Re: Credit Card Crash: A true story

Robert Sturgeon wrote:
On 28 Apr 2006 17:40:31 -0700, "Too_Many_Tools"
<too_many_tools@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:


"There's always gold, but it's not yet practical to use for everyday
transactions."

I am curious....it sounds like you think it will in the future.

Is this in society as we know it or after TSHTF?

As I have said before, I believe gold is useless...


Its usefulness lies in the fact that it is highly valued by
(other) people, if not by you, is fungible...
> Why are you so certain that "the
next time" will be so different from every such previous
time?

Because the "next time" we speak of will not just be a transfer of leadership, but a disintegration of the leadership order.

Gold only would represent the accumulation of work credits BEFORE THE CRASH, and would signify no value post crash, since the system that made gold and any other substance (paper, electrons, magnetic patterns) valuable will have disappeared.

For intermediate disasters, gold MIGHT be worth something, or it might not (and if you can afford it, it wouldn't hurt to play it safe). It mainly depends on whether the system remembers your prior contribution.

Scenario: a stranger in a dusty suit comes into 'town' with a bag of gold. You are barely surviving. Do you give him food for gold?

Has human nature fundamentally changed?

Gold will still maintain its jewelry qualities, and if people have enough to spare for such luxuries, it might regain some intrinsic value.

No, you just
have very little understanding of life before (or after) our
current FRN, ATM, check, and credit card economy.

The only difference is that the current system is more convenient. Fundamentally, there is no change from coin to electrons. It is all based on faith in the system which supports it.

Gold inflation and deflation in the old west is well-documented.

it will be if you want to trade with me.


So you won't be willing to trade using what will surely be
the most popular post-SHTF media of exchange, precious metal
coins.

In your opinion. Smart people won't, until some system of valuation and exchange is set up, either endogenously or exogenously, and it will be a long time before the myriad systems merge into anything resembling an ordered and stable System that would allow a person to trade anything valuable for shiny metal...

This might put YOU out of the "trade loop," instead
of putting other people out of that loop. Have you ever
even considered that possibility? Do you understand the
concepts of concentrated wealth and media of exchange?

Do you?

Do
you know how big, and heavy, $650 worth of AAs are, compared
to $650 worth of gold coins?

What's a "$?" And why do you so fervently believe that valuations will not change ABRUPTLY...

Do you understand what "wealth" is or will be, after TSHTF?

If not, I suggest you check
out the commodity pages, the prices on AAs at the local big
box, and do the math.

Talk about meaningless paper... Even Monday, those will not be the same as today, let alone when conditions change unpredictably.

Research the market's reaction to uncertainty, even in these relatively stable times.

I would rather have a handful of AA batteries than a handful of gold.


I'll gladly give you a several pounds of AA batteries in
exchange for even a couple of Gold Eagles. Heck, I'll give
you a handful of AAs for a handful of Silver Eagles, if you
prefer. And yes, I'll do that AFTER the SHTF, too. It'll
have to be in person, though, as I would be somewhat leery
of a long distance trade with someone offering such a
lopsided deal. "Too good to be true," comes to mind.

Well, you may or may not get the better of the deal. Are you offering a legally binding option with that statement?

Bob, even after all these years, you still fail to grasp the concept of money. Good thing for you that the people who run our system are a good deal cleverer than you, or we would all be speaking Russian.

Dan
.

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