And if you understnad that all forms of energy are completely fungible with each other and currency, you have a chance to imagine a model of economics in which the currency becomes the tail wagging the dog; if not, then you can continue to not understand much of anything. Von Mises is dead – get over it.

Yes, it is the capability that is prized, and our security when it is sufficient. That’s why the threat of HEMP is souch a concern. We could probably have hydroelectric back up pretty quickly, but trying to reconstruct the machines which ran off such power would be quite time-consuming–and all but impossible until we had transportation running again. I’m always fascinated by the idea of external combustion engines which are about as un-green as it is possible to getbut would get America moving again reasonably quickly if the grid is blown out. What’s your area of expertise? Other than straight-thinking and being precise in your speech, a quality I admire? Cordially, Linda

Great point – you’re right – electricity does function a bit like money in that it is a measurable, quantifiable means for the exchange of work. I hadn’t thought of it in that way. How much is a turn of a crank worth? It depends how hard it is turned and how fast. This would be very hard to measure (and charge properly for) without electricity as the intermediary. It allows the abstraction of work. Before, work had to be tied to the product – it didn’t matter how fast or how hard the crank was turned, just the amount of flour produced. Now work can be done (spinning the turbine) without a care for how the energy produced will be utilized.

However, I must note that electricity is not a store of value for us today, as all of the electricity that is used gets generated only milliseconds before. Our power grid has basically no storage capacity – it is one of the things to be addressed by the new “smart grid” under development. Right now, our storage capacity is in the coal piles, dammed water, and unused nuclear rods in storage.

By the way, I’m a big fan of your writing, Linda. It feels sophisticated and downright cosmopolitan.

The problem lies in that many of these “Shovel Ready” Projects are just that. They are typically projects which have already been designed, thus no Design Engineering Firms are needed. And the projects typically are big on using heavy equipment, and not much labor, other than that used to run the machines. Construction Companies are not going to rush out to hire anyone to run the machines, they probably bid low on a project, and cut their profit margins just to keep the staff they have busy, so that when things do turn around they do not have to train additional staff. The companies will pay the staff they have overtime, rather than hire extra staff that they will have to lay off after these “Shovel Ready” Projects are done.