monetize?

[James A. Landau]

>From <A HREF="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monetize.asp">http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monetize.asp</A>

"1. To convert into money.

2. To convert from securities into currency that can be used to purchase 
goods and services. 
    
For example, you'll often hear Internet marketers talk about "monetizing 
website visitors." This is another way of saying that the marketers are 
trying to figure out a way of making money from website visitors, whether it 
be through advertising, e-commerce, etc."
    
There is also 

Monetize Corp.
185 South First St.
Lehighton, PA 18235 

<A HREF="www.monetize.com">www.monetize.com</A>

This Web page carries a copyright notice of "1988 - 2003" which does not 
prove but does suggest the word or name "monetize" existed in 1988.

There were 40,500 Google hits on "monetize" and 165 on "monetarize", 
including a <A HREF="www.monetarize.com">www.monetarize.com</A>.  There is even the following "Aksi takdirde 
iç borç sorunu monetarize edilirken mevcut resesyon devam edecek" at <A HREF="www.activefinans.com/activeline/sayi17/icborc.html">
www.activefinans.com/activeline/sayi17/icborc.html</A>, which is the Web site of 
a bank in Istanbul, Turkey.

In a message dated 3/21/2003 8:24:14 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
einstein at FROGNET.NET writes:

> Historical usage: "monetize the debt," i.e. inflate it away

This appears to be an oversimplification.  Monetizing can be a force causing 
inflation, but is not deliberate inflation per se.  cf  <A HREF="http://nesara.org/faqs/inflation_and_the_national_debt.htm">
http://nesara.org/faqs/inflation_and_the_national_debt.htm</A>
"When currency is created privately by monetizing debt at the local level, 
there is no currency inflation because goods and services back that currency. 
However, when governments monetize debt, there is almost always inflation 
because additional goods and services seldom back that new currency."   (Read 
the Web site for more lecture on economics; I am only trying to give a 
citation for "monetize")  

            - Jim Landau