I finished this remarkable book a few days ago. It was my second reading. Except for two minor scenes I recognized nothing. Beautifully written, compelling and exciting, it is Cairo with Rommel at the gates. Worth every minute of your time.Crypto Currencies and U.S. Dollar Dominance
Money is, and always has been, an evolving concept. In this age of interconnected computers we’ve reached a new turning point. The U.S. Treasury no longer prints a paper dollar for every dollar it creates. Many of the ‘dollars’ are simply electronic manifestations within a computer it then transfers to The Fed which it turn transfers it to banks. Nothing real, as we understand reality, just bits of electricity in circuits. So is a crypto currency without any government control so farfetched? Read more.
Is Bitcoin Here to Stay?
The Washington Examiner has posted an overview of the history of Bitcoin along with a speculation as to its future. Worth reading despite the occasional snide comment and a failure to appreciate the big picture Bitcoin embodies.
My very best to you all and let us hope and work for a better 2021, to the extent the pols will allow it.
New Year’s Eve in Cuenca, Ecuador
In Ecuador, as in many Latin American countries, the custom on New Year’s Eve is to burn a human figure dummy. These dummies are about three-fifth full size, dressed in all manner of clothing, often designed to resemble political figures. You write the events or memories of this past year on a slip of paper then then place it in a pocket of the dummy. Toward midnight the dummy is carried to the street where it is burned. This year Cuenca outlawed the sell of dummies which is a significant source of income to the poor. After protests they relented but still prohibit their burning Thursday night. Good luck with that. The local police refused to enforce the anti-family gathering edict for Christmas and my guess is they won’t enforce this one either. 
#1 NYT Bestseller
“Justice Gorsuch’s book reminds us that our government exists primarily to protect our freedom and that this framework is something we ought to work to preserve. Preserve not just for ourselves but for future generations of Americans so that they too may experience what it is like to live free.” ~ Ethan Yang
Christmas in Cuenca, Ecuador
Though the national and state governments here have prohibited a normal Christmas, the spirit remains. We look forward to returning next year to the usual colorful and joyous festivities. From two years ago:
A Taste of Cuenca, Ecuador
Cotopaxi volcano outside Quito. Our not so friendly neighbor to the north.
We’ve been retired here in Cuenca in the Andes for over seven years. I’ll be posting about expat life and expat life in South America from time to time. Here is a popular website that keeps English speaking expats up to date on events in Ecuador. You’ll see it’s a quite different life. While many things will seem very similar, a great many are very, very different.
China Decline Beginning
According to The Federalist, just as Japan faltered in the 90’s when ‘everyone’ thought they were on the verge of becoming the dominant world economic power, so too is China now beginning to falter. Having overextended itself it is about to face the consequences and with that comes a measure of peril for the U.S. and the free world.
The Original Swiss Army Knife
There Are Reasons for Bitcoin’s Explosive Growth
Traditional economists and financiers disparage crypto currencies and in particular Bitcoin at every opportunity. They have bet their careers on fiat currencies and trading in stock markets. It is not in their interest to acknowledge that their world is crumbling beneath their feet. The major hedge funds and investment portfolios, however, are increasingly accepting the inevitable and moving into Bitcoin in greater and greater numbers. Recently the Guggenheim Fund announced it will place up to 10%, or $530 million, in Bitcoin while MassMutual has bought $100 million. What the traditionalists refuse to admit is that national currencies, including the ‘almighty’ U.S. dollar and other fiat currencies, no longer hold any trust by the public. Inflation steadily reduces their value. In my lifetime I’ve watched the American middle class relentlessly striped of assets by this pernicious, undeclared tax on their hard-earned wealth. The dollar is no longer backed by anything but the “Full Faith and Credit” of the U.S. government. “Full faith.” Can anyone paying attention to our government see this as anything but a joke? What “full faith”? When in recent decades has Washington D.C. kept faith with the American public? And as for “Credit”, well, the Treasury just prints and prints and prints, borrows and borrows and borrows. How long can the concept of “credit” hold any genuine meaning? Since the creation of the Fed, the dollar has simply fallen relentlessly in value. And it will continue to do so, almost certainly at an accelerated rate given our recent reckless deficits.
There is a saying in crypto circles. “As the dollar has no bottom, Bitcoin has no top.” The dollar can fall to virtual zero as so many other fiat currencies have, and in our lifetime. Since the creation of the Fed its devaluation has been national policy. Bitcoin is designed to work in the exact opposite. It is structured to rise in value. Only 21 million of them will ever exist. As demand increases, which it is, the value will simply go up and up. One form of currency is designed to fall in value, the other to increase.
Traditionalists question why anyone would have confidence in a cyber currency owned by no government. Those of us invested in Bitcoin wonder why anyone today can have confidence in any government fiat currency. They are backed by nothing but lying governments, supported by economists who make their careers by advocating continued involvement in these failing instruments. No government controls Bitcoin and never can. For now most who buy it do so as a speculative investment. But in time, and likely only a few short years, the hedge funds and the like will have bought most of it, driving its price up to levels no one knows. One respected prediction is $1.2 million within five years. Just this week the CEO of BlackRock which oversees more than $7 trillion predicts Bitcoin will supplant gold as the preeminent store of value. Bitcoin is already a permanent asset, safe from inflation and government interference. Soon its noted volatility will be a phenomenon of the past and those who have been wise enough to retain a portion of it will have financial security for life. The writing is on the wall, for those willing to see.
To learn all about it read The Bitcoin Standard.