[OT] Ameros will clog the tubes - was Re: Network Neutrality

[Von Fugal]

<quote name="Andy Bradford" date="Thu,  4 Dec 2008 at 22:02 -0700">
> Thus said Von Fugal on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:12:03 MST:
> 
> > It's true, to say that a pie in 1933 was worth this much gold, and now
> > we have this many pies, there's not enough gold. The truth is each pie
> > would be worth LESS gold.
> 
> Here's a fun thought problem... how much  pie would an ounce of gold buy
> in 1933? Now, here comes Roosevelt, turn  in your $20 gold piece for $20
> fiat dollars. Time passes, its now 2008.  How much pie will one ounce of
> gold buy? How much pie will your $20 fiat dollar buy?
Interesting... I couldn't find any pie prices, though.

> Here's the T-bone steak test (which I credit to Michael S. Roeff):
> 
> http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19200528&id=Kh4KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4639,2810957
> 
> Notice that  T-bone steak was  $.25 per  pound (assuming I'm  reading it
> correctly) in  1929. That $20  gold coin would  buy 80 pounds  of T-bone
> steak. I haven't  looked at prices recently, but how  much does a T-bone
> steak cost now, maybe  $8 per pound? So, you can buy  2 pounds of T-bone
> steaks with your $20 fiat, while someone holding gold can buy roughly 80
> pounds (maybe more).
> 
> There, in  plain and simple terms  is the difference between  fiat money
> and commodity, market selected, money.

I couldn't find a T-Bone, but a new york steak was 7. So yeah, about 3
pounds with the 20$. That one ounce of gold (I think $20 was one
ounce) would now buy about $750 worth, or 107 pounds. Before the credit
crunch, it was we'll call it $900, or 128 pounds.

Looking at this naively you could say that this shows beef as being
about 50% cheaper. But who knows how the value of gold would be a little
different with using it as money. It wouldn't be a lot different though,
not 50% different.

> > I am oversimplifying a  lot in all these points, but  I can't stand by
> > and let the equally oversimplified statement "gold doesn't scale" just
> > sit there.
> 
> Gold is just an ancient relic...
An ancient relic that scales. :)

Von Fugal
-- 
Government is a disease that masquerades as its own cure
-- Robert Lefevre
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