battles of the cultures was: old battle of the lovees was: PDP1 3555

You get to a point where your goods are a lot more attractive than the money you get for it, and have to settle for barter; like what happened in the last decade of the Soviet Union. Those that won that game outright were the producers of immediately valuable materials like oil, gas, food, metals, etc.

If the US monetary system collapses it will either be replaced by another senior currenct; the Euro seems likely; or it will drag the whole currency system with it. Swiss Francs will not be a likely survivor, rather currencies closely attached to raw materials of immediate use; such as oil and food.

Thought experiment : The US dollar is collapsing, there is 50% weekly inflation; and your workplace makes food. They then issue "food certificates", "The $FOOD company promise to deliver 100 bushels of grade $X wheat to the holder of this certificate". Which would you rather have, rotten money or a goods certificate from a well reputed company ?

If the state stays out of the way and don't enforce the money monopoly then these companies will do just fine. They will get seniority; i.e. issue a lot of certificates that will circulate as money ; because in a jam you can actually eat the proceeds from the certificate.

In previous collapses such certificates have been actively banned by the authorities, and barter usually was about cigarettes and booze. The greatest risk about such certificates is the state itself, because it will probably try to quash alternate currencies even if it is bad for both the state and the populace. Any sound currency is better than a rotten one.

Haliburton has been closely buttociated with earlier administrations too.

-- mrr