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Post by The Captain on Jul 29, 2015 9:58:55 GMT -5
I used to be a huge Kevin Smith fan, but as I've grown older, his style of humor just doesn't appeal to me any more (much like South Park); I'm not denying his ability as a writer or director, because he has talent, but it's just not my cup of tea at this point in my life. It used to be that I would regularly watch Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma, but I cannot think of the last time I had any of those in the DVD player; it's probably been at least 8 years for any of them. His later offerings (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Zach and Miri) fell flat for me, as they seemed to be crude just for the sake of being crude, attempting to be edgy but relying on the same profanity and dick-and-fart jokes that his earlier films did with far lesser success.
Truth be told, however, I don't find too many recent comedies to be funny, as films like The Hangover, Bridesmaids, and any Seth Rogan movie just don't amuse me at all.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jul 29, 2015 10:23:11 GMT -5
This is out of the blue but if I understand the concept of the US dollar, if it were truly worth anything, I could take all my dollars to Fort Knox and get the gold that it's worth? Cause all a dollar is an IOU from the federal government saying they'll pay me back in gold for this silly paper thing they gave me instead? And if the dollar isn't worth anything why are we still using it and not paying for items in gold coins like some sword and sorcery movie?
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 29, 2015 10:45:50 GMT -5
This is out of the blue but if I understand the concept of the US dollar, if it were truly worth anything, I could take all my dollars to Fort Knox and get the gold that it's worth? Cause all a dollar is an IOU from the federal government saying they'll pay me back in gold for this silly paper thing they gave me instead? And if the dollar isn't worth anything why are we still using it and not paying for items in gold coins like some sword and sorcery movie? We have been off the gold standard for at least 60 years, so no, the dollar is not backed up by an equivalent amount of gold and you can't go to Ft Knox for a trade-in. Its backed up by faith, just like the Pope with that invisible force up in the sky |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jul 29, 2015 10:53:47 GMT -5
This is out of the blue but if I understand the concept of the US dollar, if it were truly worth anything, I could take all my dollars to Fort Knox and get the gold that it's worth? Cause all a dollar is an IOU from the federal government saying they'll pay me back in gold for this silly paper thing they gave me instead? And if the dollar isn't worth anything why are we still using it and not paying for items in gold coins like some sword and sorcery movie? We have been off the gold standard for at least 60 years, so no, the dollar is not backed up by an equivalent amount of gold and you can't go to Ft Knox for a trade-in. Its backed up by faith, just like the Pope with that invisible force up in the sky Holy lies Batman! None of the money I've earned in my entire life has been worth anything! If that's the case then that makes the plot of Die Hard 3 moot. Money is already worthless. |
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Post by impulse on Jul 29, 2015 10:59:19 GMT -5
Well, even gold is only worth anything because we believe it is. If it weren't valued for being pretty and rare, it's just soft, shiny metal. Having said that, I have a masters degree, and I consider myself a reasonably smart guy, but I simply cannot understand why any economy or currency works and doesn't collapse in on itself. But, as long as it works...
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Post by DE Sinclair on Jul 29, 2015 11:33:39 GMT -5
Well, even gold is only worth anything because we believe it is. If it weren't valued for being pretty and rare, it's just soft, shiny metal. Having said that, I have a masters degree, and I consider myself a reasonably smart guy, but I simply cannot understand why any economy or currency works and doesn't collapse in on itself. But, as long as it works... Not an economist either, but my understanding is that it works because the government says the currency has value, and the public believes what the government is telling them. Beyond that, the government made laws that says it has value for all transactions, public or private. So basically, it works because Uncle Sam says it does. If the public, en masse, ever loses faith in it's value, or the government collapses, then it will be worthless. At that point you'll need to start guarding your cans of tuna fish from the hungry mobs. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 29, 2015 11:57:19 GMT -5
The U.S. essentially abandoned the gold standard in the 30s during the depression. There have been times since when there has been some indexing to gold, but really there has been no gold standard for over 75 years. At this time no country in the world ties their money to gold or any actual commodity. Which makes sense...because there simply isn't enough gold in existence to back the currency that is out there.
And really it's nonsensical to tie money to gold. It's pretty. And somewhat rare. But it's not intrinsically valuable beyond our tradition of saying it is. I'm definitely not an economist, but you pretty much only see people on the very fringes of the political spectrum calling for a return to a gold standard.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 11:58:23 GMT -5
Well, even gold is only worth anything because we believe it is. If it weren't valued for being pretty and rare, it's just soft, shiny metal. Having said that, I have a masters degree, and I consider myself a reasonably smart guy, but I simply cannot understand why any economy or currency works and doesn't collapse in on itself. But, as long as it works... Not an economist either, but my understanding is that it works because the government says the currency has value, and the public believes what the government is telling them. Beyond that, the government made laws that says it has value for all transactions, public or private. So basically, it works because Uncle Sam says it does. If the public, en masse, ever loses faith in it's value, or the government collapses, then it will be worthless. See also: "consensus reality." Obtain a houseful of cats if you want to start practicing now. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 11:59:47 GMT -5
And really it's nonsensical to tie money to gold. It's pretty. And somewhat rare. But it's not intrinsically valuable beyond our tradition of saying it is. I'm definitely not an economist, but you pretty much only see people on the very fringes of the political spectrum calling for a return to a gold standard. What we need is the imposition of the classic comics standard instead. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 29, 2015 11:59:48 GMT -5
Well, even gold is only worth anything because we believe it is. If it weren't valued for being pretty and rare, it's just soft, shiny metal. Having said that, I have a masters degree, and I consider myself a reasonably smart guy, but I simply cannot understand why any economy or currency works and doesn't collapse in on itself. But, as long as it works... Not an economist either, but my understanding is that it works because the government says the currency has value, and the public believes what the government is telling them. Beyond that, the government made laws that says it has value for all transactions, public or private. So basically, it works because Uncle Sam says it does. If the public, en masse, ever loses faith in it's value, or the government collapses, then it will be worthless. At that point you'll need to start guarding your cans of tuna fish from the hungry mobs. Your cans of tuna will be worth a hell of a lot more then gold at that point. So will car parts. Refined oil. Pretty much anything other than a marginally useful shiny metal. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 29, 2015 12:00:06 GMT -5
Our entire economic system is nothing but a fiction that all participants pretend is reality.
Cei-U!
I summon the enigma!
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 29, 2015 12:08:17 GMT -5
Our entire economic system is nothing but a fiction that all participants pretend is reality. Cei-U! I summon the enigma! Like the Fox News version of America. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 29, 2015 12:10:26 GMT -5
And really it's nonsensical to tie money to gold. It's pretty. And somewhat rare. But it's not intrinsically valuable beyond our tradition of saying it is. I'm definitely not an economist, but you pretty much only see people on the very fringes of the political spectrum calling for a return to a gold standard. What we need is the imposition of the classic comics standard instead. 1,000,000 double-bagged and boarded copies of Spider-Man 1 (Macfarlane version) equal one Brother Power, the Geek 3. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 12:53:29 GMT -5
This is out of the blue but if I understand the concept of the US dollar, if it were truly worth anything, I could take all my dollars to Fort Knox and get the gold that it's worth? Cause all a dollar is an IOU from the federal government saying they'll pay me back in gold for this silly paper thing they gave me instead? And if the dollar isn't worth anything why are we still using it and not paying for items in gold coins like some sword and sorcery movie? you can take your dollars to APMEX and trade them for gold. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 12:56:14 GMT -5
The U.S. essentially abandoned the gold standard in the 30s during the depression. There have been times since when there has been some indexing to gold, but really there has been no gold standard for over 75 years. At this time no country in the world ties their money to gold or any actual commodity. Which makes sense...because there simply isn't enough gold in existence to back the currency that is out there. And really it's nonsensical to tie money to gold. It's pretty. And somewhat rare. But it's not intrinsically valuable beyond our tradition of saying it is. I'm definitely not an economist, but you pretty much only see people on the very fringes of the political spectrum calling for a return to a gold standard. gold isn't more stable either. This Greece bankruptcy has caused gold prices to drop somewhat significantly lately. Luckily all our dollars aren't worth 30% less because of what goes on in some other country |
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