Gates is now #2...
-V
I'm shedding tears right now. Oh, wait that has nothing to do with Bill Gates.
You can't fool me. I listen to Public Radio. -- Squidward Tentacles
Billionaires' total net worth rose 50 percent to $3.6 trillion. After sharply contracting the previous year, the total number of billionaires also increased from 793 to 1,011, Forbes' list showed. The number is still lower than the record 1,125 billionaires recorded in 2008.
Not only are there more billionaires than last year, but the ones at the top are even richer than last year. The top 10 billionaires have a combined net worth of $342 billion, up from $254 billion in 2009, Forbes said.
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just goes to show that Rost and Same Old's arguments about inflation are really good. inflation really helps the people at the bottom!
to be fair, a lot of those new billionaires might only be hundred-millionaires if we adjusted for inflation...i wonder how many billionaires (and millionaires) there were in the US before the gold standard was ended...
thestallion:just goes to show that Rost and Same Old's arguments about inflation are really good. inflation really helps the people at the bottom!
Are you from the past?
you mean the 99.993% of human history in which the gold standard has dominated commerce?
thestallion: you mean the 99.993% of human history in which the gold standard has dominated commerce? -V
You're like rainman but without any of the ability.
rost0031: thestallion: you mean the 99.993% of human history in which the gold standard has dominated commerce? -V You're like rainman but without any of the ability.
upon doing the math, to believe in fiat currencies, given the historical perspective of what has worked for thousands of years, you would pretty much have to be a quack.
seriously. i even rounded to 40 years for you. it's actually been 38.5 years since the gold standard was abolished.
i think that makes Rost the grey duck.
quack quack.
thestallion:upon doing the math,
Same Old: thestallion:upon doing the math,You've demonstrated several times that you don't know any math.thing.
FTFY.
Same Old: thestallion:upon doing the math,You've demonstrated several times that you don't know any math.
there may be few things i know, but math is one.
adding and subtracting is arithmetic.
Same Old: adding and subtracting is arithmetic.
thanks but i learned that in college.
The internet tells me that "arithmetic is a branch of mathematics." That would mean that it is, in fact, math.
Here's the thing about the gold standard - how is this any different than paper currency? The value that gold has is because we think it's valuable (shiny and pretty), just like dollars. I'm sure it has some nominal, industrial use, but I don't think that's what people are talking about. I'm making this up and am probably wrong, but would be interested if somebody actually knows what they're talking about (sorry, Stallion).
It's not the heat, it's the stupidity
thestallion: Same Old: thestallion:upon doing the math,You've demonstrated several times that you don't know any math. there may be few things i know, but math is one. -V
I just wanted to quote the above statement as a demonstration of my previous point.
Gold is a precious metal, hence it has value because it is relatively rare. Paper is neither precious, naturally occurring, or rare so it has relatively little value.
~€~
Josh:Here's the thing about the gold standard - how is this any different than paper currency? The value that gold has is because we think it's valuable (shiny and pretty), just like dollars. I'm sure it has some nominal, industrial use, but I don't think that's what people are talking about. I'm making this up and am probably wrong, but would be interested if somebody actually knows what they're talking about (sorry, Stallion).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard
This has a good description of advantages and (many) disadvantages of the gold standard.
rost0031: thestallion: Same Old: thestallion:upon doing the math,You've demonstrated several times that you don't know any math. there may be few things i know, but math is one. -V I just wanted to quote the above statement as a demonstration of my previous point.
i'm slower than i was in high school/college but there are a couple math marbles left...the little i know tells me that believing in the staying power of something that has lasted for .007% of human history is a bit quack-ish. i believe the phrase is "go sit by Nats"...
We were all Quitnesses.
Josh: Same Old: adding and subtracting is arithmetic. The internet tells me that "arithmetic is a branch of mathematics." That would mean that it is, in fact, math.
nuance and factual info are lost on Same Old. it's more fun to exchange barbs...
Josh: Here's the thing about the gold standard - how is this any different than paper currency? The value that gold has is because we think it's valuable (shiny and pretty), just like dollars. I'm sure it has some nominal, industrial use, but I don't think that's what people are talking about. I'm making this up and am probably wrong, but would be interested if somebody actually knows what they're talking about (sorry, Stallion).
hmm...you come to musicscene politics/beliefs to hear from currency experts. you might try a different website. here you'll get links to wikipedia, and opinion passed as fact.
thestallion:i'm slower than i was in high school/college but there are a couple math marbles left...the little i know tells me that believing in the staying power of something that has lasted for .007% of human history is a bit quack-ish.
Dude....slavery lasted for all of human history except a tiny portion of it.
Human beings also survived the bulk of their existence without a polio vaccine, but that doesn't mean we're not better for it.
Logic.
Neil Annwn: thestallion:i'm slower than i was in high school/college but there are a couple math marbles left...the little i know tells me that believing in the staying power of something that has lasted for .007% of human history is a bit quack-ish. Dude....slavery lasted for all of human history except a tiny portion of it. Human beings also survived the bulk of their existence without a polio vaccine, but that doesn't mean we're not better for it. Logic.
i was referring to economic systems/currencies but if you're going to pick random examples of beneficial things that are historically new, i could do the same on the flip side.
-AIDS
-Nuclear weapons
-CO2 emissions (for you Same Old-style alarmists)
etc. etc.
my argument was quite logical. the fact that you think it wasn't makes me wonder if you have studied formal logic and understand what it really is...
thestallion:i was referring to economic systems/currencies but if you're going to pick random examples of beneficial things that are historically new, i could do the same on the flip side.
Great, because it sure seemed like you were making the argument that because it was practiced for the bulk of human history, that alone provided justification for its continued practice.
Neil Annwn: thestallion:i was referring to economic systems/currencies but if you're going to pick random examples of beneficial things that are historically new, i could do the same on the flip side. Great, because it sure seemed like you were making the argument that because it was practiced for the bulk of human history, that alone provided justification for its continued practice.
that WAS the argument. in the context of currencies, this argument makes sense. with respect to the benefits of slavery to the world, this argument fails. why? because for thousands of years people have considered gold to be of intrinsic value.
slavery? intrinsic value? nonsensical.
there have been numerous times when countries have tried fiat standards and they never last long due to overinflation. big shocker, you create a currency that isn't pegged to anything of intrinsic value and the people in charge print until there are no more trees, in order to pay for welfare and warfare...
the greater point is that global reserve currencies are relatively new and fiat ones are super new. will people value the US paper note in 100 years? will people value gold in 100 years? if i were a betting man...
thestallion:that WAS the argument. in the context of currencies, this argument makes sense. with respect to the benefits of slavery to the world, this argument fails. why? because for thousands of years people have considered gold to be of intrinsic value.
Did you not already admit that you haven't thought about the economic realities of your beliefs in the last argument you had with Neil?
rost0031: thestallion:that WAS the argument. in the context of currencies, this argument makes sense. with respect to the benefits of slavery to the world, this argument fails. why? because for thousands of years people have considered gold to be of intrinsic value. Did you not already admit that you haven't thought about the economic realities of your beliefs in the last argument you had with Neil?
that was with respect to stocks. i've actually found lots of books with big pictures to learn about currencies.