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Economic Rockstar

Connecting Brilliant Minds in Economics and Finance

009: Naomi Brockwell (Bitcoin Girl) on Bitcoins, Liberty, Government and Fiat Currency.

December 3, 2014 by Frank

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009: Naomi Brockwell (Bitcoin Girl) on Bitcoins, Liberty, Government and Fiat Currency.

Naomi BrockwellNaomi Brockwell is the always effervescent face of Bitcoin Girl She is an opera singer, film-maker and actress, and studied commerce at the University of Western Australia. Currently residing in New York, Naomi also runs her own company Rainsworth Productions and is a fellow at The Moving Picture Institute. Naomi speaks five languages, plays six musical instruments and, of course, is a gold medal-winning Irish dancer. Naomi is on the Advisory Council of the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation.

Economic Themes:

In this interview, Naomi mentions and discusses: bitcoins, crypto-currencies, monetary policy, inflation, fiat currency, fractional reserve banking, central banks, living standards,  international trade, negative externalities, unintended consequences, equilibrium, supply and demand.

Economists and Economic Schools:

In this interview, Naomi mentions: Victor Niederhoffer, Gene Epstein, Murray Rothbard, Jean-Baptiste Say, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Carl Menger, Erik Voorheese, Paul Krugman, Austrian economics, Libertarianism, Keynesian economics and Hunter Lewis.

Naomi’s Passions:

Economics, Film, Dance and Opera Singing.

Naomi’s Affirmations/Mantra:

“I like people who are inspiring and I like reading their biographies” – Naomi Brockwell

“We really underestimate what we can achieve and if we remember that so much more is possible than we may think, then that’s a good way to live. It encourages you to press your boundaries and explore new horizons. Seek what your potential is, really try to fulfil your potential.” – Naomi Brockwell

Naomi’s Influencers:

Gene Epstein, Murray Rothbard and Georgia Hilton of The Moving Picture Institute

Exclusive News Announced on the Economic Rockstar Podcast:

Naomi is writing a FUN and ACADEMIC book which will be released soon.

Find Out:

  • what Naomi’s two favorite drinks are – they’re Irish by the way!
  • and watch Naomi’s video ‘Bitcoin Girl’ (see below), made with The Moving Picture Institute, in which she is featured.
  • what began Naomi’s passion for economics after staying in New York City to study and train with other great opera singers.
  • how a discussion on the housing crisis and the housing bubble at Junto in New York City inspired Naomi to read economics.
  • how a chance email to Gene Epstein of Barron’s developed a passion for Austrian and Libertarian economics.
  • Naomi’s shared views with Gene on educating people in economics even if they disagree on some of the thinking.
  • why Naomi questions the foundation of fiat money after reading Rothbard.
  • why Naomi believes that the private sector can manage money better than the government.
  • why bitcoin is used voluntarily with no coercion.
  • what is a virtual or crypto-currency and how does it work when there is no physical coin to use.
  • what excites Naomi about Bitcoin and why, as Bitcoin Girl, she is becoming synonymous with Bitcoin.
  • what cryptography is and what it has to do with Bitcoin.
  • the difference between fractional reserve banking and how bitcoin operates.
  • what scares Naomi when she requested her Australian bank to transfer her own money into a Bitstamp account.
  • about Naomi’s thoughts on inflation and fiat currencies.
  • why Naomi believes that Bitcoin will take many people out of poverty and how it will benefit the 2.5 billion people that are un-bankable.
  • why Bitcoin owners have a right to privacy, while owners of fiat money run the risk of having their identity and privacy hacked.
  • why American venture capital investor Tim Draper bought up Bitcoins from the Silk Road auction.
  • where venture capital money is going in relation to Bitcoin.
  • why governments and central banks have a vested interest to make Bitcoin obsolete.
  • about the opportunities and the jobs being created by the Bitcoin industry.
  • why bitcoins are safe from government interference and control.
  • why Naomi thinks Uber and AirBnB should follow the decentralized model of Bitcoin.
  • if Bitcoin is a buying opportunity.
  • who is Satoshi Nakamoto (or maybe not!).
  • what Naomi was doing in a World War II submarine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEthXBHsEac

Advice:

Find people who you find really inspirational and learn as much as you can – Naomi Brockwell

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On Bitcoins:

Bitcoin is a digital currency which is keeping up with the digital age – Naomi Brockwell

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Bitcoin is a global currency keeping up with a global marketplace – Naomi Brockwell

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Bitcoin is specifically being engineered as an ideal form of money – Naomi Brockwell

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The fact that people are using Bitcoin because they prefer it over sovereign currency interests me – Naoim Brockwell

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Bitcoin, in layman’s terms is ‘Money for the Internet’ – Naomi Brockwell

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About Bitcoin: That is a superstar currency right there – Naomi Brockwell

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Which is Safer – Your details with J.P. Morgan or a Bitcoin wallet?

It’s just as easy to get access to a persons bitcoin if they have access to the key as it is to get into someones house if you get access to their key. It’s very much the same issue. However, the issue I have with J.P. Morgan is that they take all of your private information. So identity fraud can ruin a persons life.

When a person hacks into my Bitcoin account, first of all it’s up to me to decide how I want to secure that. There are incredible secure ways that I can use to protect my Bitcoins.

There are no personal details attached to that money. There are no names, no phone numbers and no addresses – just ones and zeros.

If someone hacks into J.P. Morgan, they steal everything about me. That is really, really scary and that is far more severe than any Bitcoin hacking.

With Bitcoin, it’s all up to you how you want to safe-guard your property. There are paper wallets.

Venture capital investment is going to Bitcoin entrepreneurs who are improving the Bitcoin infrastructure.

There are going to be scammers just as there are in any other industry.

I feel that I’m empowered using Bitcoin – Naomi Brockwell

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About Fiat Currency:

“As long as my money stays in an organisation that can be coerced by government or can play by its own rules, I don’t have control over my own money. That’s a scary thought. My instinct is to get my money out of that system as fast as I can so that I can regain the control over where I want to spend my own money” – Naomi Brockwell.

Inflation is a secret tax that the government didn’t need approval for. There is absolutely no sane reason why any person should accept money from someone that they know will be worth less the next day. It’s possibly the biggest scam ever created.

‘Money is not an invention of the State and it’s not a product of a legislative act’ – Carl Menger

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On Sensationalist News Stories on Bitcoins:

“If it Bleeds, it Leads. So any bad news on Bitcoin is good news for media outlets” – Naomi Brockwell.

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Every second week someone is putting out a report – it’s usually Paul Krugman that says ‘Bitcoin is finally dead’ – Naomi Brockwell

Personal Habits:

  • Naomi subscribes to Louise Hay’s Daily Affirmation
  • Naomi and Gene Epstein run an Austrian economics reading group together.
I like to surround myself with such amazing and inspiring people – Naomi Brockwell

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Takeaway:

There is so much more to economics and to the housing crisis than the mainstream media let on – Naomi Brockwell

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Economics is just an incredible way of helping the less fortunate areas of society, of helping people out of poverty, of helping the unrepresented, people being persecuted by government. Economic, if you really understand it, it provides all of these answers. With economics, you could do a lot more to help people.

Recommended Books:

  • What Has the Government Done to Our Money by Murray Rothbard
  • Money: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy – and What We Can Do About It by Steve Forbes
  • The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why Pure Capitalism is the World Economy’s Only Hope by John Allison
  • Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep CreatingInflation, Bubbles, and Busts by Hunter LewisAudible

Favorite Internet Resources:

  • On Life and Liberty by Erik Voorheese
  • The Moving Picture Institute for FREE movies.
  • Liberty.me

Where To Find Naomi Brockwell:

  • Websites: naomibrockwell.com and bitcoingirl.com
  • Moving Picture Institute

 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/economicrockstar/009_Naomi_Brockwell.mp3

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005: Hector Avellaneda on Buying Gold to Protect Your Wealth from a Dollar Crisis

November 19, 2014 by Frank

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Episode 005: Hector Avellaneda on Buying Gold to Protect Your Wealth from a Dollar Crisis

Hector AvellanedaHector Avellaneda is from Houston, Texas and has a passion for entrepreneurship, economics, finance and gold. This, however, only materialized after Hector came face to face with a untold truth and one of the harshest lessons that only a life experience can teach you, as long as you are willing to dig deep in search for answers.

Hector, the son of Mexican immigrants to the US, grew up in poverty and was statistically destined to a life of poverty in adulthood. However, Hector wanted to defy this probability and worked extremely hard in school. In typical fashion, Hector accumulated college debt and was ironically facing a poorer life than his own parents despite a larger mean income.

Hector questioned the college debt system and deeply explored how US citizens have grown accustomed to taking on such debt. Further research led him to realise that middle-class America could see their wealth wiped out due to an impending dollar crisis. Subsequently, Hector wrote an economics and finance-related book to share his findings and to suggest what you can do to protect your wealth.

Economics and Finance Themes:

In this interview, Hector mentions and discusses: poverty, wealth, college debt, economic crisis, the Great Depression, loans, credit card debt, poverty trap, psychological effects of poverty, deficit, free markets, incentives, purchasing power, inflation, taxes, quantitative easing, money supply, the Minsky Moment, financial literacy, properties of money, fiat currency, the US Federal Reserve, stock markets, crypto-currencies, the Gold Standard.

Hector’s Influencers:

His dad and a college counsellor. Find out more in his book ‘De-CLASS-ified’ (see below for a link to Amazon and get an e-copy on Amazon for a bargain $2.99).

In this episode, you will learn:

  • how Hector had all the hallmarks of continuing to live a life of poverty in America.
  • about Hector being bullied in school because of the charitable clothes he wore .
  • how Hectors’ father and mother’s sense of hard-work and money management became naturally ingrained in him.
  • how Hector defied and beat the statistical odds of remaining poor for life due to a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed.
  • how hard work in school can open up many opportunities in life including an internship with NASA.
  • the importance of being mentored.
  • how easy credit for college education made Hector ‘s financial position worse off than his parents.
  • what triggered Hector into discovering the truth about the American economy and the college debt system.
  • the risks in the US economy.
  • why the US could be faced with a massive default on student loans and what is triggering this today.
  • how it became acceptable to borrow to pay for college.
  • why Hector’s $50,000 student debt became a blessing in disguise.
  • how Hector’s research into the US college debt crisis resulted in him writing an economics and finance book without having a background in these disciplines.
  • why the middle class in America is about to collapse financially.
  • why the US government will seize money from an American workers’ wages.
  • what type of college degree is not in demand in US anymore.
  • what you should do today when making a college or subject choice.
  • what it takes to have financial and economic freedom.
  • about the 7 properties of money.
  • what countries are doing today with their dollar reserves.
  • about who actually owns the Federal Reserve Bank of America. Hint: It’s not the US government!
  • what you can do to protect your wealth from being transferred to others.
  • who are buying up gold and for what reason.

On Living in Poverty:

  • ‘I was pretty poor. I lived in a small wooden type of house with a sheet metal roof’ – Hector Avellaneda
  • ‘Growing up I saw my parents argue and fight about money and not having enough money to take a family trip or a vacation or just be able to enjoy a day out on the town and so my parents were always very stressed out, always kind of arguing and fighting’ -Hector Avellaneda
  • ‘I was made fun off in school because a lot of clothes that I wore was donated from the local church or local program, a local donation program’ – Hector Avellaneda
  • ‘I always told myself that I was going to do whatever it took to make sure that I was successful in life and to make sure that I got out of that poverty that I had seen as a child’ – Hector Avellaneda

Advice:

  • “Today we need computer scientists, we need computer programmers, we need engineers – those are the degrees that are in demand  and I myself sit on the board directors of a non-profit organization here in Houston that actually encourages kids to go to college and major in things like engineering, major in things like computer science because I think those are the degrees that we need in today’s economy” – Hector Avellaneda.

  • ‘To have financial and economic freedom, I had to become an entrepreneur’ – Hector Avellaneda

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  • “For anyone who is going to college or who is thinking about going to college today, I would say ‘do some real research and figure out what pay expectations you will have upon graduation’ and, with that said, make sure that, if you are going to go to college, major in a degree that will be able to sustain your way of life that you want to live and if you don’t want to major in something like engineering or computer science because that’s just not what you are passionate for then don’t take on any student debt” – Hector Avellaneda.

  • Those holding onto paper assets are at risk of losing it all to those holding real tangible assets like gold and silver, land and claims on oil fields.

Personal Habits:

  • A hard worker, head-strong, determined, passionate and a desire to find out the truth through research, self-education, reading and learning.
  • Hector had a desire to find out what went wrong in his life as he was mis-sold the American idea of taking on college debt . With a limited exposure to finance and economics in college, $50,000 of college debt and unemployed due to the Great Recession of 2008, Hector read widely to learn and understand about the truth behind the US economy, the trillions of dollars of debt and the risks of a mass student loan default and a dollar crisis. 

Takeaway:

‘We have a generation of college students who are graduating into financial bondage’ – Hector

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The free markets have been distorted due to all the incentives that have been created in the US economy.

‘Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value – zero’ – Voltaire

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Before making a college decision, do a course that will allow you to earn an income to pay off your debt, otherwise do not take on debt.

Increase your understanding of financial literacy. Read books on money.

Schools and Universities need to teach more economics, finance and financial literacy subjects to all students.

Self-education is very important – read books and get access to the necessary information online.

‘Money is nothing more than an economic tool by which we convert our time and freedom’ – Hector

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Recommended Books:

  • The Death of Money by James Rickards
  • De-CLASS-ified: The Fall of the Middle Class and Rise of the Internet Entrepreneur by Hector Avellaneda

Favorite Internet Resource:

  • iCloud

Where to Find Hector Avellaneda:

  • Gold and Silver Buyer Club
  • New Class Rising
  • Podcast on iTunes
http://traffic.libsyn.com/economicrockstar/005_Hector_Avellaneda.mp3

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Frank Conway

Frank Conway is founder of Economic Rockstar and lecturer of economics, finance and statistics. Read More…

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