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The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

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Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#281

Post by tharkun__ »

NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #260
meta_ai_x wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. We have a double accounting system. For every $1 it creates, it has to create an equivalent liability. And when something is budgeted for $1 Million, it is $1m nothing more nothing less

So, in your mind, when the Federal Reserve prints a dollar bill - what's happening in accounting terms? I don't think your understanding of the way this works is consistent with the concept of money supply.

Not your parent but in my mind, when the Fed prints $1 million to replace old bills they take out of circulation and give then to people to stuff into a cube then in accounting terms basically nothing happens at all.

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#282

Post by tonymet »

IAmBroom wrote: post #207
tonymet wrote: post #27

counting things are a huge intellectual blind spot. For some reason, when people hear a figure, they accept it as gospel. sums, averages, population, budgets, spending, rates. Counting things is time consuming and error prone. Ask a casino. You can have 3 people count something and come to a different figure off by a few percent. Seriously if someone says there's $1m in there, who is going to second guess? Thankfully…

> Ask a casino. You can have 3 people count something and come to a different figure off by a few percent. That seems a wildly unlikely idea: Despite having three people checking sums, their daily profits have a few percent unknown variability in them. Banks of old would famously make their tellers stay late to track down rather trivial discrepencies, probably as a deterrent to carelessness. Cite?

why do you think businesses willingly pay visa 3-5%? *and get paid a month in arears ? * and take on more tax liability

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#283

Post by takinola »

RajT88 wrote: post #218
onionisafruit wrote: post #195

From a 2014 reddit post[0]: > This is actually not a million dollars in singles. It is over $1,000,000. The box was created with the wrong dimensions by the contractor, but they still decided to fill it, display it, and claim it is $1,000,000. > > Source: Tour Guide at the Chicago Fed [0] https://old.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/2f9sp7/one_million_do...

This thread is very informative on your chances of carrying off a heist stealing this cube. Conclusion: Low, unless you're willing to take only a fraction of the face value. Thinking through it though - you might be able to get away with spending the cash overseas, where it will take some time indeed for the money to be under scrutiny by banks to see if the serial numbers are out of circulation. There's then problem…

I literally just said "Nothing from my end" on a zoom call. Still waiting on my million dollars though so not sure how reliable this method is.

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#284

Post by tharkun__ »

dyauspitr wrote: post #273
grogenaut wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the cost of paper not the dollar value. Also only the outermost bills need be real the rest could just be paper, or voided bills or whatever. But accounting can cover it. It's not gold or pennies where the currency costs what it is worth to make

What do you mean? The currency in there is spendable isn’t it?

What leads you to believe that?

I haven't been there but the plaque seen in the picture just says:

    Have you ever wondered what one million dollars looks like? You don’t have to wonder anymore because you can see it right in front of you!
That does not say nor in my mind even implicate that these would be valid dollars. It just wants you to be able to "see" what a million would look like. For all we know they printed fake money for it that uses the right paper for thickness and such and the right face value print but is otherwise fake. It would still meet the stated description.

I would hope they at least used real bills they just took out of circulation for whatever reason but there can't be any real expectation.

It's a "stunt" only anyway coz a million in $1 coins would look way different. As would a million in 20s or 100s.

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#285

Post by tonymet »

klank wrote: post #120
tonymet wrote: post #27

counting things are a huge intellectual blind spot. For some reason, when people hear a figure, they accept it as gospel. sums, averages, population, budgets, spending, rates. Counting things is time consuming and error prone. Ask a casino. You can have 3 people count something and come to a different figure off by a few percent. Seriously if someone says there's $1m in there, who is going to second guess? Thankfully…

People, as a group, trust numbers. Individuals, often, do not. Pick any industry which revolves around something, I assure you there is a child-industry dedicated to providing the technology and infrastructure to count the things. Heck, accounting, as a general purpose, applies to every profession, profession, is at its core, focused on counting things. Hopefully this doesn't come across as argumentative. Your commen…

accounting / auditing is a good example. I review public finances. Many public agencies don't pass audits. Even those that do, wouldn't pass the smell test.

An audit just means "it looks like you are recording things" but it doesn't mean "it looks like you are spending money wisely.".

Patrons see "passed audit" and assume the agency is run well.

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#286

Post by wl »

mrandish wrote: post #91

> For all we know, the middle is just air and crumpled-up old newspaper. I think this is the answer. I suspect the exhibit designers had a cool idea for a display, did a rough estimate of the area needed and then commissioned the exhibit builders to make the big metal-framed cube. Either they made an error in their calculation or the innate variability in the size of stacks of used bills threw it off. It's also possi…

> personally, the exhibit concept I'm more interested in is "$1M dollars in $100 bills fits in this area" not "Here's $1M in bills." The first concept is mildly interesting while the second is just a stunt.

They have that maybe 50 feet away. It fits in a briefcase. Also, $1 million in $20s.

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#287

Post by Wowfunhappy »

mrandish wrote: post #91

> For all we know, the middle is just air and crumpled-up old newspaper. I think this is the answer. I suspect the exhibit designers had a cool idea for a display, did a rough estimate of the area needed and then commissioned the exhibit builders to make the big metal-framed cube. Either they made an error in their calculation or the innate variability in the size of stacks of used bills threw it off. It's also possi…

...I actually think you're being too nice. The exhibit implies that this is how big a cube of a million dollars would be. You can use it to get a sense of how much a million is.

If it's 50% too big, that's a serious mistake! They should, like, take down the exhibit until it's fixed. You can't just make one of the bars on a graph taller because it looks more impressive, or your pen slipped, or whatever else. This thing is inaccurate and they should fix it.

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#288

Post by RajT88 »

takinola wrote: post #283
RajT88 wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This thread is very informative on your chances of carrying off a heist stealing this cube. Conclusion: Low, unless you're willing to take only a fraction of the face value. Thinking through it though - you might be able to get away with spending the cash overseas, where it will take some time indeed for the money to be under scrutiny by banks to see if the serial numbers are out of circulation. There's then problem…

I literally just said "Nothing from my end" on a zoom call. Still waiting on my million dollars though so not sure how reliable this method is.

Takes longer for some than others. Depends on your job title.

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#289

Post by RyanOD »

mrandish wrote: post #91

> For all we know, the middle is just air and crumpled-up old newspaper. I think this is the answer. I suspect the exhibit designers had a cool idea for a display, did a rough estimate of the area needed and then commissioned the exhibit builders to make the big metal-framed cube. Either they made an error in their calculation or the innate variability in the size of stacks of used bills threw it off. It's also possi…

Or, the cube was surplus?

Re: The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

#290

Post by Thrymr »

meta_ai_x wrote: post #242
lxgr wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe it's easy for the Fed to acquire more cash as long as it's guaranteed not to be spent. The Fed doesn't acquire cash, it creates it. USD banknotes are liabilities of the Fed, but that concept only makes sense when somebody other than itself owns them.

No. We have a double accounting system. For every $1 it creates, it has to create an equivalent liability. And when something is budgeted for $1 Million, it is $1m nothing more nothing less

Yes, but the liability account in the Fed's case is /dev/null, isn't it?
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