Free issue for the first Monday of the month! Marginal Users, Boomers, Gen Z, TGFB Meetup, Undetectable Selfish Mining, Payment Splitting, BTC Perception Survey, and a lot more! #Bitcoin Tech Talk #364

Bitcoin Tech Talk #364

Interesting Stuff

Minimum wage is a product of inflation. When wages keep debasing, people demand intervention. It's a stupid intervention, to be sure, but it's one that politicians can promote to get votes. Unemployment is a product of wage controls. Little known about the Great Depression is how Hoover and Roosevelt both lobbied large companies to keep wages high. Wages need room to come down during downturns. Free markets need normal supply and demand, not artificial ones imposed by elites that think they know better. Both of these things result in a more socialist policy where the government controls far too much of the economy and ruins it. In the end, the newly printed money creates these perverse incentives.

When money breaks, nobody works. I think we're halfway there. Lots of people don't work and a large portion of those that do are rent-seeking, which is even worse.

In this clip, @willcole describes the bleak future of those that forego children.

The Legacy of Feinstein ------------------------- Feinstein has passed away. Her political career parallels that of Biden, serving as a figurehead for forces operating behind the scenes. Despite a career solely in public service, including roles as a regulator, mayor of San Francisco, and U.S. Senator, her net worth as of 2018 was $87 million. She exemplifies the Cantillon effect, where those closest to money creation benefit the most. Her long tenure in power likely stems from a desire to perpetuate this financial advantage. The wealth she amassed didn't just come from U.S. taxpayers; it also impacted some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable individuals. The expansive reach of the U.S. dollar has global consequences. While mainstream media may portray her as a saintly figure, it's essential to scrutinize her actions, which should. be described as thievery and fraud. She is what is a symbol of what's wrong with the system, why fiat money makes everything so political and why undeserving people like her get to rent-seek and make tons of money at everyone else's expense. Thankfully, there's a way out, and that's Bitcoin. Only by taking away the power of money printing can these thieving oligarchs be stopped.

I talked to Arsh and Ella about Gen Z perspectives on Bitcoin

On BitBoy and Moral Degeneracy --------------------------------- BitBoy was arrested after his Lamborghini was stolen, an event he even live-streamed while confronting the thief. Ironically, a person who has been accused of defrauding others was indignant when he himself became a theft victim. But this is not just an isolated event; it shines a spotlight on a wider issue of ethical decline. Individuals who willingly defraud others lose all sense of justice when they themselves are wronged. This mindset echoes socialist ideologies that champion the idea of seizing property—unless, of course, it's their property that's in jeopardy. Double standards have become the norm, especially in politics. Some people, whether due to their minority status or alignment with popular political stances, are given a pass for unethical conduct. Meanwhile, others face public scorn for lesser offenses. This normalization of double standards paves the way for bad behavior, as exemplified by BitBoy. But let's be clear: BitBoy is far from being the worst offender; he's simply the most visible one. This cycle of deceit, fraud, and theft will persist until we start stigmatizing moral decay. And that will only happen when our leaders stop getting away with their own moral lapses, which unfortunately are way too frequent under fiat money. They can and do abuse their position for personal gain, stealing from everyone else in the process. As long as the temptation of stealing from everyone else is there, and easily obscured by talk of "greedy corporations" and "perfect storm" of "unexpected circumstances" we're going to just see this moral degeneracy continue. The way to stop this is not reform, but a different financial system that doesn't have so many holes. Bitcoin, as you might expect, is that system. Fiat delenda est.

The Hidden Power of Suffering —————————————— Suffering is a stark reality, a force that dwells in the deepest recesses of our souls. Its presence can be unbearable, marking us with emotional scars that are not easily healed. Yet suffering is not a burden we should flee from. It is, paradoxically, the crucible of our growth and the hallmark of our humanity. In a society where comfort has become the ultimate goal, the mere mention of suffering stirs discomfort. We view it as the unpopular kid in school, as someone to avoid even being seen with, let alone engaging in. Yet, herein lies the paradox: Our relentless pursuit of comfort leads to stagnation, dulling our senses and depressing our souls. Consider the "Mouse Utopia" experiment—a controlled environment abundant with food, devoid of predators, and saturated with safety. Initially, the mice prospered, but over time, their community fractured and their essence altered. Females grew aggressive, males withdrew, and soon, their world withered away in a demographic collapse. They were not merely mice living in abundance; they became creatures debased by the absence of struggle. This mirrors our human story in many unsettling ways. Like those mice, we live in increasingly regulated and structured societies. Our worlds are so designed to alleviate suffering that we are becoming less human and more indulgent. We are losing our nature—our need for challenges, for frontiers to conquer, and for obstacles to overcome. However, unlike mice, we possess reason, the conscious power to shift our trajectory. We can embrace hardship as a form of spiritual awakening, a crucible where our better selves are forged. Gyms have proliferated not merely for physical well-being but because they serve our inherent need for struggle. Marathons and obstacle races have surged in popularity, offering us the chance to confront our limitations head-on. Cold plunges and saunas have become popular in part because it stretches our bodies past their normal ranges. Suffering, then, is not an aberration; it is an integral part of the human experience. To seek a life devoid of suffering is to miss out on the profound depths of love, the intensity of joy, and the soul-stirring power of art. To shun suffering is to remain perpetually a child, forever shielded from the complexities and richness of human life. Sadly, too many choose this much easier path. Our perception of suffering needs to change. Do not curse it as a wretched plight but celebrate it as a catalyst for growth. For it is in the fires of suffering that we find our purpose, our resilience, and our true selves. Everything worthwhile, every meaningful experience, asks us to walk through the flames. Embrace suffering, for it is the gateway to being human.

Realize that those in power will do pretty much anything they think will work to stay in power. The only thing stopping them is the probability of success. And if they've duped a significant percentage of the population, their probability goes up and their tactics become proportionately immoral.

For free subscribers: Liberal depression, leveling elite colleges, building bitcoin communities, book interviews and more! For paid subscribers: BTC price from block data, autopay LN, Open Timestamps used in Guatamala and more! #Bitcoin Tech Talk #363

Bitcoin Tech Talk #363

Interesting Stuff