If Erdogan were more sophisticated like his western counterparts, he wouldn’t simply declare that low interest rates are the cure for inflation. He would deny there was any inflation, then call it “transitory” when it could no longer be denied. He would make up a new monetary theory that explained that massive money printing wasn’t causing inflation. He would change the way inflation is measured so that it completely ignores massive increases in the cost of housing. He would blame inflation on a war that started long after the inflation did. The fact that a Ponzi scheme like crypto currencies has become ‘safer’ than fiat currencies tells you just how unsafe all of our fiat currencies have become. Interest rates are supposed to be set to ensure a ‘real’ return on debt above inflation – even if you believe inflation is only 7 or 8% in the west, why aren’t interest rates already at 9 or 10%? Too many people have forgotten the economic / political / social ravages of inflation – they are about to be reminded.
Without any specific knowledge about Turkey’s situation, I would presume the attaction of crypto currencies is not just abandoning the Lira but obtaining regulatory anonymity. In the old days one just exchanged lousy currencies for the USD. But doing that does not solve the problem, to the extent it can be done, of avoiding the government’s reach into Turkish bank accounts that hold those other fiat currencies. Only crypto currencies (and bed mattresses) offer that needed anonymity and only crypto accounts offer portability beyond borders.Given the behaviour of the Turkish government for the past two decades, any citizen would conclude crypto, despite ists many flasws, is better than the Lira and government’s ability to coerce compliance.
If Erdogan were more sophisticated like his western counterparts, he wouldn’t simply declare that low interest rates are the cure for inflation. He would deny there was any inflation, then call it “transitory” when it could no longer be denied. He would make up a new monetary theory that explained that massive money printing wasn’t causing inflation. He would change the way inflation is measured so that it completely ignores massive increases in the cost of housing. He would blame inflation on a war that started long after the inflation did. The fact that a Ponzi scheme like crypto currencies has become ‘safer’ than fiat currencies tells you just how unsafe all of our fiat currencies have become. Interest rates are supposed to be set to ensure a ‘real’ return on debt above inflation – even if you believe inflation is only 7 or 8% in the west, why aren’t interest rates already at 9 or 10%? Too many people have forgotten the economic / political / social ravages of inflation – they are about to be reminded.
10 points for biting sarcasm!
Coming to a cinema near you too.
Without any specific knowledge about Turkey’s situation, I would presume the attaction of crypto currencies is not just abandoning the Lira but obtaining regulatory anonymity. In the old days one just exchanged lousy currencies for the USD. But doing that does not solve the problem, to the extent it can be done, of avoiding the government’s reach into Turkish bank accounts that hold those other fiat currencies. Only crypto currencies (and bed mattresses) offer that needed anonymity and only crypto accounts offer portability beyond borders.Given the behaviour of the Turkish government for the past two decades, any citizen would conclude crypto, despite ists many flasws, is better than the Lira and government’s ability to coerce compliance.