Blog Links

The Tea Party Movement: “Why Now?”: Written in early 2010 answering the question of why the Tea Party Movement sprouted when it did, just as America was electing its first black President.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/tea-party-movement-why-now.html

The Future of the Tea Party Movement: Also written in early 2010 highlighting an optimistic future for the Movement while noting pitfalls to be avoided. http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/future-of-tea-party-movement.html

Communism, Socialism, Democracy, and Capitalism: Written in response to a Venezuelan friend’s comments about the inherent evils of Communism vs an American friend’s comments portraying Communism as an unrealized ideal.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/communism-socialism-democracy-and.html

I Have the Solution to the National Debt: A tongue in cheek plan to pay off the national debt by selling Yosemite National Park to China.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-have-solution-to-national-debt.html

I Am an Environmentalist! Written in response to a bumper sticker, “Mommy, what were trees like?”, pointing out that loving nature doesn’t mean we must live in caves.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-am-environmentalist.html

Is “Climate Change” a Bad Thing? Challenges the assumption of man-made “Global Warming” or “Climate Change” and questions whether or not such changes, even if actually happening, will lead to disaster.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-climate-change-bad-thing.html

Lobbyist for a Day: Relates the true story of the author spending a day in Washington DC as a lobbyist and makes the point that lobbying should not be a full time job.  http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/lobbyist-for-day.html

My Father was a Democrat: Tells of how the author’s lifelong Democratic father became disillusioned with the Democratic Party.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-father-was-democrat.html

Progressivism: A study into the history and origins of the Progressive movement.  

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/progressivism.html

Thoughts on the Second Amendment: A brief look at the intentions of the Founders and Framers vis-à-vis the people’s right to bear arms and specifically refuting the notion that the 2^nd Amendment refers only to militia or National Guard.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/thoughts-on-second-amendment.html

National Divorce: A fun fantasy about how things might turn out if the conservative portion of America separated from the liberal portion.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/national-divorce.html

American Religion and Tradition: A secular conservative’s defense of traditional Christmas celebrations in public schools.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-tradition-as-opposed-to.html

Governments, Corporations and Unions: A philosophical look at the rights of individuals organized as groups such as corporations and unions. http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/01/corporations-and-unions.html

American Exceptionalism: A look at what makes America historically exceptional and questioning whether or not that exceptionalism still exists.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/01/american-exceptionalism.html

Balanced Budget Amendment: A look at why a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is not a good idea and why it should not be necessary.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/02/balanced-budget-amendment.html

A Word to fellow Conservative Bloggers: A brief plea to conservatives who blog and post to avoid providing our adversaries with ammunition by using proper grammar and spelling and to keep discussions objective.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/02/word-to-fellow-conservative-bloggers_23.html

Founder's Forum - A Short Play: A 25 – 30 minute, 13 Character play in which performers tell the story of the American Founding using quotations from our Founding Fathers.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/06/thinking-pragmatically-in-2012.html

The Intermountain Club: A description and charter for an imaginary “common sense” conservation club that recognizes the rights of people as well as the wonder and beauty of nature.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/07/intermountain-club.html

"Liberty" - A Speech: Text of a speech presented by the author at a “Liberty Rally” in 2011 highlighting the contrast between “Liberty” and “Freedom”.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/08/liberty-speech.html

In Response to Elizabeth Warren: A 2011 rebuttal to Ms. Warren’s premise that “the rich” do not pay their “fair share”.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/09/in-response-to-elizabeth-warren.html

Our Paternal Government: Analysis of the “Occupy Wall Street” mentality that yearns for a paternal government to take care of us.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/10/our-paternal-government.html

Natural Rights, Social Rights, and Social Privileges: A discussion of rights as derived from Natural Rights and the social compact.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/11/natural-rights-social-rights-and-social.html

On the Constitutionality of Religious Expression in the United States: A look at the history of the separation of Church and State in America and the process, called incorporation, of applying the Bill of Rights to State and local governments. http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-constitutionality-of-religious.html

Constitutional Confusion and Controversy: A historical discussion of vague language in the Constitution, the creation of the Bill of Rights, and a bit more about “Incorporation of the Bill of Rights”.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012/03/constitutional-confusion-and.html

The “Buffett Rule”: A look at the notion that if top earners in America paid their “fair share” our fiscal problems would be solved.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012/04/buffet-rule.html

Let’s Be Fair – It’s Not All President Obama’s Fault (or Bush’s): An argument that we should take a long term, overall view of the economic policy of political parties or candidates rather than judge them based on a snapshot of the economy at any given moment.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html

Amending the Second Amendment: Makes the point that the integrity of the Constitution demands that any changes to the 2nd Amendment must made by constitutional amendment and not by unconstitutional legislation or executive order.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html

The Source of Liberty – an American Dichotomy: The presentation of a theory that two conflicting notions about the source of liberty and rights inevitably developed in the United States because a significant segment of the population had been held in bondage.

 http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html

Comments on the U.N. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”: A presentation of the United Nations “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” with comments on the socialistic portions.                                                           http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012/12/comments-on-un-universal-declaration-of.html

The “General Welfare” Clause: A thorough debunking of the notion that the “General Welfare Clause” (Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution), and/or the “General Welfare” comment in the Preamble in any way justify a welfare state. http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-general-welfare-clause.html

Growers and Gatherers: A discussion of the moral dilemma that occurs when land is claimed by an agrarian society making it unavailable for hunting and gathering societies, and a proposed solution.                                                              http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2013/01/growers-and-gatherers.html

George Washington – General:  A defense of Washington’s military abilities in response to a National Geographic Channel presentation called “The Real George Washington”.                                    http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2013/02/george-washington-general.html

A Stronger and More Hopeful Condition: An argument that all Americans, no matter how they or their ancestors came to be American citizens, are better off than they would otherwise be - inspired by Booker T. Washington’s biography, “Up From Slavery”.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-stronger-and-more-hopeful-condition.html

Money: Thoughts about why money is valuable, why a gold standard is not necessary, and why money is a good thing. 
http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2014/06/money.html

The Demise of State Sovereignty and Decline of State's Rights: A discussion on the history of State sovereignty and rights as affected by the Civil War and subsequent politics.
http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-demise-of-state-sovereignty-and.html

In Response to Joseph J. Ellis Regarding the Second Amendment: A discussion of Madison's opinion on the nature of the right to keep and bear arms inspired by Ellis's deceptive comments in his book "The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783 - 1789" http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2016_06_01_archive.html

Filtered Democracy – A Constitution of Compromises: A brief discussion of big State vs. little State compromises hashed out at the Constitutional Convention.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2016/12/filtered-democracy-constitution-of.html

Money

Why is Money Valuable?

Why do I accept fiat currency in return for a day’s work? Why does the grocer accept fiat currency for eggs and potatoes? Why does the farmer accept fiat currency for his produce?

The astute reader will notice that the above questions answer one another. Money is valuable because we all agree that it’s valuable, because by agreement it will buy eggs and potatoes, or a day’s work, or a car, or a house – no other reason is necessary. I was once a huge proponent for returning to a gold standard or some other standard that would put real value behind the paper money in my wallet, but I’ve come to realize that “real” value isn’t necessary, because as long as everyone agrees that money is valuable it will remain so. 

Now it wouldn’t work for us all to agree that leaves are valuable and use them for money, because rather than trade a day’s work or a bag of potatoes for leaves we’d just gather them off a tree.  If the leaves don’t represent work or other real value, then they cannot be of value, not even if our government declared leaves valuable, that is, assigned fiat value to them. Whatever is chosen for fiat money must be of limited and controlled quantity. Paper money can be of value if counterfeiting and excessive government printing can be avoided, and if people have confidence that the society that declares the money valuable will continue to do so. This generally translates to confidence in the government of that society.

During the Revolutionary War the Continental Congress printed paper money called “Continental Dollars”.  The buying power of these dollars plummeted when the Continental Army looked to be on the verge of collapse following the battle of New York and subsequent retreat across New Jersey; so to make up the shortfall congress simply printed more of them.  Of course this caused the currency to become even less valuable. “Not worth a Continental” became a catchphrase in Revolutionary America.

When a currency has no inherent value behind it, its value remains intact only as long as most people have confidence that it will remain valuable, that everyone will continue to agree to use it in exchange for goods and services.  The grocer wouldn’t take my dollars in trade if they had a quickly approaching expiration date printed on them, or he would devalue them now if he knew that they would be devalued by Congress next week.  Congress devalues currency by printing more fiat money than warranted by the value that society creates. Consider what would happen if Congress announced a plan to print (or electronically create) enough dollars to send every American citizen a few million; the value of dollars would plummet to near zero.

So money can have value because of what it is, gold or silver or other precious stuff; it can have value if it is redeemable in such precious stuff.  Fiat money is redeemable in the precious commodities that we buy every day, but to remain so it must continue to meet the criteria of scarcity and confidence.

Fiat money would become worthless if civilization collapsed due to a nuclear winter or other catastrophe, but gold and silver might be worthless also.  Some remnant of civilization must exist in order for precious minerals to be precious.  People must agree that gold is precious and worthy of being a medium of exchange, because otherwise a cellar full of potatoes would be much more valuable than all the gold in Fort Knox.

Why is Money Good?

Money is a good thing because of the good things that it represents.  It’s a good thing because it allows us to specialize in our efforts to survive and prosper.  Before retirement I designed machines for a living, someone else builds houses, and another person is a nurse.  Only because we have a universal medium of exchange that represents the value that each of us creates in our jobs can we trade on a large scale what we do for the value created by others.  Only by use of money can most of us set aside some of the value we earn for future use. If I raised potatoes, those potatoes would eventually rot and be of no value. I could trade some of my potatoes for some of your beef and we could each make a stew, but that too would rot, and if you live in Texas and I in Maine such barter would be impractical.  By the use of money I can sell my potatoes and receive money that maintains its value (more or less) until I have need of it.  You can do the same with your beef.  We can each buy the commodity raised by the other when convenient from “middlemen” that transport and store such commodities to earn their money. All of us benefit because money exists.

The very properties that make money so useful create drawbacks.  Because money is portable it can be stolen or otherwise obtained dishonestly more easily than the commodities or labor it represents. This problem is partially alleviated in modern times by the fact that most money is not carried around.  Paychecks and other forms of income are commonly directly deposited into ones account.  Purchases are made via credit card or other electronic media and moneys are automatically transferred between accounts.  But of course these conveniences, while largely eliminating the problem of folks being robbed on their way home from work on payday, create new mechanism for theft. Also, because some money still exists as paper, counterfeiting could theoretically devalue the currency, but devaluation is much more likely to be caused by authorized government printing as noted above in the example of Continental Dollars than by illegal counterfeiting. Of course these negatives are tiny compared to the benefits already discussed.

Critics of money complain that its durability and transfer-ability allows some few individuals to amass large amounts of it, but even this is a good thing.  It’s only with vast amounts of capital that individuals or groups of individuals can venture to create and manufacture the modern miracles that make our lives so comfortable and help us to live so long – things like computers, cars, refrigerators, pacemakers, birth control pills, antibiotics, etc, etc, etc.  And it’s only because of the desire to create even more wealth that they risk their money in such ventures. And in the process of making more money and creating these things that make us comfortable they employ millions of people, mostly in good paying jobs.  I spent 35 years working in Silicon Valley where there are many thousands of companies, large and small, that employ millions in just that small geographical area, and it’s all funded by rich people trying to get richer. The existence of money makes it all possible.

Thoughts of a Secular Conservative: LINKS

The Tea Party Movement: “Why Now?”: Written in early 2010 answering the question of why the Tea Party Movement sprouted when it did, just as America was electing its first black President.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/tea-party-movement-why-now.html

The Future of the Tea Party Movement: Also written in early 2010 highlighting an optimistic future for the Movement while noting pitfalls to be avoided. http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/future-of-tea-party-movement.html

Communism, Socialism, Democracy, and Capitalism: Written in response to a Venezuelan friend’s comments about the inherent evils of Communism vs an American friend’s comments portraying Communism as an unrealized ideal.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/communism-socialism-democracy-and.html

I Have the Solution to the National Debt: A tongue in cheek plan to pay off the national debt by selling Yosemite National Park to China.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-have-solution-to-national-debt.html

I Am an Environmentalist! Written in response to a bumper sticker, “Mommy, what were trees like?”, pointing out that loving nature doesn’t mean we must live in caves.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-am-environmentalist.html

Is “Climate Change” a Bad Thing? Challenges the assumption of man-made “Global Warming” or “Climate Change” and questions whether or not such changes, even if actually happening, will lead to disaster.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-climate-change-bad-thing.html

Lobbyist for a Day: Relates the true story of the author spending a day in Washington DC as a lobbyist and makes the point that lobbying should not be a full time job.  http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/lobbyist-for-day.html

My Father was a Democrat: Tells of how the author’s lifelong Democratic father became disillusioned with the Democratic Party.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-father-was-democrat.html

Progressivism: A study into the history and origins of the Progressive movement.  

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/progressivism.html

Thoughts on the Second Amendment: A brief look at the intentions of the Founders and Framers vis-à-vis the people’s right to bear arms and specifically refuting the notion that the 2^nd Amendment refers only to militia or National Guard.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/thoughts-on-second-amendment.html

National Divorce: A fun fantasy about how things might turn out if the conservative portion of America separated from the liberal portion.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/national-divorce.html

American Religion and Tradition: A secular conservative’s defense of traditional Christmas celebrations in public schools.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-tradition-as-opposed-to.html

Governments, Corporations and Unions: A philosophical look at the rights of individuals organized as groups such as corporations and unions. http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/01/corporations-and-unions.html

American Exceptionalism: A look at what makes America historically exceptional and questioning whether or not that exceptionalism still exists.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/01/american-exceptionalism.html

Balanced Budget Amendment: A look at why a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is not a good idea and why it should not be necessary.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/02/balanced-budget-amendment.html

A Word to fellow Conservative Bloggers: A brief plea to conservatives who blog and post to avoid providing our adversaries with ammunition by using proper grammar and spelling and to keep discussions objective.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/02/word-to-fellow-conservative-bloggers_23.html

Founder's Forum - A Short Play: A 25 – 30 minute, 13 Character play in which performers tell the story of the American Founding using quotations from our Founding Fathers.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/06/thinking-pragmatically-in-2012.html

The Intermountain Club: A description and charter for an imaginary “common sense” conservation club that recognizes the rights of people as well as the wonder and beauty of nature.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/07/intermountain-club.html

"Liberty" - A Speech: Text of a speech presented by the author at a “Liberty Rally” in 2011 highlighting the contrast between “Liberty” and “Freedom”.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/08/liberty-speech.html

In Response to Elizabeth Warren: A 2011 rebuttal to Ms. Warren’s premise that “the rich” do not pay their “fair share”.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/09/in-response-to-elizabeth-warren.html

Our Paternal Government: Analysis of the “Occupy Wall Street” mentality that yearns for a paternal government to take care of us.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/10/our-paternal-government.html

Natural Rights, Social Rights, and Social Privileges: A discussion of rights as derived from Natural Rights and the social compact.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/11/natural-rights-social-rights-and-social.html

On the Constitutionality of Religious Expression in the United States: A look at the history of the separation of Church and State in America and the process, called incorporation, of applying the Bill of Rights to State and local governments.                                 http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-constitutionality-of-religious.html

Constitutional Confusion and Controversy: A historical discussion of vague language in the Constitution, the creation of the Bill of Rights, and a bit more about “Incorporation of the Bill of Rights”.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012/03/constitutional-confusion-and.html

The “Buffett Rule”: A look at the notion that if top earners in America paid their “fair share” our fiscal problems would be solved.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012/04/buffet-rule.html

Let’s Be Fair – It’s Not All President Obama’s Fault (or Bush’s): An argument that we should take a long term, overall view of the economic policy of political parties or candidates rather than judge them based on a snapshot of the economy at any given moment.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html

Amending the Second Amendment: Makes the point that the integrity of the Constitution demands that any changes to the 2nd Amendment must made by constitutional amendment and not by unconstitutional legislation or executive order.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html

The Source of Liberty – an American Dichotomy: The presentation of a theory that two conflicting notions about the source of liberty and rights inevitably developed in the United States because a significant segment of the population had been held in bondage.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html

Comments on the U.N. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”: A presentation of the United Nations “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” with comments on the socialist portions.                            http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2012/12/comments-on-un-universal-declaration-of.html

The “General Welfare” Clause: A thorough debunking of the notion that the “General Welfare Clause” (Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution), and/or the “General Welfare” comment in the Preamble in any way justify a welfare state. 

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-general-welfare-clause.html

Growers and Gatherers: A discussion of the moral dilemma that occurs when land is claimed by an agrarian society making it unavailable for hunting and gathering societies, and a proposed solution. http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2013/01/growers-and-gatherers.html

George Washington – General:  A defense of Washington’s military abilities in response to a National Geographic Channel presentation called “The Real George Washington".                                    http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2013/02/george-washington-general.html

A Stronger and More Hopeful Condition: An argument that all Americans, no matter how they or their ancestors came to be American citizens, are better off than they would otherwise be - inspired by Booker T. Washington’s biography, “Up From Slavery”. http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-stronger-and-more-hopeful-condition.html

The Demise of State Sovereignty and Decline of State's Rights: A discussion on the history of State sovereignty and rights as affected by the Civil War and subsequent politics.

http://thoughtofasecularconservative.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-demise-of-state-sovereignty-and.html