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A comment on The Decline of the U.S. Machine-Tool Industry and Prospects for Recovery (1994). Parent comment

Re:The Decline of the U.S. Machine-Tool Industry and Prospec... by DeathArrow on Wednesday April 09, 2025 @08:33AM (#43631339)
>Gold isn't really wealth any more than paper money is.

Any scarce resource people want is worth very much. Be it gold or bitcoin.

You can't make gold (technically you can by transmuting elements but it will cost you more gold than the gold you will produce) but you can mine it with great cost.

Why do you think Amazon warehouse workers are payed less than Amazon coders? Because it's easier to find a warehouse worker than a coder.

What something is "worth" is dictated by the market. Which means it is dictated by the laws of supply and demand.

If we're both on a secluded island and you have 10 tons of gold and I have one hundred kilos of potatoes, my potatoes are worth more.

If we're both in NY City, my potatoes are almost worthless and you are incredibly rich.

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Re:The Decline of the U.S. Machine-Tool Industry and Prospec... by WalterBright on Wednesday April 09, 2025 @02:38PM (#43635780)
As Spain discovered, when gold is used as money, and the supply of gold increases, the value of gold drops accordingly (i.e. inflation). As you said, the law of supply and demand.

Looting S America of gold did not make Spain wealthy.

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