Sh•mon•ey Dance
/shˈmənē/ /dan(t)s/
noun
a two-step move, typically involving
shoulder movements and
a relaxed, celebratory vibe.
FORMAL
gold, US dollars or bitcoin.
“Bitcoiners have been doing the Shmoney Dance since around 2014”Gold as parity
In 1971, I had an uncle who worked at Mickey D’s at the minimum wage of $1.60 - by month’s end he earned $280.
Now let’s assume I went Back To The Future and challenged him for employee of the month, but I demanded payment in gold. At the end of the month neither of us won - by fluke some dope called Meathead came out on top because his father-in-law pulled some strings.
Anyway my old-school uncle asked me to put our collective monthly wage in a shoebox for my future daughter. Fast forward to today …
… that shoebox would be worth $32,280.
My 8 gold coins plus $280 bucks from my recently departed Unc. 🍻 x 😵
🚨 In other words, keeping the gold gave me more than 100x in purchasing power due to dollar debasement. One hour of 1971 min. wage labor equals $182.86 in gold vs. today’s Federal min. wage of $7.25 - effectively zero, compared to the price of real-world goods, if indexed to gold.
USD: the king of convenience, liquidity, and medium-term stability. But it’s a leaky bucket. Diluted by monetary policy, debased by deficit spending, and blown-up by occasional bailouts (👋🏽 Covid).
Gold: Great for stashing 1971’s summer employment but awful for buying pizza or paying rent. And of course: safekeeping, insuring, and moving gold around is not risk-free. 🏴☠️
Bitcoin: enter the 21st-century challenger
While gold offers us a universal yardstick, bitcoin’s line looks like an Orange Pill Coffee customer’s EKG. Volatile like a roller coaster but even then, a better store of value than gold for almost a decade.
Get your mind right
The real “parity” isn’t dollars, but time and labor relative to a constant. Rethink your salary entirely. The dollar is a unit of account for managing short-term life, but gold and bitcoin are the measuring sticks for preserving and accreting value.
