Submission 1: "A little ignorance is a dangerous thing"
Mar 6, 2017 9:06:01 GMT
Post by textpress on Mar 6, 2017 9:06:01 GMT
Discussion thread for Submission 1:
2/9/2017
A little ignorance is a dangerous thing
I just had a conversation with a friend who carefully explained to me that she had just read a 'news' story that said our economy is crashing. It said that the reason the value of the dollar was going down was that much or our cash, trillions of dollars, was in the hands of foreign nationals who were using it to trade, not with us, but with one another. She went on to say that the United States doesn't have enough money to cover the amount U. S. citizens have in the bank and that the way to test this was to go to the bank and ask for $5,000 in cash and see what happens. The proof? You would be asked to fill out a form. They would tell you they didn't have that much cash available and would have to get some from other branches.
By this time I was sputtering, waiting for her to finish before I forgot one of the points that was setting off my OMG! reflex.She went on to say that 'he', whoever he was (this apparently came from some internet 'news' site that she gets on her phone.), had displayed charts that showed it all very clearly and helped her to understand.I couldn't help it, I hollered, 'wait, wait, wait!' Then went on to explain with a great deal of vehemence that it sounds as if this person is trying to start a run on the banks like happened at the beginning of the depression and besides, what he said wasn't true. If the dollar was worthless, which was the contention, people in other countries wouldn't be using it. And, more to the point, the idea that having our money in use in other countries caused its value to go down was completely and utterly false. They wouldn't use it if that was how it worked. Why would people conduct business in worthless currency? They use it because people trust it. And the monetary market is international, so it doesn't matter what country the money is used in or by whom. It has nothing to do with the value of the monetary unit. I said that the reason you have to fill out a form and there isn't enough cash in the bank is because:
Then I went on to explain that charts and statistics can be made to show whatever you want them to show by cherry-picking, misinterpreting and downright lying. Just because someone made a chart doesn't mean it contains facts. I explained that the number of physical bills you can lay your hands on has nothing to do with how much money you, or I or the United States of America have and that the reason there's no cash around is because people don't use it. Checks and cards are safer and more convenient. And surely she didn't think big corporations carted around huge truckloads of money when they made major transactions.
Then I stopped. Could I explain that money is not paper, it's an idea and that it (like stocks on the market) is worth what people think it's worth, which is why loss of confidence reduces value? Could I make her see that the 'story' she had read was a self-fulfilling prophecy, probably deliberately so? Based on the fact that she was still standing there with someone's hook, line and sinker hanging out of her mouth? No.
A little ignorance is a dangerous thing
I just had a conversation with a friend who carefully explained to me that she had just read a 'news' story that said our economy is crashing. It said that the reason the value of the dollar was going down was that much or our cash, trillions of dollars, was in the hands of foreign nationals who were using it to trade, not with us, but with one another. She went on to say that the United States doesn't have enough money to cover the amount U. S. citizens have in the bank and that the way to test this was to go to the bank and ask for $5,000 in cash and see what happens. The proof? You would be asked to fill out a form. They would tell you they didn't have that much cash available and would have to get some from other branches.
By this time I was sputtering, waiting for her to finish before I forgot one of the points that was setting off my OMG! reflex.She went on to say that 'he', whoever he was (this apparently came from some internet 'news' site that she gets on her phone.), had displayed charts that showed it all very clearly and helped her to understand.I couldn't help it, I hollered, 'wait, wait, wait!' Then went on to explain with a great deal of vehemence that it sounds as if this person is trying to start a run on the banks like happened at the beginning of the depression and besides, what he said wasn't true. If the dollar was worthless, which was the contention, people in other countries wouldn't be using it. And, more to the point, the idea that having our money in use in other countries caused its value to go down was completely and utterly false. They wouldn't use it if that was how it worked. Why would people conduct business in worthless currency? They use it because people trust it. And the monetary market is international, so it doesn't matter what country the money is used in or by whom. It has nothing to do with the value of the monetary unit. I said that the reason you have to fill out a form and there isn't enough cash in the bank is because:
- We have laws in place to prevent people from crashing banks like they did in the past.
- No one uses cash anymore, which does not mean they don't have money.
- The IRS wants to know when people are using large amounts of cash because most of the time whatever transaction they're about to make is not legal.
Then I went on to explain that charts and statistics can be made to show whatever you want them to show by cherry-picking, misinterpreting and downright lying. Just because someone made a chart doesn't mean it contains facts. I explained that the number of physical bills you can lay your hands on has nothing to do with how much money you, or I or the United States of America have and that the reason there's no cash around is because people don't use it. Checks and cards are safer and more convenient. And surely she didn't think big corporations carted around huge truckloads of money when they made major transactions.
Then I stopped. Could I explain that money is not paper, it's an idea and that it (like stocks on the market) is worth what people think it's worth, which is why loss of confidence reduces value? Could I make her see that the 'story' she had read was a self-fulfilling prophecy, probably deliberately so? Based on the fact that she was still standing there with someone's hook, line and sinker hanging out of her mouth? No.
Submitted unsigned.