SNIP Fiat money is simply
fake. It has no actual value, only the value we collectively agree on. Even worse, this value can be manipulated WITHOUT the consent of those holding the currency. This is why I like to stockpile ammo. It has real value.
A quick explanation and time-line of
fiat money
Thanks for the links and sources.
One important little point--I did not see a defintion of "fiat money." For unfamiliar readers I will explain it awkwardly here:
In the term
fiat money the word
fiat has the same meaning as in government
decree.
Fiat is just another word for
decree. Thus fiat money is a medium of exchange decreed by government as the money of the country. By decree we mean the government just up and says so. The key point is that, by decree, you are locked-in to accepting whatever is the decreed form of money.
In our country, the paper money says, "This Note Is Legal Tender For All Debts, Public And Private." There you go. Now, you are locked-in by government decree.
And, you are locked-in, even when the government or central bank--The Federal Reserve--screws up the value of the currency through inflation, excessive assumption of debt (Congress), or deflation--scarcity of actual money.
So, when SimmonsJoe said fiat money is fake, he was referring to the fact that fiat money only has value because the government just up and said so. And, as he pointed out, it can be manipulated without the consent of the citizens who hold the currency. Or, rather, its value can be manipulated without the consent of the citizens who are forced to hold and use it by government decree.
The manipulation modernly is to print or electronically create too much, inflating the amount of money in existence, and thus creating rising prices, thus reducing the value/purchasing power of the money already in existence, quietly robbing you of the value of your savings and the effort you put into earning it.