fiat

Full text is here and the article appears to be about how an outgoing Postmaster General perceives the business might be come 2020.

bilby, what's that article about? By the way, that's the third definition of fiat on this page, for those keeping score at home.

I think that Fiats sold in the former Soviet Union were sold under the trade name Ukase.

"Postmaster General Marvin Runyon said, when exiting his position in 1998, that he believes that the monopoly will become increasingly irrelevant, 'not through legislative fiat, not through the power of PAC dollars. But through the natural forces of marketplace competition.'" - Wikipedia.

Fair enough, kewpid. I don't know where you live, but my particular government tends to lean more towards slow, bureaucratic, and inept, and away from almighty. ;-)

Colourful bits of polymer ... I love it, just add a turn indicator you never use on the streets of Turin and it's a Fiat. I keep imagining Mister Bean driving this car and paying his parking fines with a ham-fistful of this currency.

Paper money has value as a promissory note enforced with the ALMIGHTY POWER OF THE GOVERNMENT! So unless you're predicting a bloody revolution, I'm fairly content with my colourful bits of polymer :)

It was worth more than unbacked money right up until you had to get it repaired. Then it was worse than worthless. Mechanics used to open the hood and laugh...

500! Classic! And I don't even like cars :-(

Well, yes. Likely it was worth more than unbacked money... ;-)

I had a Fiat once. The engine was sideways...

Money that has no inherent value, only perceived value held by those who exchange it. When people realize that all of their wealth is represented by worthless pieces of paper, their confidence in the currency collapses, and so does the currency itself. The alternative is commodity-backed currency, the most common of which is known as the gold standard. Nobel laureate Milton Friedman was a vocal critic of fiat money, along with other notable economists like Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard.