[Venerye]

http://tinyurl.com/z8trn
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government officials are bracing for a possible greater need for paper currency and coins in the event of an influenza pandemic in the United States, a Treasury Department official said on Thursday.

"In the immediate aftermath of any disaster, there may be some movement toward a greater use of currency," said Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Parsons. He was testifying before a House of Representatives financial services panel.

The U.S. Mint, Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Federal Reserve are collaborating to ensure that banknote and coin inventories would be adequate if financial institutions need extra supplies, Parsons said.

[Fergus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Venerye', '[')url]http://tinyurl.com/z8trn[/url]
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government officials are bracing for a possible greater need for paper currency and coins in the event of an influenza pandemic in the United States, a Treasury Department official said on Thursday.

"In the immediate aftermath of any disaster, there may be some movement toward a greater use of currency," said Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Parsons. He was testifying before a House of Representatives financial services panel.

The U.S. Mint, Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Federal Reserve are collaborating to ensure that banknote and coin inventories would be adequate if financial institutions need extra supplies, Parsons said.

[paoniapbud]

A major event like this may cause a 'run on the bank' meaning people will want hard currency for perceived safety. True, if you don't have a monetary policy(like MExico in the 70's and 80's) and make gobs of cash available then you will have rapid inflation.

The U.S. has a fairly good handle on this so they would simply constrict the money supply through interest rate manipulation to keep hyper-inflation in check. All of this is at least in theory...

[pup55]

I dunno....

Seems like using paper currency would spread the disease even worse.

[mmasters]

yeah what bullshit. Most people use plastic today anyway for transactions. Only reason to substancially boost the physical money supply is to counter substancil inflation

[chuck6877]

This would definitely be good for gold prices, right?

[DantesPeak]

The implication is that currency will be positioned in strategic locations ahead of the avian flu. That means it is being printed now.

Since a pandemic may cause the electronic banking system to 'malfunction' (that is people not going to their banks), cash will be needed. Being there is a strong coorelation between cash money and the 'money base' (the actual electronic money created by the Fed), and since the money base acts a multiplier effect on the money supply (cash and bank deposits), this move is potentially very inflationary.

Avian flu, by itself, would be very deflationary - that is business would collapse and there would be no buyers. This move is to create artificial demand by increasing inflation.

What should you do? Buy gold and silver when the pandemic starts.

[SILENTTODD]

Look on the good side. In the Weimar Republic days they were eventually able to use their notes as wall paper!

[IslandCrow]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DantesPeak', 'S')ince a pandemic may cause the electronic banking system to 'malfunction'

[MrBill]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DantesPeak', 'T')he implication is that currency will be positioned in strategic locations ahead of the avian flu. That means it is being printed now.

Since a pandemic may cause the electronic banking system to 'malfunction' (that is people not going to their banks), cash will be needed. Being there is a strong coorelation between cash money and the 'money base' (the actual electronic money created by the Fed), and since the money base acts a multiplier effect on the money supply (cash and bank deposits), this move is potentially very inflationary.

Avian flu, by itself, would be very deflationary - that is business would collapse and there would be no buyers. This move is to create artificial demand by increasing inflation.

What should you do? Buy gold and silver when the pandemic starts.

[grabby]

If you were in prison, and you were woken up every morning at 3 am to get slapped around, you'd eventually expect to get slapped tomorrow morning, and you would start to get up at 2:30 so they couldn't dump your mattress on the floor, right?

The Germs that lived next to auschqitz thought everything was fine, and the screams were from people complaining about haveing to work...

We always believe what we WANT to believe, and the people who lived around treblinka never even thought they were treating prisoners badly, and those prisoners were very lazy and needed to be taught to work instead of run banks and bring down the Germ system,

And even the "workers" when pushed into showers , men women and children thought they were going to get cleaned up, it never entered their minds they were part of a solution.

Humans are weird, they are FAR too trusting.

When the powers that be see there are too many people for the power that we have, you think they will kindly shut down their industries and share their oil with the third world countries o they can eat? Maybe they will walk arm in arm with the starving nigerians singing kumbaya, yeah, thats what they will do.
I'm sure all we have to do is trust all the leaders, I'm sure they have all the PEOPLES best interest in mind instead of their INDUSTRIES that is why they passed NAFTA (Democrats and Republicans alike)

[MrBill]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('grabby', 'I')f you were in prison, and you were woken up every morning at 3 am to get slapped around, you'd eventually expect to get slapped tomorrow morning, and you would start to get up at 2:30 so they couldn't dump your mattress on the floor, right?

The Germs that lived next to auschqitz thought everything was fine, and the screams were from people complaining about haveing to work...

We always believe what we WANT to believe, and the people who lived around treblinka never even thought they were treating prisoners badly, and those prisoners were very lazy and needed to be taught to work instead of run banks and bring down the Germ syste,,,

Humans are weird, they are FAR too trusting.

[grabby]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MrBill', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('grabby', 'I')f you were in prison, and you were woken up every morning at 3 am to get slapped around, you'd eventually expect to get slapped tomorrow morning, and you would start to get up at 2:30 so they couldn't dump your mattress on the floor, right?

The Germs that lived next to auschqitz thought everything was fine, and the screams were from people complaining about haveing to work...

We always believe what we WANT to believe, and the people who lived around treblinka never even thought they were treating prisoners badly, and those prisoners were very lazy and needed to be taught to work instead of run banks and bring down their Germ system.

Humans are weird, they are far too trusting.

[DantesPeak]

The fact the Fed always has, and always will, move to inflate its way out of problems – at least since about 1939 forward.

Dealing with a possible avian pandemic with more cash is just in keeping with their normal inflationary policies.

But let me be clear, there is a chance that a very widespread pandemic could result in very great economic disruption – so great that prices in general would deflate anyway. Gold/silver is a hedge against inflation, but also a possible hedge against deflation – if other types of assets are not wanted.

[grabby]

As long as you are allowed to own and use gold that will work. I was alive when it was illegal to use gold or silver for transactions.
It could go that way again probably.

Gold is non-inflatable and non cheatable. That is why it is not the chosen method of payments, gotta be able to skim and replace as needed.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('grabby', 'A')s long as you are allowed to own and use gold that will work. I was alive when it was illegal to use gold or silver for transactions.
It could go that way again probably.

Gold is non-inflatable and non cheatable. That is why it is not the chosen method of payments, gotta be able to skim and replace as needed.