In the
Tang dynasty, something starts changing. Since then the money starts to have another representation: the
banknote. This, that have seen as an improvement because the traders doesn't need to carry the weight of the metal pieces. They has been able to travel in the empire with the possibility to exchange the paper into money based on metal. An at that time, the paper had a meaning in precious metal.
From that time to our days many times the "
smart" leaders have realize how easy is to print more paper that the precious metal that they have.
The last time that this solution have set is a very big
historical event in the richness of the world, it was when the
US president Nixon breaks the direct conversion between the
dollar and the
gold. After that all the meaning of money is that it's something that can be exchanged for goods. It's only based in our trust on its value. At that time, the meaning of money have change.
Even worst, today we have one hack further: the
electronic money. Now it's not necessary to have the banknotes in a
safe who backup the e-cash. Like with the gold coverage brake, but worst. If previously was easier to print a paper than have a precious metal: have a couple of bits in a computer is even easier.
Why, with today's world crisis, the concept of the
money have an even worst meaning? Apart of the problem with the meaning of the money, the concept of the
debt is corrupted by the
economics engineering. It doesn't have sense when I hear that
Greece have
cheat in the numbers many years a go helped by banks. The
rating agencies are trying to clean their faces saying that now they are doing their task (not having everyone with the "
excellent") but not assuming responsibilities in the
subprimes and the huge
collapse in 2008.
After this brake down in the (north-occidental) world, the
IMF, have said to the involved democracies what they have to do. But the ones who applied they medecine are not in the path of solution, but the ones who did the opposite way are improving (
iceland). Even that, the orders that this IMF are saying to the countries, for example about the
retirement, it doesn't corresponds with what they do to itself.
Even forcing some of the
PIGS to make changes on their
constitution, Belgium have been in a political crisis on about
480 days without government. During this time their economy has been not enormously affected by the world crisis, far from that, their economy grew during this period of frozen budgets and laws. We may learn from the Belgium "
solution".
The
ECB also dictate its will to Italy and Spain (at minimum) to have their "service" or "protection". When the ECB is loaning cheap money to the banks, and this banks are loaning countries like Greece with a much bigger interest, the meaning of this institutions are loosing its meaning.
There is money to save and rescue the banks and don't left them abandoned to the markets. This new money can be new circulating money (like print more banknotes) or injecting money in soft credits to the banks (like creating bits of e-cash in a server). This to fix the banks' cheating,
doubling money using the
fractional reserve. That is, only a fraction of the deposits are "in the safe", there is a part that can be moved by the bank to produce more money. But then this money can be count in different ways, two, three or many times. The same money can be counter by me, by you, maybe by a third.
But the countries are left to its luck in the markets (where this banks play). There is no money for the social politics, we have lived out of our possibilities and we have to reduce the budget. But
rescuing banks and paying enormous
compensations to fire its executives who fails in its task. It's possible to "print" new e-cash to save the banks (with an inflation risk), but due to this risk this cannot be done for the countries.
But their big numbers are related with the normal people, who live normal lives. When they fail in economics, all of us suffers, but not them. Perhaps, they will have a headache because a crash in the market. But for the normal people this means a problem to eat during all the month. An this is not only headache, is also stomach ache...
In the
Madrid's community, there is no money for the education. But the visit of the
Catholic pope to this community
cost more money than this cut. And this is only the community investment on this act, because many companies have "donate" money to this act in exchange on some fiscal benefits (due to that I have remembered the
expulsion of the money-changers of Christ in the temple).
In
Catalunya, even that in 2003 the gasoline have add a new tax called "sanitary cent". But further than a cent, it was a percentage corresponding to a cent on that year. Even that in 2008,
Brussels say this tax is not legal, our politics
refuses to remove it. This tax has been made to pay the sanitary bill, and they say is strictly necessary to avoid other less popular measures like the co-payment (you pay something "symbolic" every time that you visit the doctor). But now, 2011, they still talk about this co-payment and still say they don't have enough money to pay sanity service.
They never have enough! A solution for today is only an excuse. What they say today can be the opposite of what they will say tomorrow.
And in Catalunya there is another example of what I see as this
economics engineering swindle. How can be possible that the debt of the Catalan government depends on the "column" where somebody puts the cost of
a metro line of the Barcelona's city? This is a cost, an inversion, a money paid to the providers (and probably to be paid to the creditors). It doesn't have sense that the numbers can be "make-up" this level. It's unacceptable that in economics the result is fussy depending on how you did the numbers.
Now
Portugal have
cut the special payments for Christmas and summer. Back to Catalunya, the region government have said that their executives will not receive their Christmas payment this year. The news said that they will save 1.8M€ and the measure will affect about 350 persons. Easy 1'8M€ / 350px ~ 5000€/px: they are not in the media of salaries. Why there is no consequences to this "executives" when they fail in their task? But my doubt is which will be the workaround to pay them using another "ways"?
In the rescued banks (using "public" money) is even worst: the bank managers receive tones of money to be fired. If I do such a mistake like they did in my job, I'll be fired with out any payment, and probably with a
lawsuit.
There are millions of persons unemployed in Spain (and the rest of the PIGS, and in the rest of the world). But locally it looks more like a
lockout. Since 2008, many companies have instrumentalized this crisis for a cheapness firing the workers and reduce the salaries of the ones who "survive" to their burn. With this crisis, this country is only making big and deeper the bags of poverty. Making the social fracture much bigger. The ones that have more are have even more, the ones that have something are pushed together with the ones who already didn't have nothing before the crisis.
My conclusion is that the representation of the meaning of the richness has been lost. The hack of the banknotes and the mistake that is print more banknotes that the precious metal in the safe has go one step further: the mistake of generate more e-cash than the banknotes the supports this bits. The central banks are injecting this e-cash to big hole of the multiple-counting made by the banks, making this multi-count real or signed by this authorities (e-cash emission using bank soft credits). And to contain their
hyperinflation, they force the final citizen to be push to the poorness cutting the social goodness and the menace of the unemployment.
The unemployed people doesn't have money to exchange for goods, but the ones who still have a jobs doesn't know for how long it is, and doesn't exchange their e-cash. This is what is avoiding an issue of removing the banknotes from the banks. The banks are being saved to maintain the confidence of the people in the e-cash. Because behind the e-cash, there is no banknotes, behind there is no precious metals, behind there is no richness.
Behind the capital and the speculation there is nothing. The production of goods is less productive in this society than generations of hacks to cover mistakes. This society is an imaginary giant made by real feed of mud.
