Krugman on Bitcoin, Part Deux

Paul Krugman writes that Bitcoin enthusiasts, which he calls “bitbugs,” tend to believe that “we live in an era of wildly irresponsible money printing, with runaway inflation just around the corner” and ”seem to long for a pristine monetary standard, untouched by human frailty.”

“You have to monetize your audience”

This video mocking TED Talks by start-up company CEOs is hilarious.  Even though it is evidently fake, it rings True:

Source: The Onion Digital Studios

Bitcoin Adoption Right on Schedule

BloombergBusinessWeek reports that some Iranians are turning to Bitcoin in the face of economic uncertainty, because US dollars are difficult to obtain:

Under sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies, dollars are hard to come by in Iran. The rial fell from 20,160 against the greenback on the street market in August to 36,500 rials to the dollar in October. It’s settled, for now, around 27,000. The central bank’s fixed official rate is 12,260. Yet there’s one currency in Iran that has kept its value and can be used to purchase goods from abroad: bitcoins, the online-only currency.

Compare to what I wrote in early 2011:

The anonymity, decentralized nature, and extreme versatility of Bitcoin make it an ideal form of cash for coping with the extreme uncertainty inherent to such unstable situations. Financial crises, collapsed economies, toppled governments, military conflicts: Bitcoin can survive them all.

As Bitcoin becomes easier to buy, sell, and use by regular folk, its use in extreme, difficult circumstances therefore seems inevitable to me. When people are desperate, they tend to be more willing to try new things. So long as Bitcoin works as intended, people around the planet are bound to turn to it as the currency and store or value of last resort.

As financial, economic, and political crises of all kinds continue to erupt all over the planet from time to time, demand for Bitcoin as a currency or store of value of last resort should gradually expand from niche markets to the broader population.

Slowly but surely, Bitcoin is gaining credibility with the masses.

Map of US 2012 Presidential Election Results versus Location of Top-Ranked US Universities

Results by State

Results by County

Sources:
Google Election Results
Times Higher Education World University Rankings

Academic Weasel Words, Translated

This is hilarious (click to enlarge):

Academic Weasel Words, Translated (source unknown).

Hat tip: macroexposure

A Common Sense Argument for Taxing the Super Rich

From a successful investor-entrepreneur, this rings very true:

It is unquestionably true that without entrepreneurs and investors, you can’t have a dynamic and growing capitalist economy. But it’s equally true that without consumers, you can’t have entrepreneurs and investors. And the more we have happy customers with lots of disposable income, the better our businesses will do.

That’s why our current policies are so upside down. When the American middle class defends a tax system in which the lion’s share of benefits accrues to the richest, all in the name of job creation, all that happens is that the rich get richer.

Source: Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators: Nick Hanauer.

Unfortunately for Politicians, the Laws of Arithmetic Are Not Flexible

Martin Wolf in today’s Financial Times:

If the private sector is seeking to run down its debts, it is hard for the government to do so, too, because everybody cannot spend less than their income. That is the “paradox of thrift”. No, it is not a novel idea. (Link)