<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>SR Ballard via extropy-chat<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] Even India and Haiti do it better<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Spike, I think you’re failing to realize this: If we wanted to, we could take the amount of the US debt and just... print that many dollars and just pay. Poof. Debt disappears in a puff of smoke. <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Money only exists because we all agree it exists. It has no intrinsic worth, beyond maybe butt wiping and kindling.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>SR Ballard<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sure but what if we did? The USD is used to back a lot of world currencies. Plenty of African nations use it as their only real money. If the Federal Reserve started printing money based on nothing, our dollar becomes nearly worthless. Pensoners, broke. Anyone who has fixed-dollar incomes, ruined. No more imports: foreign nations don’t want dollars. No foreign oil: the US pays with phony money. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The consequences of that act are so severe, that is the reason it has never been done.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Fed will soft-default on government pensioners before it will print phony money.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>