) Homogeneous; a piece is the same throughout,
    7) Divisible into pieces; diamonds and pearls aren’t,
    8) High value per ounce; not bulky to handle or store, and
    9) Acceptable to most Sellers; familiar and saleable.
    The ‘market’ (users of money) has decided that gold fits these requirements best, but silver and copper can have a role in parallel, with no fixed ratios set as to value per gram (i.e., no bi-metallic standard). The coins must be valued and marked by weight of their precious metal content (such as ‘milligrams’), or for paper notes and token coins (just receipts, not 'money'), the amount of gold they can be redeemed for.' Weight of gold' is the Unit of Account. Competitive mints allowed (license optional). No Central Bank. (more in the book)
    Regards, Dave
    dave@saferinvesting.org

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    1. It is not easy to determine the purity of gold.

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    2. JP Morgan 'House Account Only' Trading in Comex Deliveries for 2013

      "Are the hedge funds, HFT’s and algos currently having a field day with this worn out trade paying any attention to the steady drain of physical gold on which their speculations are based? As is usually the case in a temporarily successful momentum trade where almost the entire universe is aboard, the answer is probably not."

      John Hathaway, The Big Picture in Gold

      http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2013/12/jp-morgan-house-account-only-issuance.html

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    3. "it's not easy to determine the purity of gold"...compared to what?

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  2. To JW: you could always buy 9999 pure coins. The Canadian, Austrian, Perth mint in Australia all make coins in various sizes and strike 9999 on the face of the coins. No one even attempts counterfeiting these coins because of the intricate designs in the crafting of the coins. Or you could just hate on owning gold entirely.

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  3. Shitcoins will never replace anything. Here today, gone later today.

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  4. Wow Chris B, you're almost as clever as Jerry Wolfgang.

    Almost.

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    1. Jerry Wolfgang may be a troll, but i've seen him at least attempt to seem intelligent on occasion.
      Chris B does not even bother. He does not even bother to seem mature, with his juvenile ad nauseum use of the 'clever' word "shitcoins".

      There is no point in taking anyone seriously about the subject of Bitcoin so long as they clearly show to have no objective standards of reasoning about it. As far as i have been, and continue to be concerned anyone who uses mockery, ridicule, sophistry, virtual one sided reporting (and use of third party reporting by people they would otherwise scorn), or quite simply transparently stupid arguments can easily be ignored until such time as they are willing to be objective and use proper arguments.
      I don't use Bitcoins and may never do so. I am neutral and objective about it but admire any attempt to circumvent state control of a currency. We'll see how it turns out. I'm willing to listen to any objective commentator on the subject whether he is positive or negative about it. No such objectivity can be found here. Too bad.

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    2. Tony doesn't even use shitcoins and yet he's open to another useless, fiat "currency." Yawn. Buy gold and silver. Stick to something you can actually hold and will keep its value, and has been used for eons as money.

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