Quote from: deisik on April 17, 2017, 08:24:14 PM

Quote from: Eebertay on April 17, 2017, 12:37:07 PM

Money is basically an IOU that is communally agreed upon

I'm curious how many people got confused after reading this sentence

But you are welcome to explain who owes whom exactly since IOU obviously stands for "I owe you", though I don't think that I for one owe you anything. In the same way, if someone is paying you with money which is an IOU, does it mean that he owes you anything? I don't think so. But then again, you are welcome to explain in simple terms how money is "basically an IOU". But please try making your explanation comprehensible, show us that you understand yourself what money actually means

Not sure about other fiats but the USD is an IOU "backed" by the us govt.
Before it was taken off the gold/silver standard, it was an IOU that was pegged to a certain chunk of commodity (silver or gold).

Now it is a piece of paper that is an IOU that the government says, "this is our property and we are giving it to you so you can purchase things in this country".