Podcasts about denationalization

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop chats with Gianluca Minoprio, the innovative mind behind Amanu and AmanuPay, a payment app aiming to make digital currency as seamless as cash. The conversation spans groundbreaking technology like ultrasound for contactless payments, the philosophy of currency competition inspired by Hayek's The Denationalization of Money, and the implications of blockchain, AI, and digital feudalism in shaping our future. For more updates, follow Gianluca on Twitter @jlminoprio or check out AmanuPay.Check out this GPT we trained on the conversation!Timestamps00:00 Introduction to the Crazy Wisdom Podcast00:23 Innovative Payment Solutions with AmanuPay01:06 Challenges and Solutions in Contactless Payments02:17 The Concept and Technology Behind Ultrasound Payments03:24 The Future of Currency and Payment Systems06:36 Exploring Hayek's Theories on Currency08:38 Global Currency Competition and Its Implications19:59 The Role of Debt in Modern Economies21:58 The Intersection of Crypto and Traditional Finance23:02 The Evolution of the Internet and Its Impact on Finance26:08 Blockchain vs. Internet: Understanding the Differences29:11 Smart Contracts and Decentralized Applications30:06 The Importance of Oracles in Blockchain Networks31:48 Emerging Technologies and the Future of Computing33:03 Bitcoin as the Future Currency33:30 Government Resistance to Bitcoin34:25 Institutional Adoption of Bitcoin34:50 Global Fragmentation and Bitcoin35:52 Communism and Naivete37:24 Digital Feudalism Explained37:46 Elon Musk: The Digital Warlord41:01 Robotic Advancements and Real Steel43:27 AI and Human Augmentation48:16 AI in Education and Coding55:50 The Future of AI and Software Engineering57:19 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsKey InsightsRevolutionizing Contactless Payments: Gianluca Minoprio introduces AmanuPay, a groundbreaking payment app that leverages ultrasound technology for phone-to-phone transactions. Unlike NFC, which requires specialized hardware, ultrasound enables seamless and decentralized payment exchanges between devices using microphones and speakers, paving the way for more inclusive and cost-effective digital currency solutions.Currency Competition as a Catalyst for Innovation: Drawing inspiration from Hayek's The Denationalization of Money, Gianluca discusses the concept of currency competition, where multiple currencies, including cryptocurrencies, could coexist and compete freely. This paradigm challenges centralized financial systems and encourages innovation, potentially leading to better financial tools and user experiences.AI as a Game-Changer in Development: AI tools like OpenAI's GPT and Copilot are reshaping the development process. Gianluca shares how AI-enabled coding helped him prototype a keyboard-integrated wallet for AmanuPay in record time during a hackathon. This reflects the growing potential of AI to democratize access to complex development capabilities, enabling rapid innovation.Blockchain's Potential in a Fragmented World: The episode highlights blockchain's role in offering a neutral, trustless medium for global transactions, particularly in a politically and economically fragmented world. Gianluca suggests that Bitcoin and other decentralized currencies are poised to become indispensable tools for cross-border trade and institutional collaboration.The Challenges of User Experience in Decentralized Systems: Currency competition brings its own set of challenges, particularly in user experience. Gianluca envisions solutions like integrated wallets that automatically convert currencies during transactions, eliminating the complexity of handling multiple forms of payment in a decentralized economy.The Rise of Digital Feudalism: Stewart and Gianluca explore the concept of "digital feudalism," where influential individuals like Elon Musk operate as modern digital warlords, leveraging decentralized technologies to wield power outside traditional hierarchies. This evolution reflects a blend of feudal and capitalist structures driven by competency and innovation.The Role of AI in Education and Creativity: AI's impact on education and creativity is transformative. Gianluca shares how AI-enhanced learning and development tools can streamline education by focusing on core creative and analytical skills while automating repetitive tasks. He emphasizes that while AI is excellent for prototyping, human creativity remains irreplaceable for truly novel and groundbreaking innovations.

In this week's Libertarian Angle, Jacob and Richard discuss which monetary policy would be better–a gold standard or the separation of money and the state. Please subscribe to our email newsletter FFF Daily here.

“When one studies the history of money, one cannot help wondering why people should have put up for so long with governments exercising an exclusive power over 2000 years that was regularly used to exploit and defraud them. This can be explained only by the myth that the government prerogative was necessary, becoming so firmly established that it did not occur, even to the professional students of these matters, ever to question it. But once the validity of the established doctrine is doubted, its foundation is rapidly seen to be fragile.” - Hayek, The Denationalization of MoneyToday, we'll explore the concept of financial freedom, particularly through the lens of Bitcoin (BTC) and its potential to disrupt the current state-controlled money systems.In this video, we explore how government interference has hampered its evolution. From the initial stages of coins to the emergence of digital currencies like Bitcoin, we can ask ourselves if government has ever done a good job with money, and how private competition presents better choice. What's more, we discuss the fascinating notion of how the rise of the internet has decentralized information - a concept we draw parallels with in the context of money.We delve into the heart of the issue - how fiat systems, controlled by central authorities, affect our economic freedom and future prospects like home ownership. We question the role of monetary policy, whether it has ever truly benefitted us, and whether you should trust government with your money, especially with CBDCs on the horizon.Our conversation is largely inspired by F.A. Hayek's insightful book, 'The Denationalization of Money.' We also touch upon the work of Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic inventor of Bitcoin, and explore how Bitcoin was designed to be a people-centric financial system.If you are curious about getting into Bitcoin with some of the best companies out there, you can check out my affiliate links here.***If you're in Canada: bullbitcoin.com/mission/katewand***If you're in the U.S.: https://coinbits.app/ambassador/kate-wand We welcome your thoughts on Bitcoin and the idea of disrupting the government monopoly on money. Comment below to join the conversation!Don't forget to subscribe, hit the bell icon for updates, and share this video with your friends and family who might be interested in a financially free future!Creators: Kate Wand & William GervaisFB: https://www.facebook.com/VeryOpinionatedShow Odysee: https://odysee.com/@VeryOpinionatedShow:5Twitter: @katewand | @wg_gervais Kate's Musings: katewand.substack.comVERY-OPINIONATED.COM

With bitcoin down over 60% in dollar terms for the year we thought it might be helpful to look at eight separate lenses through which you can value the network. For further information on this topic I recommend the Bitcoin White Paper, The Denationalization of Money by Fredrich Hayek, the Essay on the Nature of Trade in General by Richard Cantillon, any of the papers or talks of Murray Stahl, and finally the Michael Saylor Series of interviews on the What is Money Podcast. A transcript of the episode can be found at (https://specialsituationinvesting.substack.com).Remember you can support the show in the following ways:Consider switching to Fountain for all of your podcast needs. Fountain sources its content from the podcast index and allows users to receive and stream bitcoin micro payments between fans and content creators. Get payed just to listen to your favorite show and use our affiliate link to download the app: user7318803752755346-6a82e4d49eTo sign up for Strike visit the following link : https://strike.me/en/To get $10 for you and $10 for me at sign-up use referral code: ZEYDWPOr contribute to the show directly by visiting: https://buzzsprout.com/1923146Once on the shows website you can scan the QR code displayed and donate any amount of bitcoin to show your support

This week Tom Anderson shares how he found balance through taking risks, overcoming challenges, and staying adaptable in the face of adversity. Listen in as Tom shares how his financial software creates clarity and strategy for moving toward your goals in business so you can focus on the rest of the vision for your life. “I think that as you have that alignment and you're focused on the mission, you have to be able to adapt along the way.” – Tom Anderson Tom Anderson is a New York Times best-selling author of four books, a former “Fin” executive and a “Tech” founder. Tom is an expert on the convergence of banking and wealth management solutions and the future of financial advice. Tom is the Founder & CEO of Anasova. Anasova is a financial technology software company that creates plain-English financial plans and connects users to best-in-class solutions. Anasova's AI-powered financial planning process makes advice that was once only available to clients of private wealth managers available to the everyday consumer. Previously, Tom was the Founder, CEO, & Chairman of Supernova Technology. Supernova is an enterprise SaaS company focused on wealth management lending. Our digital lending platform provides critical infrastructure to some of the largest banks, wealth management firms, insurance companies, and custodians in the country. Supernova ranked 101 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies. Prior to technology, Tom worked in investment banking and wealth management for Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley, where he served as Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. On Wall Street Magazine recognized Tom as one of the top 40 financial advisors under 40. Barron's Magazine recognized him five times as one of America's Top 1,200 advisors: State by State. Tom is a regular speaker at events throughout the country where he has coached and trained over 20,000 financial advisors, bankers, and CPA's. Tom has authored four books: The Value of Debt. Wiley, 2013 (New York Times and USA Today best seller, #2 business book of 2013 by WealthManagement.com, translated into multiple languages) The Value of Debt in Building Wealth. Wiley, 2015 The Value of Debt in Retirement. Wiley, 2017 Money Without Boundaries – How Blockchain Will Facilitate the Denationalization of Money. Wiley, 2019 Tom has been interviewed in news media outlets around the world including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, CNBC, Fox, Bloomberg, and the Washington Post.Tom has his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.S.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. Connect with Tom via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-anderson-201425/ Stay focused on the mindset, skills, and habits it takes to Have It All with the following: Take the free Have It All Assessment here: https://bit.ly/haveitallquiz Learn the four pillars of performance by reading my book, The Making of a Maverick: https://amzn.to/3oQ7wji Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlohiggins/ Share your story of Having It All. Apply to be a guest on the podcast: https://bit.ly/marloguestapp See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India Policy Watch: Crypto And Samvidhaan Insights on burning policy issues in India— RSJWhen you write a weekly newsletter you view every news item as possible content for the next edition. You shoehorn some framework or stretch things to draw a historical parallel with that event. Trust me, it can be tiring - speaking for me, not for Pranay who has frameworks for his breakfast with poha. But as I sometimes like to say, there are weeks when content presents itself on a platter with a side of masala papad. This is one of those weeks.First, there was news that the government plans to table the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, in the winter session of the Parliament. It is likely the government will impose strict regulations that might fall short of an outright ban on them. Separately, there are indications that the bill will have a framework for creating a digital Rupee to be issued by RBI, the equivalent of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). We have written about crypto and CBDC in previous editions (here and here) through the lens of public policy and economics. As Satoshi wrote in his essay:“The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve. We have to trust them with our privacy, trust them not to let identity thieves drain our accounts.” That digital currencies will reduce transaction costs, be more efficient as a payment method, and can have all kinds of interesting decentralisation use cases, is all good. But as the past year in India has shown, nobody thinks of cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange. It has turned into a speculative asset with customers being promised outrageous returns in ads that are everywhere. This has meant hordes of unsuspecting investors flocking to crypto exchanges with estimates of crypto owners in India ranging from 10 to 100 million. The number of cryptocurrencies globally has shot up too and it’s a bit difficult to make out what’s a meme and what’s real anymore in this world. Consumer protection is a real issue now. The decentralised and anonymous nature of transactions is a further worry for the RBI and government. There are concerns around the use of crypto to fund criminal activities or for money laundering. But most importantly, for central banks and governments, letting private cryptocurrencies go unchecked and unregulated will gradually take away their power to influence monetary policy. This is a difficult thing to let go because a fundamental principle on which the modern economy rests is that the governments (or central banks) know what to do about the supply of money in general interest. Of course, the votaries of crypto and decentralisation believe this isn’t true. They would go back to the argument Hayek had made in his book Denationalization of Money:“A single monopolistic governmental agency can neither possess the information that should govern the supply of money nor would it, if it knew what it ought to do in the general interest, usually be in a position to act in that manner. Indeed, if, as I am convinced, the main advantage of the market order is that prices will convey to the acting individuals the relevant information, only the constant observation of the course of current prices of particular commodities can provide information on the direction in which more or less money ought to be spent. Money is not a tool of policy that can achieve particular foreseeable results by control of its quantity. But it should be part of the self-steering mechanism by which individuals are constantly induced to adjust their activities to circumstances on which they have information only through the abstract signals of prices. It should be a serviceable link in the process that communicates the effects of events never wholly known to anybody and that is required to maintain an order in which the plans of participating persons match.”This battle between the centralisation instincts on which the edifice of the state rests and the promise of decentralisation and individual control that Web3 or Metaverse, or whatever else they are calling it now, offers, is going to define this century.Second, I noticed there were some enthusiastic celebrations for Constitution Day on Nov 26 across India. Except at the Central Hall of the parliament. About 15 parties boycotted the function organized by the Lok Sabha Speaker because they felt the government was disrespecting the Constitution and undermining democracy. Not sure how staying away from an event that celebrates the Constitution helps. Anyway, the PM responded to the boycott by claiming dynastic parties are the biggest threat to the health of Indian democracy. Indeed! The LS Speaker compared the Constitution to the Bhagwad Geeta to mix things up further. The usual Twitter wars broke out on who had subverted democracy more over the years while others pulled out the original text of Constituent Assembly debates to show how far we have fallen in our discourse. All in a day in the life of India.The Centre Cannot Hold But…As I was reading through these, cryptocurrency and Constitution, and wondering if there was a way to bring them together for this edition of the newsletter, providence struck. The next news item was - ConstitutionDAO’s bold crypto bid for US Constitution falls short. Yes, Constitution and crypto in a single line. Someone up there must be looking out for me. Here’s more:“There are 13 surviving copies of the original print of the U.S. Constitution. Today, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) announced it lost its bid to buy one from art dealer Sotheby’s after a high-stakes bidding war that captured the internet’s attention. Still, the bold ascendance of the DAO, a group of people who met on the internet, is a unique case study into the art of on-ramping swaths of people into crypto, one meme and auction at a time.Austin Cain and Graham Novak, two 25-year-old Atlanta residents working in finance, first started a Discord chat to launch the effort, which now has more than 8,000 members. Within a week of launching, the DAO raised over $40 million worth of ETH on Juicebox, an early stage DAO platform.The effort, largely spun up through Twitter and a ballooning Discord server, is a window into what a community effort could look and feel like in a Web3 universe, where shared ownership and transparency are guiding principles. The opportunities presented by the DAO structure are sparking widespread interest — the value governed by DAO treasuries is now at over $6 billion, per some estimates.”So, a few people created a DAO to buy an original print of the US Constitution that was up for auction. ConstitutionDAO, as they called it. About 17,500 people raised about $50 million worth of ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum using Juicebox, a platform that gets you started on setting up a DAO. But the process was a bit more complicated. Sotheby’s doesn’t accept cryptocurrency, nor does it recognise a DAO; it needs bids to be made by an individual or an organization in fiat currency (in this case Dollars). So, ConstitutionDAO set up a non-profit entity that could bid on its behalf. The next challenge was how to make sure all 17,500 members could claim to own a piece of the original print. This kind of fractionalised ownership is difficult to administer. So, the DAO arrived at a workaround. They would issue a ‘governance token’ called PEOPLE for donations made by contributors at the rate of 1 million PEOPLE per 1ETH donated. These PEOPLE tokens represented the voting rights of the members in the DAO for any decision to be taken. In this case, the voting right was restricted to what the DAO would do with the original imprint of the Constitution once they won the auction - where to display it and what to do with the proceeds etc. The whole thing sounded like the future had arrived. A decentralised group of “we, the people” on Discord decide to bid for the original copy of the US Constitution and beat the usual gaggle of billionaires who show up at auctions. People’s document would then be at the hands of people.This is how it worked. A donor would buy ETH on a crypto exchange by paying dollars. The ETH would then be parked in a crypto wallet which would then pay Juicebox for redeeming PEOPLE token. Throughout this process, at every step, you would have to pay transaction fees for using the platforms. These are called ‘gas’ fees in the crypto world and they are fixed in nature regardless of the size of the transaction. As many articles have pointed out, the ‘gas’ fees for small value transactions could be as high as 30-40 per cent. Anyway, the ConstitutionDAO raised about $50 million in little under a week. Such was the buzz around PEOPLE token that a secondary market for trading of the token opened up. All was going well till the DAO lost at the auction. It was outbid by billionaire Ken Griffin, founder of hedge fund Citadel, who is a known crypto sceptic. I mean if you publicly announce the total corpus you have raised for an auction and then let everyone know you’re going to underbid, your odds of winning will be quite low. I guess strategy isn’t a strength of DAOs. Of course, Griffin wasn’t impressed with this DAO business. As Bloomberg reported:“I wish all this passion and energy that went to crypto was directed toward making the United States stronger,” Griffin told Bloomberg’s Erik Schatzker at the Economic Club of Chicago on Oct. 4. “Let’s face it — it’s a Jihadist call that we don’t believe in the dollar. I mean, what a crazy concept that is.”Doubts Over DAOAnyway, the lost bid raises all kinds of questions.  What do you do with a DAO that has no objective any longer? Disband it or choose another objective? Who decides? Or how if, like in this case, there are no governance tokens issued yet? Or, if they had, is it fine then to have those with more tokens having more votes than others? Should you return the money and let donors incur the ‘gas’ fees one more time? Is this a prototype for next generation ‘wire frauds’? If as simple a use case for DAO like this fails and raises so many questions, what about other ambitious plans? How difficult they might turn out to be?The charitable view might be this shows it is possible to do something like this. That a group of people driven by a single purpose could come together in a short time and raise a large amount of capital. I’m sure that’s some achievement but I guess people raised more than $100 million back in 1985 for LiveAid to help out famine afflicted Sub Saharan Africa. Radically Networked Societies (RNS) because of their non-hierarchical structure can mobilise really quickly. But is speed so important a feature that it trumps everything else? Over the past few months, I have sat through multiple podcasts and read long-form articles that feature decentralisation evangelists like Balaji Srinivasan, Vitalik Buterin, or Naval Ravikant talking at length about the future of human civilisation. It is all about networked states, starting a country from scratch using your laptop, and using blockchain to make your lassi. My reactions to these discussions have ranged from ‘what!’ to ‘Lolwut’. There’s some kind of ‘This is John Galt speaking’ vibe when I listen to them. That book, Atlas Shrugged, had pages and pages of soliloquies by characters declaiming about some kind of an ideal future. As an impressionable young man, I read them with great passion. Over the years I realised there’s no ideal future that can be built by upending the current. Human progress is incremental and gradual. We have an imagination of ourselves, our community and of our nation. It is tied to real and tangible artefacts, like our constitution, our books, our languages, our affiliations and an understanding of our civilisational story. Technology was always seen as an enabler for a comfortable life for us. It has delivered value to us beyond our wildest imagination in the past two centuries. Maybe for the first time in history, it is positioned to take control of our lives. And those leading it are keen to establish its benefits to hold the reins of humanity. I don’t know if it is a good idea. Regulating technology is the key policy challenge for the foreseeable future. It needs a more enlightened view of our civilisation than what the tech bros have to offer.   If you find the content here useful, consider taking a deep dive into the world of public policy. Takshashila’s PGP — a 48-week certificate course will allow you to learn public policy analysis from the best practitioners, academics, and teachers. And that too, while you continue to work. In other words, the opportunity costs are low and the benefits are life-changing. Do check out.Matsyanyaaya: Pegging China’s Tech PowerBig fish eating small fish = Foreign Policy in action— Pranay KotasthaneIf one were to judge the technological prowess of a nation-state on the basis of daily news, China comes across as heads and shoulders above the rest. Hardly any day passes by without reports reminding us that China is well on its path to creating a self-reliant technology industry. While China’s technological progress is quite real, I want to list three caveats to make you recalibrate exponential growth projections and over-optimistic predictions about China’s tech ecosystem.1. CCP’s self-preservation imperative Across many critical sectors such as defence and technology, the CCP exaggerates its capabilities. This strategy is not meant to be just an information operation aimed at other nation-states. It is also a domestic imperative for the CCP, to create a perception that it has things under control at all times.Projecting control requires demonstrating success. For this reason, CCP propaganda projects promising initiatives by individual companies as world-beating solutions. What we forget is that such reportage is prone to survivorship bias — it overlooks the many companies and initiatives that have failed. Take the example of Tsinghua Unigroup — which made a lot of news in 2015 for its bid to buy the American memory chipmaker Micron. Once touted as China’s leading chip design house, it has since then failed to make any major breakthroughs. As of now, it is reeling under debt and the government is coordinating its buyout to another player. Similarly, companies such as the Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor Project (HSMC), once projected to unleash China’s first seven-nanometer foundry went bust last year. But you’ll hardly see reports about the costs and consequences of such failures.2. US’ Need to Align Domestic VectorsThe second reason why we should be wary of tall claims is that it is in the interest of the US military-industrial complex to overplay China’s technology capabilities. There are few things that can fire national imagination like a well-equipped, seemingly more advanced adversary. Just as the Sputnik moment aligned the domestic constituencies in the US and resulted in path-breaking institutions such as the DARPA, overplaying China’s technological advances creates room for prioritising expenditure on key technologies and their governance structures. It’s not surprising then that the first National Strategy for Critical & Emerging Technologies (C&ET) put out by the Trump administration explicitly cautions against China’s pursuit to become a global leader in Science & Technology. As an example, consider the debate over semiconductor policy in the US. China’s shadow over East Asia has allowed the US semiconductor industry to make a persuasive case for higher incentives and government support. 3. Opportunity Cost NeglectA lot of China’s technological success is being financed by governments at the city, provincial, and central levels. While the benefits and successes of these initiatives make news, the costs do not. And as a student of public policy, the first question that comes to my mind is: what is the opportunity cost of China’s governments pouring money, attention, and time into this quest for all-around self-reliance? Predicting a linear growth path based on current trends misses asking the opportunity cost question completely. In my view, the odds of getting anywhere near the US’ technological capabilities are stacked against China for three reasons. One, China’s per capita GDP is one-eighth of the US GDP per capita. Simply put, every dollar used in pursuit of one technology goal in China is eight times as costly as a dollar used for the same purpose in the US. With limited resources available, China might well be able to take a lead in a few areas but the opportunity costs are likely to catch up much before it reaches anywhere near self-reliance.Two, until now, the opportunity costs were partially being borne by other countries, particularly the US. FDI from the US and uninhibited access for its citizens to the technology ecosystems of other countries allowed China to make rapid progress in key technology domains. That party is now over. The US is now acutely aware of the asymmetric advantage that China enjoyed in the old-world globalisation period. The US has already started putting in place restrictions on the movement of knowledge and capital to China. Under this changed geopolitical scenario, China’s technological superiority is far from inevitable. Take the example of the recent Alibaba announcement of Yitian 710 - a cutting-edge server chip. The Taiwanese foundry TSMC is the only company that can mass-produce this chip. And there are already murmurs in the US to restrict TSMC from accepting orders from Alibaba on the grounds that this chip can potentially have military applications. And three, the US still remains a vibrant destination attracting the best tech talent from across the world. Chinese governments can throw money but is unlikely to attract top global talent in the same manner. And in the high-tech domain, skilled labour holds the key. And so, the next time you come across another technological breakthrough in China, take a deep breath and consider if any of the three factors outlined in this note modulates the hype. India Policy Watch #2: Health Data Aayo ReInsights on burning policy issues in India— Pranay KotasthaneThe National Family Health Survey-5 results have been published. And you know what’s the best part? It’s that the National Family Health Survey-5 results have been published. No, really. The foundation of evidence-based public policy is reliable, high-frequency, population-scale information. In its absence, we have to settle for policy-based evidence making. The NFHS-1 conducted in 1992-93 was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The latest avatar was spread in two phases over two years due to the pandemic. Most importantly, it began three years after the NFHS-4 of 2015-16. Given that earlier versions had gaps of six, seven, and ten years between them, it is encouraging that this critical information is being collected at a higher frequency. I hope an NFHS every three years becomes a norm. The timely release of this data will prepare the ground for voters to judge their representatives, amongst other things, on public health outcomes. Such a feedback loop is completely missing in our current electoral cycle.Now, to the results. In edition #133, I presented a list of phrases that should fall into disuse from our policy discourse. One of them was ‘population explosion/bomb’. The NFHS-5 results confirm, yet again, that India’s population is reducing across regions, religions, and income groups. In fact, the fertility rate is already below the replacement rate; India’s population has stabilised. This means we should stop letting our governments escape responsibility in the name of overpopulation. Also, government schemes to deny people services and rights on the basis of the number of children should be summarily rejected.Next, the sex ratio at birth has improved from 919 to 929 since 2015-16. This number is still lower than what nature would dictate. Though the preference for sons in Indian society still remains strong, this data suggests a gradual shift away from this mindset.The attention should now shift from overpopulation to real issues such as the increase in the prevalence of anaemia and obesity. The NFHS-5 results help in framing India’s health challenge accurately. Thanks for reading Anticipating The Unintended. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.HomeWorkReading and listening recommendations on public policy matters[Article] Balaji Srinivasan: “A network state is a social network with a clear leader, an integrated cryptocurrency, a definite purpose, a sense of national consciousness, and a plan to crowdfund territory.” Go Figure.[Article] Ashwini Deshpande has an excellent take on the NFHS-5 results.[Book] Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s Backstage is a book filled with interesting nuggets about the pre-1991 economy. Enjoyable read. Subscribe at publicpolicy.substack.com

George Selgin is the director emeritus of the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and is a returning guest to Macro Musings. George rejoins David on the podcast to discuss cryptocurrency, stable coins, CBDCs, and a push for a higher inflation target. Specifically, George and David discuss the category of ‘synthetic commodity money' and how bitcoin is a potential example, the current state of Bitcoin amidst El Salvador's transition to Bitcoin as its legal tender, the role of fintechs in the potential future of a Fed central bank digital currency, and much more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   George's Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George's Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin   Related Links:   *Synthetic Commodity Money* by George Selgin https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2000118   *The Denationalization of Money* by F.A. Hayek https://www.amazon.com/Denationalization-Money-Analysis-Concurrent-Currencies/dp/0255360878   David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

A couple days ago it was the 95th anniversary of the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. Before it was called "Genocide", it was called "Denationalization." This was the process of stripping away the national or cultural character of a people and imposing the character of another upon them. Declared me a citizen, my ass! I am Onkwehonwe!

Show support appreciated: 35iDYDYqRdN2x6KGcpdV2W1Hy3AjGje9oL Matthew & Fernando interview Bob Murphy, Austrian economist and libertarian theorist. We discuss Bitcoin and money in the free market. Bob is an expert on libertarian theory, money, and macroeconomic issues, coming from the Austrian tradition. We discuss a variety of topics regarding money and bitcoins in the free market. We start with Hayek's "Denationalization of Money," covering currency competition versus government fiat monopoly. We cover the effect of taxes and regulation on "non-monetized" assets today, such as bitcoin and gold. We touch on the "shadow economy." We look at Bitcoin's inflation cap of 21 million, and how that is different than other base monies. We spend some time on fractional-reserve banking, and how fractionalized claims might look on bitcoin (and other monies) in a free market. We also take a brief look at the comparison with the Lightning Network and how other claims could develop on bitcoin. Listen on to learn more. Links for more info: https://twitter.com/BobMurphyEcon http://understandingbitcoin.us https://consultingbyrpm.com https://contrakrugman.com https://lara-murphy.com Hosts: Matthew Mežinskis, Fernando Ulrich Music: New Friend Music newfriendmusic.com/ Site: cryptovoices.com/ Podcast & Information Cryptoeconomics & Liberty Thanks for listening! Show content is not investment advice in any way.

B.I.E., MOORS & VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS! 

Host Alice Backer of www.kiskeacity.com welcomes Altagracia Jean-Joseph, a Dominican of Haitian descent. We will discuss the effect of the DR denationalization ruling on her life. The conversation will mostly be in Kreyòl, the only language we both speak but you can call to ask questions in English, French or Spanish. More info and show notes at www.kiskeacity.com.    

Host Alice Backer of www.kiskeacity.com and co-host Hans Roy discuss the latest in Haiti news and blogs, includng the latest DR protests and various NGO misdeeds.  

Host Alice Backer of www.kiskeacity.com welcomes variopus Haitian experts on the denationalization of Dominicans of Haitian descent and on the general plight of Haitians in the DR.   Guests include: Judge Lionel Jean-Baptiste, Katleen Félix, Ninaj Raoul, Fabrice Armand, among others. (This is a replay from the fall of 2014 so there will be no Q&A.)

Host Alice Backer of www.kiskeacity.com welcomes Jean David Prophète of Journée Internationale de la Diaspora Haitienne in Montréal (April 25th) and Father Edwin Paraison, ex-Minister of Haitians Abroad (MHAVE). EMISYON SA-A AN KREYÒL