Half a century of John Duncans in congress has resulted in a Tennessee congressman who wants to return the United States to the gold standard.
There are other, more ancient kinds of money he could consider. From Wikipedia: “Rai, or stone money (Yapese: raay), are large, circular stone disks carved out of limestone formed from aragonite and calcite crystals. Rai stones were quarried on several of the Micronesian islands, mainly Palau, but briefly on Guam as well, and transported for use as money to the island of Yap. They have been used in trade by the Yapese as a form of currency. While the monetary system of Yap appears to use these giant stones as tokens, in fact it relies on an oral history of ownership. Being too large to move, buying an item with these stones is as easy as saying it no longer belongs to you. As long as the transaction is recorded in the oral history, it will now be owned by the person you passed it on to—no physical movement of the stone is required.”
The last sentence in the above quote is telling. “no physical movement of the stone is required.” When gold is used as a standard, the gold typically stays in Fort Knox and “As long as the transaction is recorded in the oral (computer memory) history, it will now be owned by the person you passed it on to—no physical movement of the stone (gold) is required.” There could be an empty gold vault or a plaster replica of a Yap stone and the money system would continue to work.
Our money today is numbers in bank computers and those numbers have value because the United States government declares they have value. The dollar is legal tender in the United States. The value will remain as long as the United States government exists (and no longer). As a bad example the Confederate States of America dollar value disapeared along with the Confederate States of America. The key to managing the United States (and the world) fiscal problems resides in how numbers in bank computers are handled.
My question is this “Are there creative ways to take advantage of modern computer technology to move our country into a new financial era that will result in steady vigorous economic growth without the cycles of inflation and recession and with adequate money for government services?”
The answer to my question is a resounding “NO!” if our US Representatives are trying to move our financial system back into a past of heady booms followed by devastating long term depressions.
The answer to my question is a resounding “YES!” if we elect congressmen with intelligence, creativity, foresight and willingness to change. Bob Scott, congressional candidate, is a member of Mensa, full of new ideas, bought Apple computer number 11401 and a 2003 Honda Civic hybrid and left the chemical industry at age 40 to go into teaching.
Please help me overcome the financial, name recognition and inertial advantages of my opponent by spreading my messages on the internet. I believe an unhindered internet will insure the future of democratic elections- can it start now?
