sounds like fun to me.....yeehaw
Ahh Bentom, the way the US currency system works...is providing a supply of cash/currency/credit via banks...instead of directly going through the government. The people are customers of the bank...the bank is the customer of the Feds (FRB).
Around the time of the Civil War, the US Government issued its first paper currency to pay for it's costs...the currency was a "note" but redeemable for gold coin. Within a few decades there was not just one "currency" used, but several were in general circulation, including US Notes, an assortment of national bank notes, and gold and silver certificates redeemable for bullion .
Definition of 'Greenback'
A slang term for U.S. paper dollars. Greenbacks got their name from their color, however, in the mid-1800s, "greenback" was a negative term. During this time, the Continental Congress did not have taxing authority. As a result, the greenbacks did not have a secure financial backing and banks were reluctant to give customers the full value of the dollar.
It took half a century to get all the foreign coins and competing state currencies out of circulation,
But a dollar was a dollar no matter which flavor you used..."note" or "certificate". Some bills allowed for the exchange for gold/silver--others were mere "promises"...allowing a dollar to buy a dollars worth of goods--no matter which flavor you used. A buck is a buck.
Now the system is based on "reserves" as you pointed out...the reserves is how the system operates...no hanky panky. When I make a deposit and let the money sit in my account....we agree I have access to my money, but it is part of the bank's "inventory" of cash. As in any business, having inventory is good--but selling your inventory is even better. The bank can not sell your money...but it can lend against it, and with help of the Feds (via capital/reserve requirements) banks lend your money to the guy next door.
Want to fuck up the system? Have every bank customer close their account and demand payment in cash. There is not enough gold in China to settle everyone's claim...much yet enough actual printed currency available. As a rule, banks keep very little cash on hand since the FRB technically warehouses the bank's cash.
This is where "faith" comes in...faith that all bank customers will not demand their cash at the same time, faith that borrowers will repay the bank, faith that one bank will accept another bank's financial instrument, faith that I can purchase a dollars worth of goods and services with a "note" issued by the Feds.
If one has never worked within the monetary system...I can see how skeptical one can be of its operations. It is one crazy system--unlike that of any other country.
LOL...Bentom, sometimes wiki will backfire on you with bullshit. So lets correct your first mistake regarding the "demand notes" aka "greenbacks" and your claim that they were not redeemable.
"In 1862, the U.S. Treasury placed into circulation its first paper currency, Demand notes, to help finance the Civil War. Printed in $5, $10, and $20 denominations, Demand notes – also known as “greenbacks” – were redeemable in coin on demand."
Source: http://www.frbsf.org/education/teacher-resources/american-currency-exhibit/civil-war-3
As to your other opinions...I respect them, but disagree.
BTW...money is "coin and currency"....not debt/credit. And..."coins" are not "currency"--which means "coins" are not "notes".
Now we are in the weeds, lol....smoke a fatty and all will be better.
Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History | 1999 | Copyright
GREENBACKS
Greenbacks were the paper money printed and issued by the U.S. government during the American Civil War (1861–65). The financial demands of the war quickly depleted the nation's supply of specie (gold and silver). In response the government passed the Legal Tender Act of 1862, which suspended specie payments and provided for the issue of paper money. About $430 million in notes were issued. The notes were legal tender—money that had to be accepted in payment of any debt. Because the bills were supported only by the government's promise to pay, it was somewhat derisively observed that the bills were backed only by the green ink they were printed with on one side. (Hence the name greenbacks.) The value of the notes depended on the peoples' confidence in the U.S. government and its future ability to convert the currency to coin. As the fighting between the Union and the Confederacy raged, confidence in government fluctuated: When the Union suffered defeat, the value of the greenbacks dropped—one time to as low as 35 cents on the dollar.
Greenbacks remained in circulation after the fighting ended; they finally regained their full value in 1878. After the financial crisis in 1873, many people— particularly western farmers—clamored for the government to issue more. Advocates of the monetary system formed the Greenback Party, which was active in U.S. politics between 1876 and 1884. The party believed that by putting more greenbacks into circulation, the U.S. government would make it easier for debts to be paid and prices would go up—resulting in prosperity. At the end of the twentieth century, the system of paper money remained based on the government's issue of notes (greenbacks), which was made necessary by the Civil War.
Greenback
Greenback was officially the United States note, first issued by the U.S. Treasury in 1862 as legal tender fiduciary paper money to help finance the Civil War. Their value in gold at one time (1864) was below 40 cents. In 1879, they became redeemable in gold. However, when the United States went off the gold standard in 1933, the greenbacks again became irredeemable. The highest amount outstanding was $450,000,000.[1]
See also: U.S. dollar
Ok well that changed over time. At one time they were non redeemable and purely fiat....
LOL...nothing changed overtime--those first notes were redeemable for coin (period), what happened to their valuation afterwards is a different story.
BTW...if you want your legal tender (money) to be in a form where the metal content of the coin is equal to or greater than the face amount--go hoard all the pre-1983 pennies. With a copper content of 95% their "melt down value" is worth $0.021. Pennies issued now contain only 2.5% copper and cost about 2.5 cents to make--not worthy of hoarding.
Guess we have nothing to fear...but fear itself, the calamity you espouse is...IMHO, created by those with a funny agenda--like selling books, precious metals ("like the feel of gold?"....crazy TV commercials, LOL) or prepper gear (complete with camo wife beater shirts...lol).
IMHO, greater chance of Solar Storm damaging our electronic infrastructure.....than the US Dollars becoming worthless. Less "if's".
If the dollar were to completely collapse, (ie.: it takes a wheelbarrow full of "Federal Reserve Jokes" to buy a loaf of bread), then the only way you can be prepared is to have things of value that you can trade to your neighbors (or anyone else near you).
This could be MANY diferent things: silver, gold, food, clean water, bullets, weed, booze, toilet paper, gasoline or even toothpics...
As long as it is something your neighbor wants or needs, and is willing to accept, for something that he has, that YOU want or need.
Some things to ponder over and wonder why the number 14 is so hot.