National Review Blogger Terrified Of New Five-Dollar Bill

National Review blogger Mark Krikorian is all upset at the changes that have been made to U.S. currency, fingering the redesign of the five-dollar bill as the root cause of the weakening dollar, as opposed to...I don't know...the past seven years of economic and foreign policy.

Paper money has no intrinsic value, it can't be redeemed for gold or silver, you can't even make jewelry out of it. There's nothing behind it but the people's confidence in it, and when the government keeps changing its appearance, as it has with the successive redesigns over the past several years, that confidence is undermined.

Ehhh, I don't know. Seems to me that the best thing any single denomination of European currency had going for it was the image of hero flying-ace/beloved Little Prince author Antoine de Saint-Exupery on the fifty franc note. Nevertheless, opting, against all good aesthetic sense, for conversion to the bland Eurozone designs hasn't hurt the Euro against the dollar confidence-wise - and the Euro includes special design changes to accomodate the visually impaired as well.

Still Krikorian, like an unfrozen caveman lawyer, is against the new purple "5", saying: "If I wanted to use purple money, I'd move to a banana republic."

Speaking of banana republics, back when the same color was found painted on the index finger of every Iraqi who participated in their nation's pretend elections, his colleagues would have had you believe that purple ink would cure anything!

Comments

[Bjarni]

Before you make it into Conservative Vs. Liberal issue, try to understand monetary policy and see that increasing the money supply devalues the dollar.
There is a correct way of doing this change which would require them to take out as much old bills as they put in new bills, but they aren't doing that. They are only printing more money and with that devaluing the currency.
To get more understanding of this system check out the documentary called "Money Masters" And "Fiat Empire" viewable on google videos
(Money Masters) (215 Min)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936
(Fiat Empire) (58 Min)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5232639329002339531&hl=en

[Wagnerunm]

America needs to wake up. The Federal Reserve is not a part of the government and they have no reserves. They are private bankers hustling the American workforce through the illegal and unconstitutional income tax. The change in currency appearance is to get us warmed up for the switch to the Amero - for the North American Union (NAU) they are planning that will unite Canada, US and Mexico. Just like they did with the European Union and the Euro. They want to abolish the US Constitution. It is anathema to them. They fully seized control of our money supply in 1913 and have been hiding behind the government, which they control like puppets, to lead us into wars ever since. They like wars because they make big profits and further consolidate their power. Do your homework America or we will very soon go back to being a British colony.

www.infowars.com

[Repub4Obama]

Our currency is not backed by people's belief. It is backed by the full faith and power of the soverigncy of the USA. That means it is backed by tanks and aircraft carriers, and (hopefully) a good economic policy.

[GoodbyeKitty]

Good catch on that color purple issue

LOL

[goofticket]

Hilarious.

We should pay him in $5 notes, his entire salary, which he is obviously not working to earn.
or bananas.

[AnnoyedCanuck]

This Krikorian guy is a moron.

Up here in Soviet Canuckistan (as Pat Buchanan calls it), paper currency gets regular makeovers, about every 5 years or so. In just the past 5 years, the Canadian dollar has appreciated by more than 50% against the US dollar. So much for the idiotic idea that a design update, in and of itself, drives down the value of paper currency.

[TedB]

This guy probably doesn't even know what a 'Banana Republic" is.

[joeyp404]

I think he meant he would shop at Banana Republic.

[Agentlady007]

Looks like George was using his coloring book and crayons again in The White House and decided -
" This one looks good. Let's print it!"

[pbfishtaco]

Krikorian is ironic and he doesn't even know it. Look around--WE ARE A BANANA REPUBLIC. The currency just reflects that reality now.

[JScott]

Ya know the right wing is really losing it when all they can whine about it the $5 bill and Rachel Ray's scarf.

[javaman]

how about looking at the "new" money for what it is: new script to stem rampent inflation.

[LiberalMillionaire]

I would definitively welcome a more colorful set of banknotes.

Even the Swiss have more imagination. They actually had several artists compete to come up with their current set where each note has both a very distinct color and size.

[DaOne]

Who's on it, Barney?

[SlippingInTheDip]

When i saw that purple Five for the first time, it reminded me of that that "Lil Tele-Tubbie guy with the purlpe bag...

[Blurp]

His reasoning is on par for a lesser-evolved lizard-brained Republican.