Bitcoin Forum

Economy => Economics => Topic started by: evoorhees on August 31, 2011, 12:13:11 AM



Title: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: evoorhees on August 31, 2011, 12:13:11 AM
Check this out... If anyone speaks Italian please contact the government there and mention Bitcoin =)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44322945 (http://www.cnbc.com/id/44322945)


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: GideonGono on August 31, 2011, 05:06:00 AM
Quote from: CNBC
A small town in central Italy is trying to go independent and mint its own money in protest at government austerity cuts.

Quote from: CNBC
He has started minting Filettino's own bank currency, the "Fiorito," with his photo on the back, which he says is already being used by the townsfolk.

Doesn't sound like he'd be interested in a currency he can't print or put his mug on.


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: ercolinux on August 31, 2011, 06:00:07 AM
Quote from: CNBC
A small town in central Italy is trying to go independent and mint its own money in protest at government austerity cuts.

Quote from: CNBC
He has started minting Filettino's own bank currency, the "Fiorito," with his photo on the back, which he says is already being used by the townsfolk.

Doesn't sound like he'd be interested in a currency he can't print or put his mug on.

Is not the first time that a town try to mint is money, but ASAP the govern find that the new money works better than the old one put it out of law.
I know that is difficult to stop the bitcoin system, but if a govern put it out of low that can stop all the shop in that country and in few month can be put outlaw in a lot of country. At the moment the diffusion is not capillar enough to took a similar risk IMHO.


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: Gabi on September 01, 2011, 04:16:34 PM
As i already said, it's just a protest against some new laws that menaced to cancel some small towns to reduce costs, it's not that they want their money, they just protest.


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: onesalt on September 01, 2011, 04:18:26 PM
Using intangiable money in a situtation like this is dumb as fuck, all the government has to do is cut a few internet pipelines and suddenly the economy grinds to a halt.


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: Gabi on September 01, 2011, 04:38:07 PM
They are defending their history and tradition so using bitcoin would be pointless. For the protest normal coins and money are required.


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: evoorhees on September 02, 2011, 02:35:16 AM
I think you guys are missing the important point :)

A government like that would not adopt Bitcoin, because it is protesting the austerity measures. Meaning, it doesn't want municipal budgets cut. Meaning, it will simply create a new currency and print what's needed to pay the bills.

So they call it a "protest" but really it's just that they don't want to live in economic reality. They'd rather print. Best of luck to them.


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: ercolinux on September 02, 2011, 04:35:49 AM
I think you guys are missing the important point :)

A government like that would not adopt Bitcoin, because it is protesting the austerity measures. Meaning, it doesn't want municipal budgets cut. Meaning, it will simply create a new currency and print what's needed to pay the bills.

It's a little more complicate: the austerity measure that Italian government wants to apply will wipe out de facto all the small towns, removing all the autonomy they've and putting them under the control of big city administration. In a mere economical point of view that can be undestarndable but viewing it in a more ample angle that means that all the local tax collected went in a big cauldron owned by the major of the big city: the big risk is that I pay tax that never be used in my town, and that the control of the town is not anymore in the hand of its citiziens, and that's not democratic at all.


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: echris1 on September 06, 2011, 10:42:44 AM
Quote
the big risk is that I pay tax that never be used in my town, and that the control of the town is not anymore in the hand of its citiziens, and that's not democratic at all.

But most of these small towns get more money out of this system than they pay in.  If a small town only had it's local taxes, and not a bit from everywhere else, they would have to drastically cut services. 

If anyone is getting screwed over here it's the people in big cities, because a lot of their taxes are going to pay for services in small towns they will never visit. 

And without austerity measures, no one will be able to pay for anything, and things get even worse.  I get that people are pissed about cuts, but they spent too much in years past, and eventually your bills fall due. 

If you saw one guy protesting against his credit card bills you would laugh at him, "Ha, that's his own fault, should have spent less"  but put people in a big group and common sense goes out the window.  It's called mob mentality for a reason. 


Title: Re: Italian town starts printing its own money - they need Bitcoin!
Post by: ercolinux on September 06, 2011, 12:43:01 PM
Quote
the big risk is that I pay tax that never be used in my town, and that the control of the town is not anymore in the hand of its citiziens, and that's not democratic at all.

But most of these small towns get more money out of this system than they pay in.  If a small town only had it's local taxes, and not a bit from everywhere else, they would have to drastically cut services. 

I've to disagree: small town can "federate" to cut the costs of services. For example trash can be collected in different days so that a single truck can serve up to 4-5 towns, some city offices can work for all the towns in a single place cutting again the costs and so on. And if a town is well administrate can do on itself (I know some that actually do with virtually no help from outside) because inefficiency and "shadow costs" are easiest do discover in a small organization.