Keith and Arthur set the picture rather well, in my opinion. Funny money is all there is nowadays. Real assets (land and structures), energy sources, food sources, protected water, and security of all sorts (incl medical) are the sorts of things that retain relative value fairly well despite market fluctuations and currency rate movements. Unless/until the present system fails in a VERY big way, I doubt fiat money will be replaced by something 'better'. As to government success in handling things, it seems to me that the money system works in spite of government machinations - sometimes too restrictive or stimulative. Debt is a dis-empowerer in most cases, a prime exception being gargantuan debt which threatens the system and brings bailouts.
An essay on these themes that I wrote in Oct. for Contra the Heard, an investment advisory quarterly by 2 guys who also write a bi-weekly column for the Globe and Mail is the second half of "October Commentary": http://www.contratheheard.com/cth/comment/01oct.html Steve -- http://magma.ca/~gpco/ http://www.scientists4pr.org/ Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.�Kenneth Boulding
