Re: "intellectual property"/virtual cash

schoolbus (djelliot@mail.wiscnet.net)
Fri, 07 Mar 1997 14:25:47 -0600


Lee Daniel Crocker wrote:
>
> > I've heard of other digital cash schemes, before, also...
> > But they were all bound up in real currency.
>
> You mean "government currencies" :)

umm, yeah... "government currencies"

>
> >> The perrenial problem has been the temptation to make lots
> >> of currency, resulting in inflation. They have to have the ability to
> >> make some currency for each new participant, otherwise stagnation occurs.
>
> > I think I mentioned how it worked. If not, here it is. When you
> > register your business/service at the gvb(global village bank), they
> > drop 50 nella into your account. When they have 1000 people signed up
> > as service providers, they will put the businesses/services on their web
> > page. Then, if you need a service you can look around, and then buy
> > their service. So, yes they do have the ability to issue the currency
> > to the people. Remember, this is purely fictional currency. The only
> > material you can purchase is digital/intellectual property...
>
> As described, this is precisely as fictional--no more, no less--than
> ordinary national currencies. There is no reason at all you couldn't
> use it to to buy and sell anything, just like all the other cybercash
> systems on the net (there are several).

I guess this is true. Have you gone to the page to check the stuff
out? I personally wouldn't use it to buy physical property, but I guess
some people could.

If you can sell a document, that
> document can be a ticket for redeeming some tangible good, and so long
> as there is a relatively fixed amount of currency, or an amount that
> inflates at a predictable rate, a useful economy will result. But as
> long as issued volume (and therefore value) is controlled by a monopoly,
> that monopoly has incentive to inflate.

OK, please forgive my ignorance. How exactly does inflation work?
Doesn't it have to do with the money supply or something like that?
Also, doesn't it affect the prices of goods(ie: increase the cost),
which in turns increases inflation? which in turn increases cost,
etc.... Or am I wrong about that? I oppose government interference in
the economy, however, I admit, I'm somewhat naieve on the theory behind
it all. I've read a little here and there, but I need to learn more.
OK, so how does a monopoly benefit from inflation?

Now, reading that you said "so long as there is a relatively fixed
amount of currency", I can reply: For each person going in, there is
only 50 nella going into the account. (however, there is a bonus for
introducing other businesses. I know, it sounds like a ponzi scheme now
that I mention that, but is it really?) Anyways, isn't that a
relatively fixed amount of currency(the 50 nella)? I apologize for
asking so many questions, but I want to learn more, and asking questions
is a good way to start. I'll probably go search the web for some more
in depth treatment, too.

>
> The only honest, safe, truly capitalist way to issue currency is to set
> it at a fixed value in tangible goods--say, grams of gold--issued by
> competing private banks (like Hong Kong). And of course, make sure
> that you buy deposit insurance valued in currency of the beneficiary's
> choice at loss, so that the insurance companies will keep the banks in
> line for you. Banks can still manipulate the money supply by doing
> fractional-reserve tricks, but they can never go too far without risking
> their promise to redeem in hard goods.

I know that's exactly the problem in America. The FED is a
fractional-reserve system, isn't it? Also, ever since the Fed has been
in existence, we've lost our gold standard, correct? Hong Kong still
works on the gold standard? How well is their economy? I know it works
pretty well, but are they better off than Americans? In general, are
the average Hong Kong people more prosperous than the standard
American(by average and standard, I mean middle class). Also, how bad
is poverty in Hong Kong? If you don't know these things, that's fine.
Just looking for more information.

>
> --
> Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com>
> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html>

Peace,
-dave
djelliot@mail.wiscnet.net

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