Liberals HATE Bitcoin [NY Times Link]

[Andrew Bitcoiner]

The proof:

So to the extent that the experiment tells us anything about monetary regimes, it reinforces the case against anything like a new gold standard – because it shows just how vulnerable such a standard would be to money-hoarding, deflation, and depression.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/golden-cyberfetters/

(inflammatory title on purpose)

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[evoorhees]

OMG!!!! Krugman wrote an article on Bitcoin!?!?!?!

That is actually serious news! And rejoice Bitcoiners, for this is the same "economist" that still doesn't understand Bastiat's broken window fallacy. 

If Krugman's against it, Bitcoin must be absolutely amazing!! 

[sadpandatech]

The proof:

So to the extent that the experiment tells us anything about monetary regimes, it reinforces the case against anything like a new gold standard – because it shows just how vulnerable such a standard would be to money-hoarding, deflation, and depression.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/golden-cyberfetters/

(inflammatory title on purpose)

What his statement really is saying, "Anything like a new gold standard would completely undermine the ability of the financial instituions without a strong asset backing of their fractional reserves(really 0 or negative reserves in many cases), to continue to sell their 'toxic'(fake) securites. In the meantime profiting two to three fold by credit default swapping out that bad derivitive in another corrupt market. God forbid anything like bitcoin had the capability to deflate on its own merits without the need for such centralized authority to be able to profit off of its manipulation."

If Krugman's against it, Bitcoin must be absolutely amazing!!  

Aye, makes me all warm and fuzzy in my nether regions.  

Edit; Atleast he was kind enough to link to James Surowiecki's article in there. ;p

[osmosis]

>The actual value of transactions in Bitcoins has fallen rather than rising.

Is there any data to support his claim he makes?

[evoorhees]

>The actual value of transactions in Bitcoins has fallen rather than rising.

Is there any data to support his claim he makes?

Depends on the timeframe you use. If you measure from the price peak, then transactions have fallen. If you measure from the beginning of the year, transactions are up significantly. Stats are always deceptive =)

On the transaction point, it's important to realize that as services consolidate the transactions visible to the blockchain may fall even though real transactions increase. For example all the trades between mtgox or instawallet or flexcoin accounts won't show up on the chain.

[hugolp]

I actually though the post wasnt that bad. I was specting Kruggy to be much more agressive towards Bitcoin.

[FlipPro]

I'm a Liberal, I don't hate Bitcoin.

[hugolp]

I'm a Liberal, I don't hate Bitcoin.

You are a good guy, you are just confused.

[bitconformist]

It's just flat-out wrong though. BTC "soared"...then collapsed and hasn't risen again. It's also undergoing massive inflation, not deflation.

[DiaperedDynamo]

>The actual value of transactions in Bitcoins has fallen rather than rising.

Is there any data to support his claim he makes?

http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD#rg90zvztgCzm1g10zm2g25

It's just flat-out wrong though. BTC "soared"...then collapsed and hasn't risen again. It's also undergoing massive inflation, not deflation.

It was designed to be deflationary, not inflationary. This highlights a problem with the currency.

[Explodicle]

I'm a Liberal, I don't hate Bitcoin.

Me too. I wish people would stop lumping us in with Krugman. A tip to those who are not currently aware: OTHER GROUPS USUALLY SEEM LESS DIVERSE THAN YOUR GROUP, even though they are just as diverse.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-group_homogeneity

[ampirebus]

im a liberal and a bitcoin enthusiast, by the way krugman wasnt very hash on bitcoin especially compared to republican/conservative journals... he said it was a good investment for early adopters but didnt look realistic for a long term gain or viable as a replacement for the dollar... which is a pretty high bar

it really gets my goat when i see people turning everything into a political faction tribalist war or something

you should feel good inside that one of the smartest minds in economics looked into bitcoin seriously

also Nytimes isnt liberal its conservative/middle of the road

the real liberal news is www.freespeech.org www.grittv.org www.thomhartmann.com www.democracynow.org www.theatlantic.com www.thenation.com www.truthout.org www.truthdig.org www.propublica.org www.alternet.org and i can go on... NY times is very conservative compared to the "real" liberal media


lastly, everything krugman said was true or based on factual information. i press you to point out any errors or fallacies in the article, because im not seeing them

[hightax]

It's just flat-out wrong though. BTC "soared"...then collapsed and hasn't risen again. It's also undergoing massive inflation, not deflation.

As a currency, its value it deflating because more and more of the currency is being hoarded by a select few who are still delusional enough to believe that bitcoins would be a viable, useful currency.  Right now it's just merely a highly efficient method of grifting wealth from one person to another.

[bosschair]

If Krugman's against it, Bitcoin must be absolutely amazing!! 

I hear he's against pump-n-dump scams, ponzi schemes, and mortgage fraud, too.

[Explodicle]

It's just flat-out wrong though. BTC "soared"...then collapsed and hasn't risen again. It's also undergoing massive inflation, not deflation.

As a currency, its value it deflating because more and more of the currency is being hoarded by a select few who are still delusional enough to believe that bitcoins would be a viable, useful currency.  Right now it's just merely a highly efficient method of grifting wealth from one person to another.

It's already viable and useful for online gambling, since exchange rate fluctuations don't matter as much there. I doubt John Q Public will want it for buying groceries until the rate of production slows significantly and the exchange rate settles down. It's going to take years of early adopter cash-outs, bubbles, and crashes.

[RodeoX]

I'm a Liberal, I don't hate Bitcoin.

+1

[KeyserSoze]

Congrats... You're all famous! Maybe even infamous (verrrrrry famous, according to Three Amigos).
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/bitcoin-cyber-geeks-outraged-paul-krugman-194936879.html