A beacon of hope for the rebirth of Bolívar's dream
A shadow of his former self, Ortega's victory is still an expression of the wider demand for change sweeping Latin America
by Tariq Ali.
I sent Tariq Ali an email (copied below with some minor changes) in January 2006.
Socialism and Seignorage
Dear Tariq
It would be very interesting to know your views on fiat money. What do you think about the following statement?:
"The profits that accrue to the governments that issue fiat money through siegnorage are justifiable because the loss of wealth that individuals incur from inflation is more than compensated by the societal benefits obtained when such governments spend the profits so accrued on worthwhile public projects such as free education, infrastructure and healthcare."
One problem that I can see with the above thought is that such profits may be used by governments to conduct projects that are unlikely to be considered 'worthwhile' by many - imperial wars, for example.
It's also worth thinking about what percentage of the population understand siegnorage? If many aren't aware of it, surely this amounts to a huge gap in terms of government transparency and accountability?
Regards
Ferhan
NB: I highly recommend the following page for an interesting insight into the activities of the Bank of International Settlements:
http://www.safehaven.com/article-4328.htm
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