From: Dave Birch <daveb-lists@mail.hyperion.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 16:11:27 +0800
To: <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net>
Subject: Re: Wei Dei's "b-money" protocol
Message-ID: <1298933977-40691626@hyperion.co.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Wei Dai said

>However if it did become mainstream I think there are some
>interesting macroeconomic questions here. Will prices really be stable as
>they're designed to be? Will there be business cycles? What is the optimum
>inflation/deflation rate?

Perhaps a solution is to fix not on a basket of commodities, or equities, 
but on provision of future service (much like Frequent Flier miles). 
Suppose the money is demoninated in Mb of web hosting (I've no idea 
whether this would be a good choice as I just made it up). Then you know 
you'll get what you want in terms of service, irrespective of the 
inflation/deflation. Sure, if web space inflates against the dollar then 
that's a problem (for people with dollars). But suppose you could 
accumulate the things that you actually want rather than specie (as a 
proxy)?

Consider this as a thought experiment. Microsoft issue m$, each m$ being 
worth 1 minute of Microsoft technical support. People who need Microsoft 
technical support would buy m$ (big companies would know roughly how much 
they might need) whereas people who don't need or want it would sell m$. 
Instead of storing up dollars, the value of which might fluctuate 
(especially since Microsoft could change the price of technical support 
whenever they want), companies now have a firm fix.

Just an idea.

Regards,
Dave Birch.

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