Fellow humans,
Let’s focus on powerful nations before transitioning to one of my favorite topics. I feel like most Americans would agree that too many world leaders (politicians) cannot be trusted to do the right thing. Especially behind closed doors, which is where much “governance” seems to happen.
I believe we (the people) are partially to blame, because we’ve tolerated too much micromanagement over time. I don’t know about you, but voting has been my only political input. I’ve never been to a town hall meeting to voice my thoughts, or any other political event. However, I have watched a lot of Parks and Recreation, so I feel like I would do all right.
Additionally, we don’t make enough decisions based on our own independent thought. None of us were alive in 1789 when the U.S. federal government was founded, so we don’t know exactly what was happening on a daily basis. However, I cannot imagine people were as dependent on Uncle Sam as we are today.
We the people want everything handed to us.
Twelve years in the U.S. Army has taught me a valuable lesson — people want a safety net. I’ve witnessed countless Soldiers talking about the pay, benefits, and pension offered by the military, as if these benefits are their primary reason for serving. I understand we want peace of mind and financial security, but sucking on the government’s teat for 20 years to secure the bag? No thank you.
My point is that we’ve been giving our governments too many inches, and as a result they’ve been taking too many miles. From us. We need to become better at setting boundaries. We’re likely giving inches because we want something extra from them.
Do we even know what we want anymore?
Governments only exist after tax dollars are sucked from our homes, and into the black hole of the establishment. We pay government officials to govern. Nothing more, nothing less. Yet we often get more (corruption) than anticipated, because we’re failing to properly define what governance means to us.
How did we end up here? Government officials can…
start wars by signing a document.
Think about Vietnam and the 20 year war in the Middle East. Sloppy execution from start to finish. Results? Other than death, not obvious to the ordinary citizen.
manipulate entire economies via irresponsible monetary policy.
Financial bailouts for corporations. Let the weak CEOs fail. Otherwise, taxpayers pay the ultimate price of inflation, and government-owned corporations.
create and enforce ridiculous laws.
China bans Facebook. China bans Google. China bans Bitcoin. Doesn’t matter what the people want. Government officials want control over media, search engines, and the money supply.
I’m convinced our problem as a global society is that we refuse to accept short-term pain in order to achieve long-term gain. We cannot tolerate the thought of struggling through a small number of years to reap the benefits later in life. Kicking the can down the road, but eventually somebody has to pick it up.
I don’t know exactly why China banned Bitcoin. Government officials are not known for transparency, logical reasoning, or honesty. However, the timing of the latest ban is no coincidence. The current Evergrande situation in China has recently had a major impact on international financial markets, and I believe the final dominos are falling for the Chinese economy.
Historically, what happens when financial markets are in trouble? Government intervention! If you weren’t paying attention since the beginning of the pandemic, governments are obsessed with manipulating economies. They act like puppet masters, and expect us to play puppets.
Government officials have some level of control over the economy when they control the money supply. My instinct tells me Chinese leaders are afraid, because they’re losing control over their economy. Central banks inject new fiat currency into the economy when debt levels are too high, which is likely what’s happening in China.
Fiat currency is backed by trust in governments, not gold or any other form of money. Bitcoin is backed by energy, math, cryptography, and transparent consensus — stripping power away from centralized policymakers, distributing power equally over the decentralized network. Anybody can participate in the Bitcoin network, and China has officially opted out.
Why? Likely because government intervention has no place within the Bitcoin network. If government officials cannot create new money (bitcoin) at will, then they’re no longer economic puppet masters, and the people are no longer puppets. I bet my bottom dollar the concept of Bitcoin scares the balls off of Chinese leadership.
Chinese people will pay the price.
U.S. government officials have been surprisingly patient and reasonable with Bitcoin regulation. The IRS established tax guidance in 2014, and the CFTC has determined Bitcoin to be a commodity under the Commodity Exchange Act. I don’t know much about regulations, but I know Bitcoin is 100 percent legal and thriving in the U.S. Bitcoin mining operations were shut down in China earlier this year. Meanwhile, bitcoin mining is thriving in America.
I would not want to live in China. I feel like Chinese leaders are like over-bearing parents who would send me off to boarding school because they know what’s best for me. Let us live our lives, even if that means making our own mistakes, and owning magic internet money.
America should continue welcoming Bitcoin for multiple reasons. A major reason right now — the enemy of our enemy is our friend. China cannot kill an idea whose time has come.
Until next time,
Salvatore Norge