[118178] in Cypherpunks
Fwd: QRN: Heads up! E-gold!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jean-Francois Avon)
Tue Sep 21 10:54:25 1999
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From: "Jean-Francois Avon" <jf_avon@citenet.net>
To: "QuackGrass.com" <qgrass@quackgrass.com>,
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Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 10:19:00 -0400
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Reply-To: "Jean-Francois Avon" <jf_avon@citenet.net>
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>Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 02:09:26 -0600
>From: Michael Miller <qgrass@quackgrass.com>
>To: Quackgrass Roots Network <qgrass@quackgrass.com>
>Subject: QRN: Heads up! E-gold!
At last! A route to a gold-based monetary system with no need for
legal or political reforms! The e-gold payments system.
E-gold is similar in economic principle to 100% gold reserve
banking, but the e-gold payments system is NOT banking. A bank
deposit is legally a _loan_ from the depositor to the bank; this
doctrine allows banks legally to create deposits beyond their
holdings of basic money; i.e., it allows banks to inflate--and
thus to create the risk of deflation. The convenience of paying by
cheque allowed banks to outcompete gold coin, but since banking is
based on the doctrine of deposit-as-loan, it created an inherently
inflationary/deflationary monetary system.
E-gold, in contrast, is based on the legal doctrine of "bailment."
Bailment is the legal condition under which, for example, elevator
companies store a farmer's grain: the ownership of the grain
remains with the farmer; the grain is not loaned to the elevator
company. An elevator company which issued receipts corresponding
to no grain in storage would be breaking the law. Similarly, when
you bail funds to an e-gold account, the ownership of the gold
remains with you, it is NOT a loan to the payments company.
Bailment means that the e-gold payments system is NOT a bank, that
putting gold into it is NOT making a deposit, and that as long as
contract law is upheld, e-gold inflation is impossible!
E-gold is fundamentally new: it is an uninflatable payments system
that has all the convenience of cheques or credit cards! You can
issue a payment with a few mouse clicks. When you make a payment,
the gold stays in the same place (the company's vaults); only the
_ownership_ changes. Of course, you can demand your gold back at
any time you wish.
The company which created e-gold, Gold & Silver Reserve, Inc., has
thought this out very thoroughly. If G&SR succeeds, and still more
if it attracts competitors, a bona fide gold standard will develop
until governments stir themselves to stamp it out--and that may
not be politically easy for them to do. In any case, G&SR will
have pointed the way to sound money for the future.
E-gold is still a baby (7417 accounts, under 4,000 ounces of
gold), but it costs _nothing_ to open an account, and it's cheaper
to accept online payments into your e-gold account than by means
of a credit card! The fees for in-exchange, out-exchange, storage
and transactions are very reasonable. There are no delays waiting
for a payment to clear; an e-gold transaction is complete in
itself, like physically handing over a coin.
In addition, Gold & Silver Reserve, Inc. has an incentive plan
which pays you a fraction of the fees generated by anyone who
opens an account within a week of reaching their site though a
link to which contains your account number. The link immediately
below displays the needed format, and contains _my_ account
number. (That's a hint, folks! :-) )
1. Scads of info on their site:
http://www.e-gold.com/e-gold.asp?cid=107481
2. Growth stats: http://www.e-gold.com/stats.html
3. Complete site map:
http://www.e-gold.com/unsecure/e-goldsitemap.asp
4. Incentive plan: http://www.e-gold.com/unsecure/incentive.htm
There are risks in dealing with a company that has a short track
record, but you can limit your risks to what you can afford to
lose. Just start with a small account balance, and increase it
gradually as you gain confidence in G&SR and the e-gold system. I
funded my account with a C$100 check mailed to G&SR in care of a
Canadian bank in Vancouver, BC. As for the general risks of online
transactions, you're protected by the "school of fish" principle:
any predator is unlikely to attack _you_ first, and any attack on
someone else will warn the whole school.
E-gold has exponential possibilities: the larger a currency system
grows, the more valuable it becomes to everyone using it. Think
how fast the Web grew! Same principle. Although I expect E-gold to
grow much more slowly than the Web, it has that explosive
potential. The more the merrier!
All those who seek a gold standard on general principle should
talk up the e-gold idea. Articles, essays, editorial comment,
scholarly economic analysis--the works!
E-gold is an idea that deserves to spread like quackgrass!
Cheers, Mike
--
Michael Miller | Quackgrass Press | Quackgrass Roots Network
Subscribe to QRN: http://www.quackgrass.com/roots/qrn.html
Aiming for the New Renaissance!
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