The Intrinsic Value of Nothing,

Seeking Alpha ^ | ctober 27, 2009 | Paco Ahlgren picture Paco Ahlgren

[ThanhPhero]

Reach in your wallet, and pull out a dollar bill. Look at it for a moment. Now ask yourself, “What is this worth?” This isn’t a trick question. Don’t think about anything but that dollar in your hands. Don’t think about a soft drink. Don’t think about a bag of chips, or a handful of screws at the hardware store. Think about that dollar in your hands without thinking about what it can buy. Can you do that? It’s pretty difficult, isn’t it? That’s because a dollar, qua a dollar, isn’t worth anything more than the paper and ink on which it’s printed. And even the value of the paper and ink must be expressed in terms of some medium of exchange. Thus, we dive deep into the dark epistemological implications of the human perception of value.

[HiTech RedNeck]

What is a letter worth? A check? Any written thing?

[pgyanke]

This is silly. If we didn’t have a common unit of exchange (dollars), we would barter. That dollar in your hand represents all that the author told you to NOT think about.

What gives it its value? You do. Its worth is based on the government’s ability to make good on its obligations. If you look closely at that dollar, you will note its similarity to a check. You are holding a bearer check which draws on the Treasury account, signed by the Secretary of the Treasury. At the end of the day, the government’s money comes from you. Therefore, the dollar’s real worth is the economic power of the economy. However, when the government expands the number of dollars beyond the representation of a finite economy, the value of each dollar is diluted and less. This is called inflation.

That’s enough for one night... time for bed. Good night.

[DB]

Paper money's IOU value is entirely based on the credibility/wherewithal of the government that issued it. If that government loses its credibility/wherewithal it loses its fiat currency.

[M-cubed]

Greenspam knew what it was worth back in 1966!

http://www.321gold.com/fed/greenspan/1966.html

[ExGeeEye]

I still have a copy of my enlistment contract (no, it wasn't written on parchment in Spencerian script with a quill pen!). Intrinsically, it is nearly worthless...add it to enough other paper and my local recycler might pay me $.03 for ten pounds of it. Or more, or less...I didn't research that, and it's not really germane. The point is that at the time that piece of paper was worth my whole life.

A dollar, to me, at present, is worth about five minutes of whatever time I have left in this world. With it, I can live in my home for three hours, or eat one of the store-brand frozen meals they have on sale this week. These things support my life. Or I could watch cable TV for 8 hours, which depending on what I watch or what else I could be doing, could be helpful or detrimental :)

Point being, the paper and ink may not be worth much...but the way they are assembled means a great deal. Everywhere you go that's true-- even Zimbabwe, where last I heard they haven't quite given up on currency as a means of exchange between strangers.

And speaking of things written on parchment in Spencerian script with a quill pen: I regard the Constitution of the United States as the single most valuable property this country and its citizens have other than Holy Writ. May it be soon restored to its rightful place as the Supreme Law of the Land.