Bitcoin value belief based
At their core, cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin) are consensus-based assets, much like Dutch tulip bulbs during the 17th century. Tulips soared in value because people collectively agreed they were valuable – until, quite suddenly, they didn’t. When that consensus evaporated, prices collapsed.
Gold, too, is ultimately sustained by human consensus. But unlike tulips or Bitcoin, it has enduring physical uses – as decoration, jewelry and in industry. That tangible utility has helped preserve gold’s value for thousands of years, even as monetary systems changed.
Bitcoin has no such fall-back. It cannot be worn, melted down or used to decorate buildings and offices. Its value exists only as long as people agree the digital tokens are scarce and useful for exchange or speculation. If that shared belief fades, Bitcoin’s value could fall to zero. There is no underlying asset or alternative use to provide a floor.
The U.S. dollar is in part sustained by confidence. But unlike Bitcoin, the U.S. dollar is ultimately backed by the taxing power of the U.S. government over the largest economy in the world and by vast government-owned land and other assets.
In addition, if the federal government issues too much debt or spends irresponsibly, markets respond by lowering the value of that debt, pushing up interest rates and, if necessary, weakening the currency. These market reactions act as a disciplining mechanism. Bitcoin, by contrast, has no bond market, no taxing authority and no feedback loop – just collective belief.
These distinctions matter for public policy. There are several bills in Congress addressing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, including proposals for the government to hold some as reserves.
By doing so, the U.S. government would take on the asset’s volatility and give the impression of stability, boosting the value of existing Bitcoin holdings. But if Bitcoin’s value crashes, the value of government reserves would fall – effectively a loss borne by taxpayers.
Jan Lukens, Unaka
Stage 4 of Obamacare
“If you like your plan, you can keep it and if you like your doctor, you can keep him as well,” Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries scream as they shut down the government. Is Obamacare worth saving? What is America heading for with Obamacare?
In the beginning (stage one) and even today for many, Obamacare looked like health-care salvation. “Free this and free that,” they claim. Could it be true? As we approach stage four, is it getting better? To answer, take a look around the world at how it’s working for countries that have reached stage four and beyond.
In September (just 30 days ago), a 59-year-old Pittsburgh resident suffering from heart failure received a heart from a 38-year-old man from Canada. The Canadian man didn’t donate his heart by natural death. He didn’t commit suicide. He was killed by medical professionals using a law called Medical Assistance in Dying, MAID for short. Injecting the same life-ending drugs a convict would receive to end their life. End of story, or just the beginning?
Will the day come when the old and feeble are no longer useful members of society, costing Obamacare too much? Could their valuable organs be used for a well-wired politician?
Canada leads the world in organ donations from MAID. Health professionals call assisted suicide a lifestyle option. Some Canadian physicians believe state-sanctioned suicide is all about autonomy, and take on the practice without guilt. When asked, a Vancouver physician compared administering suicide drugs the same as delivering babies, calling the people who died “deliveries.”
So, does the story end there? Is this abapical practice happening in America? My 48-year-old grandson was unknowingly killed by a doctor in a hospital in Georgia with a lethal dose of morphine.
Stage 4 Obamacare is here.
Ed Huber, Copperhill, Tenn.
Downward spiral starts
The U.S. and Israeli governments control the legacy media, promoting their agenda. Their level of psychological propaganda and gaslighting is unparalleled. There are three major deceptions.
First, there are two political parties; none else need apply. Truth is, Democrats and Republicans are a uniparty, same globalist agenda, different faces. Your vote means nothing. These jackals tell us we’re a democracy. A democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner.
The United States is a constitutional federal republic. We are lulled under the illusion of freedom, but it’s all theatre; we are controlled. Congress is supposed to be the servant of the people, but in fact, we serve them. Go to work, pay your taxes and shut up, or we’ll threaten to sic the IRS on you. Due to years of Congress’ irresponsible spending, Americans will pay almost $1 trillion in interest payments on the national debt in 2025.
Secondly, is Israel a proxy of the United States, or is the U.S. a proxy of Israel? Truth is, the Israeli and U.S. Zionist cabal, aka “deep state,” covertly work in tandem toward the goal of world hegemony through Middle East wars, controlling their oil and economies.
Third, the Zio-international banking cartel, aka the Federal Reserve, controls our economy. Our government doesn’t control the Fed; it’s a privately owned bank. The primary reason for inflation is the Fed’s obscenely excessive printing of fiat currency, euphemistically named “quantitative easing.” Inflating the supply of currency depreciates the value of the dollar, as too many dollars chase a limited amount of goods and services; it’s economics 101. This will eventually result in hyperinflation, followed by an economic collapse.
There’s no stopping this downward spiral; it’s too late. Brace for impact. Orchestrated chaos ahead. Prepare accordingly. Christ is King.
Mary Mason, Murphy