I see another little problem with Turner's paranoid ravings: If the US Dollar was "demonetised", then dollar denominated cash might be worthless. But what about investments in real estate? What about ownership of a business or shares of stock in a corporation? What about your car, boat, work implements, etc.?
You would still own ALL of those things, and they would have about the same relative value in any currency adapted, be it "Ameros", Euros, or Krugerands.
The people who would be the very worst off would be the wingnuts with a large stash of US Dollars buried in the back yard. Most people with enough brains to make that much money keep it invested in places other than cash accounts. On the other hand, almost all personal debt in the US is denominated in a fixed number of dollars. If the dollar was worthless, you could pay off your mortgage, student loans, and credit card debt with those worthless dollars! If you didn't have enough on hand to cover all your debts, you could have a garage sale or set your kid up with a lemonade stand to get more dollars. In fact, the existance of so many loans that could be repaid in dollars would actually keep the dollar afloat.
Of course, if the aforementioned wingnut made sure he or she buried only American Nickels, then they would be just fine: Every American nickel now in circulation is worth at least 5.7 cents just for the copper and nickel content. (Some have WW II era nickels contain some silver which makes them worth MUCH MUCH more!) If the US declared dollar-denominated currency was no longer valid, then nothing would stop you from selling the nickels for their metal content.
I really wouldn't worry a bit about the US defaulting on the dollar, when they could just default on Social Security and Medicare and accomplish massive debt relief by just letting old and sick people die.
Hey, wait a minute. Maybe THAT's John McCain's secret plan to save the economy?
Last edited by pondering_it_all; 10/10/08 03:13 AM. Reason: epiphany
