Interview, Ted Talk, Gold Bug Hope

I was on the Jay Taylor Show again, to talk about the the Swiss franc. No, the headline was not of my choosing.

Adam Caroll gave a Ted Talk about how people behave differently when money isn’t real. And gets into a discussion of how kids will click to spend on their parents’ phones without any real appreciation for what it costs. It’s called “When money isn’t real“. Real being the paper dollar, and unreal being a credit card, or worse yet, waving your phone over a payment sensor.

I just wanted him to see that his “real” money has, itself, been divorced from anything real. Similarly, economist Paul Romer, who just won the Nobel Prize, criticized economic models which are “pseudoscience”. He meant when central banks rely on flawed models, though he doesn’t see the applicability to the very idea of having a central bank in the first place! The premise is that free markets fail, and central planners can prevent or mitigation this failure. And he doesn’t like when central planners use models that are flawed. Oh, that’s just rich!

4 replies
  1. Focusben says:

    I immediately sent this to my daughter and said sit down and listen to this entire presentation with my grandkids, and then implement this in their education. After 45 years and insurance the following questions came to mind in regard to this talk:
    Why has the cost of medical treatment grown exponentially since the implementation of group medical insurance?
    Why has the crushing level of student debt through student loans grown so quickly?
    Why is the cost of veterinary services increasing exponentially over the last five years?
    Why did the cost of chiropractic care go from $35 a visit to over $300 when it became insured?
    The common denominator is clearly explained in this Ted talk and it is that the person spending the money was separated from the true cost and consequences.

  2. danho194 says:

    If I understand you correctly Keith the CHF is doomed because it’s trapped in a negative interest rate. So I guess you feel the same about all other currencies moore or less in the same situation? Like SEK or JPY.

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.