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Poppy & Quinn
Welcome!
My take is that "Economic Totalitarianism" is almost always uniformly bad. This amounts to government (in collusion with banksters) making decisions about money that is not theirs! When they decide things in their own interests, and not in the interests of owners of their own capital, it usually works out poorly.
The only exception I can think of off-hand would be Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore), but he was more of a political Boss.
Confusion, Quinn, is less of a problem for me than others making decisions about what I can (or cannot) do with my own money (and future).
For example, it is clear that interest rates are being held down artificially, this amounts to a War on Savers. Savings are important because they are the main source of INVESTMENT.
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RealBitcoin
My views would be pretty close to trollercoaster's.
Typically as governments get more power, they get more oppressive and serve their people less. Bigger government is less efficient. Big government is responsive. Big government typically perpetrates more outrages (latest by the US .gov: Irwin Schiff dying alone, away from his family while CHAINED to a hospital bed...).
A globalist world government would NOT eliminate racism, etc. In fact, they would play favorites, pick and choose beneficiaries and enemies based on THEIR criteria alone. You would want THAT?
A Knowledge Age would presumably work better under a less-centralized government, but you would have to ask TPTB... Such an Age might be a part of throwing off the yoke of a huge government.
Generally speaking, a small government is better than a large one. Cheaper too (small governments cost less).
EDIT:
I just saw your new post. WHOSE culture would draw up the rules over governing? I would NOT want 1 billion Muslims voting away my wife's and daughter's rights!
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Gold purchasing power and numismatic premium are orthogonal and often correlate negatively.
If you believe gold is a good investment, you should not buy numismatic premium.
If you believe gold price is high, buy numismatics and hedge the bullion value, pocket the premium when the price goes down.
Eg. 90% per-1964 silver coins can be had at 0-3% when silver price is high. Buy them, and sell them at 12% when it is low (such as now).
Thanks, rpietila, you show some sharp & crisp thinking. But, there can be various considerations in buying and holding gold. Yes, if you want the maximum in gold ONLY (and that's all you care about), then pick a cheap bullion coin. Krugerrands are about the cheapest. Bullion in bars is even cheaper, but some will want that assayed should you want to sell... Excellent comment on orthogonality (and even negative correlation) between price movements and premiums. That is true. Armstrong mentions that in his piece. I do three things differently than the "average gold buyer": 1) I buy some US$5s, US$10s, and the occasional Peruvian Una Libra (when there). These are coins that I just want! I also believe that a diversification in gold is not a bad idea either. My US pre-1933 gold coins are actually all dated 1899 and before. Roosevelt once seized US gold, ONLY numismatic pieces were exempt. Pre-1900 coins would be numismatic by any similar standard. But, I have always taken Armstrong's advice (without even knowing) by buying coins in "AU" condition (pretty nice), why should I collect ugly & worn coins when for a small amount more I can get something that looks pleasing? About 80 2) Your comments re "trading off of premiums" (buying & selling as price vs. premiums change) does make sense, except in my case. I plan to never sell.3) The bulk of my gold is in USA product, even if it costs a little more. First, such gold is easier to recognize (hence more easily accepted) among Buyers if I really did have to sell. Also, at least in recent years, you "get the premium back" should you sell. But, I don't want to sell... (I have made a few exceptions to have some foreign gold so that I can compare it with anybody wanting to sell that) |
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... Today, Armstrong addresses a topic close to my heart, gold coins as an investment: "Gold Coins" http://www.armstrongeconomics.com/archives/38374Armstrong advises to NOT buy numismatic (rare) gold coins. No rare dates, no extremely high grades (eg MS-65). His comments seem to be aimed at US gold coins dated 1933 and earlier. He suggests common dates. * * * I cannot really offer any useful comment, but I have seen that premiums for higher grades and rare dates have done very well over the years. But, numismatic coin collecting is really best done by people who know what they are doing (or will invest the time to learn). For strictly gold investing, my take would be stick with the US $5, $10 and $20 gold pieces as Armstrong suggests. Or just buy bullion coins like the US Gold Eagle, US Gold Buffalo, Canadian Gold Maple Leafs, etc. |
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"Medical Totalitarianism", hmm, might be a good topic.
At least for now, Americans who have some money can go overseas to get treatment ("Medical Tourism"). I have read here and there that Thailand, India and Brazil (among others) have pretty nice hospitals where Americans (and Brits too, probably others) get very good treatment (friendly, etc.) at a relatively low cost. This would even include things like heart surgery.
(I would not know about how other countries stack up re complex digestion-systems problems)
We are considering getting "minor medical work" done in Peru when ObamaCare gets too oppressive... We'll just pay the minimum for lousy insurance, and get certain things done down there.
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Feel the Bern  he has the best campaign ever. I would disagree completely. During the D-Debate, Bernie handed Hillary The Crown to the Nomination! By bleating about how no one wants to hear about her "damn emails", he lost ALL CREDIBILITY! He should have attacked... Bernie contends that he is against "the billionaires". Maybe, maybe not. But, he just ensured that Hillary would win the nomination. And Hillary gets TONS of money from Wall Street and the biggest banks ( Lloyd Blankfein (Goldman Sachs) and Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase) are both Democrats). And she will, barring the unlikely event of a felony indictment via the FBI investigation... bryant.coleman is right. She will win unless she is touched by the " Just-us Department". |
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I have run into Europeans (even over in Europe) who are just as individual-oriented as Americans are.
Well now I have to discern whether you are a good judge of that trait or not. There are plenty of Europeans who are very entrepreneurial: I believe out own rpietila is a perfect example.
You mean the guy who was being surety (in defiance of the Proverb in the Bible) for every newbie investor and hamming us all to HODL from $700 down to $150 in his heavily moderated threads where he was acting like a king in his castle (he really owns one). Afaics, rpietila is a some kind of mix of individualism and idolization of top-down organization. He did stand up to the State regarding when they confiscated his silver and he apparently implemented my clever suggestion of selling the silver (which the government had confiscated) to individuals. So I was quite shocked at some of the things he did at Bitcointalk.org in terms of trying to control others from the top-down, as he is also probably not understanding some of my what perhaps appears to be chaotic actions (decentralized annealing does appear to be quite chaotic to the distant observer because they are seeing aliasing error because they can't track every event). So I am not quite sure. I am fairly certain rpietila is a very ethical person, who believes in capitalism and free markets, but there is also something there I don't understand, about top-down organization. Don't ask me to explain the marriage of concepts. He has his own view, perhaps something like even the Bible talks about we must obey God's law or perhaps something like that. Or that power-law distribution of wealth means some are entrusted to take more control and must be ethical so we can have justice for all. Whereas, I lean more individualistic than that. I don't really care about social justice at all (or not much). I care about what I can accomplish, about increasing degrees-of-freedom so we are all free to do what we want, and I believe from there maximum fitness will be annealed by the free market. TPTB Recall that all individuals are all psychologically all spread-out all over the spectrum. Lots of overlap. Collectivists certainly exist here in the USA, big time (see above re Hitlery). Our "Aggrieved Classes" (we all know who these various classes are) will be delighted to take what's yours... rpietila does not have to share. He can be top-down in his business thinking. It's HIS business! (All of those notions are kind of American...) And just try to take away my friend Massimo's guns... Try!* * * TPTB just wrote: "OROBTC, the Patriots did not elect the Clintons. The mind-programmed zombies did."Well, yes. The Europeans LOVE the Clintons, many of them anyway............................ The Europeans (over-generalizing) did NOT like George W. Bush, a quintessential American. |
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... Important! Before clicking the below link, please get your eye-bleach and have it ready for use!"Clinton Made Student Loans Non-Dischar[g]able" http://www.armstrongeconomics.com/archives/38165What just struck me is if the USA elects the lyin' Shillarybag, then we are no longer any less sheep than the countries in Europe. She gets more from Wall Street than any other candidate! Baaah-aah-aaaah! |
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I always feel more comfortable writing about certain Europeans than them as a whole.
Because you prefer social harmony over truth. I have yet to meet a European (other than perhaps the 2-3 exceptional younger ones I know) who didn't have some top-down management and collective improvement philosophy ingrained in their outlook. Some Americans simply grab the task they can do and ignore the machinations of managers, planning, collective organization and other gridlock, time-wasting, grandiosity. No, that's not it, mi amigo.I have run into Europeans (even over in Europe) who are just as individual-oriented as Americans are. I do concede that Europeans who come to America are typically more individualistic than those who stay over there. And of course, there is a tendency for Europeans to be more collectivist than Americans. A tendency! There are plenty of Europeans who are very entrepreneurial: I believe out own rpietila is a perfect example. But, who are the leaders in BTC hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor, etc.)? Europeans. I personally know Italians who are not collectivists (well, they do have money, and one of them really loves his guns).If you knew me, you would know that "social harmony" is not one of my strong points...... |
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... rpietila (and everyone) I always feel more comfortable writing about certain Europeans than them as a whole. Armstrong just posted a piece on France: "The Coming French Revolution of 2020?" http://www.armstrongeconomics.com/archives/38109He discusses how France has always had various kinds of social problems in recent years, particularly referring back to the 1968 student riots. De Gaulle apparently left France briefly during those troubles (I did not know that until reading his piece). Armstrong also pastes current French president Hollande. Unaddressed in this article of Armstrong's is what will happen later with all the Muslims infesting France, although he may have discussed this elsewhere in his work (again, I have not comprehensively read Armstrong). * * * I just finished reading an interesting book: The Global Code, by Dr. Clotaire Rapaille. His book is about a very elite group whom we used to call "the jet-set". These are the people (usually very rich, but not necessarily) who fly the world in private jets, attend charity balls, speak many languages, have influential friends all over the world, etc. He makes an interesting case (although I have not made up my mind how valid) that "The Global Tribe" (no, not Rothschilds and Jews) will become the new pilots of Spaceship Earth by leadership in ideas, culture and understanding more about other cultures. Rapaille also pastes Hollande, hates him worse than he hates Obama and Putin (he dislikes all three -- point in his favor). |
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Hi guys im sorry if this is the wrong section to place this thread.Any way i just want to ask you
If what is a good job or any task that can earn 0.01 a day.
Heres my skills
-Can fix any cellphone like android , iphone ,blackberry , nokia or any related in cellphone problem.
-I can make Basic html or website or fully functional copy of the web.
-Can fix desktop or laptop software and hardware related.
-I have some skills of hacking but i dont use it to earn bitcoin.
-Can do data entry with the speed of 38-45 wpm
Talent:
- I can do dance like bboys
-I can play guitar
Thank you, much appriciated if you have good suggest.. to earn 0.01 with my skills.. Thank you and god bless us...
crairezx20 I am going to guess that if you study the market for doing coding and similar work that you could pick one - three key technologies (for example: website development, Python and MySQL) then you could find paying work either here at bitcointalk or even in other online forums. My son-in-law had a guy in The Philippines code his on-line store. It was then easy for my son-in-law to run his little business. That is probably a repeatable model. There are lots of Americans (and probably other) entrepreneurs who would like to run some kind of small side-business in cyberspace, but cannot code nor do they want it to be a pain in the butt... |
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Nice find! The BTC universe needs more and more merchants to accept BTC. Once we reach a "critical mass", then I think that we are all set (having BTC able to be used in MANY places).
What would be interesting to learn or know would be the total FEES levied on the merchants. My understanding of credit cards is that it is 3%. If paying by BTC is less than 3%, than that is a big step.
Marchant fee are posted in article Bitcoin payments will include a 0.8% processing fee. looks like we can expect more development from that company I read the article twice and still missed that! And that second time I was looking for the cost. Bwa ha. 0.8% sounds pretty good. If that is a true, inclusive (everything) & transparent number, I agree, there is much to look forward to. Whether it is the merchants saving +/- 2% or the customers saving some too, that is a very good thing. |
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Perhaps we can offer the world a prosperous option to opt-out of the collapsing one. But do we have it already? Bitcoin? Monero? Small economies. Something is lacking in terms of widespread adoption. Into the abyss we go.
What are we really lacking? Balls. Cryptocurrency exists already. If people had balls, they could just start to use it. I think victory is ours - we just wait how many more mistakes the enemy makes - and in the end we stand victorious. Like chess, when you know what the enemy's weak point is: They lie. We tell the truth. When people grow balls, they start to appreciate us more, and into the abyss the enemy goes. Well, one big thing we are lacking (easy for us to see here at bitcointalk) is a good infrastructure to better using BTC and other cryptocurrencies. What we have so far is not too bad, though very early, but I would like to see more ANONYMITY in the whole process, that would include the big weakness of delivery of goods purchased. Unfortunately, it looks like real anonymity & privacy also overlap money laundering in the eyes of authorities. Which is too damn bad. A free crypto would net out to being a wonderful thing for freedom. And privacy. * * * We also lack Big Ideas, Big Implementation and Global Acceptance. Yes, rpietila, a long chess game where "we" outsee and outdo .gov may in the end lead us to what we want. So in the long-run, yes, I think & hope you are right. But in the long-run we are all dead too. Maybe we should do all of this for our children? |
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Nice find! The BTC universe needs more and more merchants to accept BTC. Once we reach a "critical mass", then I think that we are all set (having BTC able to be used in MANY places).
What would be interesting to learn or know would be the total FEES levied on the merchants. My understanding of credit cards is that it is 3%. If paying by BTC is less than 3%, than that is a big step.
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Iran's plan to sell more oil, as well as Saudi selling to Poland (to Russia's big customer, smile) and possible increased selling by Iraq all point to plenty of oil to take care of world demand.
That hints at deflation to me.
I just read in this weekend's Barron's that the US is cranking up its propane export infrastructure big time. They expect to sell a lot to Asia. And there is so much natural gas that could be exported (or used withing the USA) that I doubt that oil & gas prices will go much higher for sometime.
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The whole "cash is the only option" can be examined in three scenarios too:
1) Travelers on vacation or business are in a zone with a temporary emergency. They lose electricity, and so have to resort to cash (or perhaps gold if severe). BTC and credit cards won't be any good for the short-term IMO. And who travels with a Glock and ammo? This first scenario seems most likely (to Westerners anyway).
2) A really bad & longer-term emergency hits (say a Katrina) where you live. Then cash is still good, but that gun sure would make me feel better. Gold might be OK. Food and water enter the mix as people would be hungry & thirsty. BTC likely would not be too good either, credit cards probably not for a while after the emergency strikes.
3) A really bad SHTF. Internet goes down, so who would want to transact by BTC? Not me. Cash, guns & ammo, gold, food & water. This is the least likely scenario.
So, to me, BTC works best in non-emergencies. And, my best guess is that the system will limp along OK at least for some time. BTC, like platinum, is for optimists. BTC works well in a capital-controls environment as well.
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http://www.armstrongeconomics.com/archives/38311Why We Are Doomed To Repeat History?QUESTION: Martin, Why do citizens of a country continually allow their government to destroy the nation without putting up a “real” fight? You have given many examples and no one ever seems to fight until things get really, really bad and it’s too late. Regards, MLO ANSWER: This is the sad state of affairs. People who do not believe we can forecast the future never look at the past. They are delusional to assume we have “free will” that somehow implies intelligence at a collective level. Some of us see the patterns that others will never see. The truth is the truth. The old saying that “a house divided will always fall” is very true. There are always two camps throughout history and they become the driving force between the rise and the fall of all civilizations, empires, nations and city-states.
Politicians become corrupt because we do not pay attention. We get mad only when it becomes intolerable. Then it reaches a boiling point and boom — revolution or war. It is rather disgusting that we cannot seem to escape this cycle for thousands of years.This post is important, read it until it sinks in I honestly have a feeling it's different this time around. History does tend to show that mankind does not learn much from past mistakes. Part of this (my guess) is that whatever one generation has "learned" from their own mistakes is forgotten or other unlearned by the next generations. So my guess is that it's not different this time...troller I don't hold any high hopes for the collective either. As Maggie said (my paraphrase), Socialism works just fine until it runs out of other people's money. And, my guess here is that when the USA (Oz too?) runs out of "other people's money", that the reactions will be EPIC, lots of social unrest. |
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... rpietila Your comment is the first I have ever seen discussing a US invasion of Europe. There is no way that would/will ever happen. As you point out, the continent is far away from US shores. And, we trade with Europe, our tourists visit Europe and we buy German cars. Why would we want to invade? Europe doesn't even have any natural resources we would like to seize... The thought of Russians coming to the aid of Europe during a US invasion, now THAT makes me smile. Nor does Europe have any guns we would like to seize, we have our own. Have no fear Europe! Have no fear Britain! The Yankees are NOT coming! Rest easy! |
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tptb wrote:
"Also because when Greece defaults, so do all the banks of Europe."
Yes, banks are so highly leveraged, and bank managers are so greedy to extract every last penny (or euro cent too) that the banks are very vulnerable to defaults. Even a small country like Greece puts the banking system in danger. Why else would Europe so strenuously work to find a "solution", even if only a Band-Aid?
Banks are also very vulnerable to a variety of other risks such as a stock market decline. US banks are vulnerable to European banks failing as well as vice-versa.
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rpietila & darlidada
Yes, I too see that BTC has been going up the past few days. Since I will not be buying any more, the price going up is a good thing for me.
It will be interesting to see how BTC prices move vs. gold, vs. the US$ and vs. other assets (stocks, etc.). Also will be interesting to see if BTC indeed goes to $150 (darlidada), although I have no idea of any timing.
tptb
Yes, I saw the beautiful coin at his article (and his remark on academic historians). More evidence that Armstrong has been systematically ignored. Whether Armstrong is right (or even 80% right) re his models and predictions, I do not know. But, he makes interesting observations, is logical, and appears to have been very shabbily treated by .gov.
His big database ($1 billion?) is the only one of its type that I have ever seen too.
EDIT:
Steganography... Sigh, one more damn thing to learn about...
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