@pre@boing.world2025-11-22 10:39:50
Despite much opinion to the contrary, the government money we use is crappy.
I'm at bitfest in Manchester to find out if Bitcoin could be a better money.
It could hardly be worse.
The mood is still good, people are joking about recent devaluation rather than crying. Those who aren't all in are trying to buy more at the discount.
After an introduction by Mad Bitcoins, Joe Bryan explains the problem with government money.
He imagines an island on which two types of money are tried, with a dividing wall between them.
When economic problems hit, government can just print more money on the fiat side. Everyone now using money which is worth less. Distorting prices, inflating asset prices, making the rich (who hold assets) richer and the poor (who have to pay inflated prices) poorer. Driving wealth inequality.
On the hard money side, government must tax properly. Take in more from the rich rather than inflating to take it from the poor. Reducing wealth inequality.
On the government money side, the wealthy monitize houses, stocks, resources. Saving in money is impossible, its inflated away. So they save in assets and hording resources. Capital is misallocated. The youth can't afford houses. Poverty traps are caused. The only way out is printing more for benefits. Making it all worse. More economic crises, more printing. More government debt.
Eventually, the wall is broken. Government money people can save in the hard money instead. It reduces the value of government money further. More printing. More inflation.
Eventually, war. Funded by printed money.
The dollar is the best of a bad bunch all other government money is falling in value even faster.
I wonder, is bitcoin really this better money though? It's limited, hard, and can't be printed without energy investment.
I'm still unsure that fixing money fixes the world.
--
Note: "crypto" is mostly more like government money than bitcoin. It can be printed indefinitely by it's makers, does not cost it's makers to print. Crypto is usually just a scam people to get more bitcoin. Bitcoin is not crypto.
#bitfest #bitcoin
@Mediagazer@mstdn.social2025-10-22 11:30:51
UK filings: Paramount and Comcast invested $1B into European streamer SkyShowtime since 2022; SkyShowtime had a €543.7M operating loss in 2024, down 3% YoY (Jake Kanter/Deadline)
https://deadline.com/2025/10/paramount-comcast-invest-1b-into-skyshowtime-…
@adrianco@mastodon.social2025-10-20 21:25:58
Topical Toot: There’s a bunch of versions of this talk I gave over the years, here’s one of the shorter ones as a video: Failing Over without Falling Over https://youtu.be/R3_ccsuPoD8 and a similar slide deck pdf
@Dragofix@veganism.social2025-11-20 23:33:04
Everyday microplastics could be fueling heart disease #health
@cdarwin@c.im2025-12-20 20:39:02
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have turned on Attorney General Pam Bondi
and have reportedly begun drafting articles of impeachment
following the heavily opaque release of the Epstein files
@midtsveen@social.linux.pizza2025-11-21 17:02:26
Lately, I’ve been feeling burned out by how much people in my life assume things about me and my beliefs, so let's talk about it.
I spend some parts (not all) of my evenings online, usually from around 20:00 to 22:00 or sometimes even until midnight (00:00), not because I am consumed by politics but because I like to learn and reflect on how society could be better. I enjoy exploring ideas about justice, solidarity, and human rights in a way that feels meaningful to me. For me, spe…
@ruth_mottram@fediscience.org2025-11-21 10:34:41
An evening discussing falling enrollment in #STEM courses at universities across Europe, especially traditional studies like chemistry, geology and meteorology. I wonder if young people are unaware of just how interesting #STEM careers to be? Or do they have the perception it's "too hard" compared to other subjects where easier grades may be had? Or is it simply they think they can have "better"* jobs in other fields?
#AcademicChatter
*Where better might mean higher paid, more prestigious, more certain of employment, or less workload or some combination of all of these... ?
@drgeraint@glasgow.social2025-10-21 21:42:44
"if someone has taken a life through dangerous driving, we have to ask: why should they ever be allowed to drive again?"
Good question!
APPGCW and APPGTS asking the right questions and reaching the right answers.
https://road.cc/content/news/mps-warn-
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-10-22 01:01:55
Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers doubles down on trade request, says he 'for sure' wants to be dealt
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/raiders
@cdarwin@c.im2025-10-20 18:51:57
Response to President Trump’s Unauthorized Use of “Danger Zone”
Late Saturday, Oct. 18, Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video on his Truth Social account that portrayed him dumping brown sludge on a crowd of protesters while wearing a crown and flying overhead in a jet labeled “King Trump.”
The music accompanying the video clip was Kenny Loggins’ hit recording “Danger Zone,” from the 1986 motion picture Top Gun (it was also used in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick).
