I like backing up money to something useless but finite like gold. Otherwise, trading cell phone minutes ala the mpesa is OK. Or monopoly money is good in Atlantic City boardwalk I guess.
Currency is always backed by something. Either by a commodity or by the government's assets or taxation power. If a government were either run out of the assets that back it's currency, have increasing debts without a corresponding increase in GDP, or be unable to collect taxes, that government's currency is going to fall hard and fast.
I back up my IOU with my word, and I have never failed to pay. As matter of fact, I am so trusted people use my IOU's to pay their own bills and they are accepted all over the world.
That makes sense if fiat currency was truly an IOU. It's not. My FRNs don't promise me any amount of anything except that I can use these to settle all debts and pay my taxes.
Back money up by anything and those that are in control of that market runs your economy. "Gold and money are separate things. Gold is the trick mechanism by which you can control money. That is the root of all evil." - Thomas Edison
aye, look up Edison Dollars. He wanted to create a currency based on ag commodities. btw, gold is money.
Yeah, it is, because gold has a lease rate. Lots of companies, specifically gold mining companies, lease gold and sell it to finance their operations because the lease rate on gold is far lower than the interest rate on currency. I still think electricity is the best commodity to back our currency.