April 28, 2025 • 12 mins
The Bitcoin Series - Part 2: What Happens to Social Programs in a Bitcoin World?
In this episode, we dig into some of the most important — and most uncomfortable — questions about Bitcoin with moral tension between decentralization and the public good:
If governments can’t print money, how do we fund education, healthcare, infrastructure?
How would a decentralized system support those who fall behind?
Can decentralization actually scale social responsibility?
We explore the possibilities:
Bitcoin changes the tools — but will we change our values to match?
If you're asking how we care for each other in a decentralized future, this is the conversation for you.
Stay curious. Stay grounded. Let’s build better.
Listen now and follow The Crypto 101 Show for more deep-dive episodes in this series.
Join the discord server - https://discord.gg/Y9CPnYm8C2
Looking for Crypto apparel? Crypto 101 swag, shirts and apparel available here. This episode is sponsered by Joe Ugly Apparel - www.joeuglyapparel.com
This week's episode was produced by The WIld 1 Media. If you or anyone you know is looking for podcast editing, podcast production, or any other podcast services please reach out to The WIld 1 Media at www.thewild1media.com. Thanks for listening.
FOLLOW US ON:
Facebook - @crypto101show or https://www.facebook.com/The-Crypto-101-Show-100158338867665
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/crypto101show/
Sign up for our newsletter - thecrypto101show@gmail.com
Produced by The Wild 1 Media - www.thewild1media.com
Check out our other podcasts-
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https://anchor.fm/morning-joe-rant-show
#bitcoin #BTC #crypto #cryptocurrency #defi #coins #cryptocoins #blockchain #finance #inequality #policyagnostic #inflation #centralbanks #technology
In this episode, we dig into some of the most important — and most uncomfortable — questions about Bitcoin with moral tension between decentralization and the public good:
If governments can’t print money, how do we fund education, healthcare, infrastructure?
How would a decentralized system support those who fall behind?
Can decentralization actually scale social responsibility?
We explore the possibilities:
- Transparent tax systems
- Community-driven funding models
- Mutual aid networks and decentralized solutions
- Whether Bitcoin forces a cultural shift toward shared responsibility
Bitcoin changes the tools — but will we change our values to match?
If you're asking how we care for each other in a decentralized future, this is the conversation for you.
Stay curious. Stay grounded. Let’s build better.
Listen now and follow The Crypto 101 Show for more deep-dive episodes in this series.
Join the discord server - https://discord.gg/Y9CPnYm8C2
Looking for Crypto apparel? Crypto 101 swag, shirts and apparel available here. This episode is sponsered by Joe Ugly Apparel - www.joeuglyapparel.com
This week's episode was produced by The WIld 1 Media. If you or anyone you know is looking for podcast editing, podcast production, or any other podcast services please reach out to The WIld 1 Media at www.thewild1media.com. Thanks for listening.
FOLLOW US ON:
Facebook - @crypto101show or https://www.facebook.com/The-Crypto-101-Show-100158338867665
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/crypto101show/
Sign up for our newsletter - thecrypto101show@gmail.com
Produced by The Wild 1 Media - www.thewild1media.com
Check out our other podcasts-
https://darksidediaries.sounder.fm
https://anchor.fm/ttmygh
https://anchor.fm/morning-joe-rant-show
#bitcoin #BTC #crypto #cryptocurrency #defi #coins #cryptocoins #blockchain #finance #inequality #policyagnostic #inflation #centralbanks #technology
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Crypto one on one Show, where we
dive into the world of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, blockchain, and all
the technology with it. Whether you're experienced or a beginner
to crypto, our goal is to break down complex concepts
and make it easy for you to understand the basics,
from Bitcoin to all coins. We'll cover it all in
a way that's easy to digest and provide listeners with
(00:30):
the knowledge and understanding they need to make informed decisions
and better critical thought. Sit back, relax, and let's simplify
your understanding of cryptocurrencies on the Crypto one on one Show.
(00:50):
Part two. What happens to social programs in a bitcoin world,
The moral tension between decentralization and the public good. I
need to start off by saying this is not financial advice,
so if you are looking for that, the show isn't
for you. The content of this podcast episode is for
informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant
(01:11):
to be taken as financial investment or any other advice.
Welcome back to the Bitcoin Series, a deeper, more honest
look at what this technology really means for society, not
just for finance. In Part one, we discussed whether bitcoin
is truly policy agnostic and what that means in a
world shaped by inflation, debt, and centralized control. But today
(01:35):
we're moving into one of the most important, heavy, and
often ignored questions. If bitcoin replaces the current system, what
happens to public services, education, health care, roads, social safety nets.
If governments can't print money, how do we fund these things?
And more importantly, do we still want to? This episode
(01:58):
isn't just about economic it's about ethics. It's about the
moral tension between individual sovereignty and collective care. Because bitcoin
can give us freedom, but it won't guarantee compassion. That's
still up to us. So let's get started. Question one.
If governments can't print money, how do we fund education, healthcare,
(02:21):
and infrastructure in a bitcoin world? This is one of
the biggest moral questions around bitcoin, and honestly the one
that keeps a lot of people from ever taking it seriously.
In today's world, most public services are funded through some
mix of taxes and debt. When that's not enough, governments
just print more money. And that's how we paid for wars, stimulus,
(02:42):
education programs, roads, bailouts, healthcare, and sometimes sadly corruption, which
is where the financial system is at the moment. Bitcoin
removes the ability to print money. No more emergency stimulus
from thin air, no more quantitive easing. And that sounds
great when you're thinking about inflation and endless debt, but
(03:03):
it also means where's the funding for schools or clinics,
where's the fixes for roads or disaster relief? How would
we actually budget for these types of social programs with bitcoin?
What replaces that power, what replaces that funding? If we
choose to want these as a society, how do we
make these work? The honest answer? In a bitcoin based world,
(03:27):
governments or political powers and leaders would still need to tax,
but they'd have to be radically more transparent and efficient
because they couldn't just print their way out of bad
decisions anymore. Governments or political leaders would need visible, traceable
tax systems, which likely would have to be automated with
smart contracts or open ledgers. Would these have to be
(03:50):
tighter and give more local control over budgets? Would they
be voluntary or opt in public good models think mutual aid,
decentralized funding DOS or decas, Centralized autonomous organization for schools
or clinics. Most likely it would have to be accountability
by design, not just through elections. While bitcoin gives you
sovereignty and freedom, it doesn't guarantee anyone else's safety net.
(04:14):
That means we as a society would have to choose
to build new kinds of social support, not rely on
top down models. We would need communities that fund what
they value, protocols or rules that reward contribution and care,
and cultural shifts where helping others isn't just a policy,
it's a principle. And that's where the tension lies. If
(04:35):
we still want public goods education, healthcare, infrastructure, we as
a society have to choose to build them from the
ground up. Bitcoin provides the rails, but we still decide
where the train goes. In other words, code doesn't care
about equity. We have to care. So how do we
build for that? If Bitcoin replaces Fiat and the current system,
(04:58):
we don't just need new tools, we would need new
values to go with it. This forces us to ask
do we actually care about each other? Or were we
just outsourcing the responsibility to broken governments. Let's bridge idealism
with realism for a moment. If we want education, healthcare,
and safety nets in a bitcoin world. We can have them,
(05:19):
but we have to build them ourselves on purpose, and
maybe that's the real opportunity. Bitcoin can't do it alone.
It'll take human power, human direction, and a commitment to
equity and equality at every level. That's where the work begins,
not with code, but with us. Question two, how would
a decentralized system support those who fall behind? This is
(05:42):
where Bitcoin's promise of freedom meets one of its biggest criticisms.
What happens to the people who can't keep up, who
lose their jobs, get sick, get left out, or just
don't have the tools to thrive in a decentralized world?
Or what about infrastructure like roads, public transit, or even
military and veterans Because freedom and theory is beautiful, but
(06:04):
freedom without support can feel like abandonment. And the current system,
for all its flaws, we've built things like unemployment insurance, medicaid,
food assistance, disaster relieve, subsidized housing, military and veterans support,
and most importantly education. I'm not saying there isn't an
argument or criticism about how well those things work, but
(06:25):
at least they exist as a social safety net and
a decentralized system built on bitcoin. There's no central government
printing money to bail people out to cover the gaps.
So what does support look like? Because it's not that
we can't support people, it's that would have to do
it differently. A bigcoin based system would require bottom up care,
not top down control. Would this mean mutual aid networks
(06:48):
using BTC or stable coins? Decentralized social insurance protocols think
community rundos the cover emergency needs, smart contracts that auto
release support based on need or identity verification, local and
digital cooperatives at pool resources for members, or proof of
human work systems that reward caregiving, mentoring, or community work.
(07:10):
The infrastructure for support doesn't vanish, but it becomes more transparent,
more voluntary, and hopefully more responsive to real human needs.
But there's still a challenge with this. Decentralization removes coercion,
but it also removes the guarantee. There's no central planner
forcing everyone to contribute to a safety net. So the
question becomes what we choose to help those who fall
(07:31):
behind even when we don't have to do. We want
stable infrastructure, education, or even a military presence. That's not
a question of computer code. That's a question of culture
and morals. Bitcoin can create the opportunity, but only we
can decide if we'll build the system where people are
seen supported and protected equally and fairly. Question three, can
(07:54):
decentralization actually scale social responsibility? So now we get to
something a lot of people don't want want to talk about,
especially in crypto spaces that celebrate individualism. Even if we
can build decentralized support systems, can they actually scale? Can
mutual aid networks, cooperatives or DAOs really replace entire national
safety nets? Can communities still care for their vulnerable when
(08:16):
there's no central system enforcing it? This is where there
is tension. Decentralization removes top down control, but scale often
requires coordination, trust, and infrastructure. So the question becomes can
decentralization scale social responsibility or does it collapse when things
get too big, too unequal, or too impersonal? What makes
(08:38):
scaling hard without centralization? Think about today's society. We're more
connected than ever digitally, but often more isolated than ever physically.
We don't all share the same values, beliefs, or access in.
Trust in institutions is collapsing, but trust in each other
hasn't fully replaced it. So even If we have the tech,
(08:58):
what we show up for each other? Will wealthy communities
fund roads for poor ones? Will healthy people pay into
medical pools they'll never use? Will we care enough to
contribute to people will never meet? These are human questions,
not just technical ones. So what's the path forward? If
we want to scale the social responsibility in a bitcoin world,
we may need layered decentralization like small trusted groups linked
(09:21):
together by shared protocols, or transparent socialdos where funds and
outcomes are public, or cultural infrastructure where values that bind
communities even without central authority or identity, systems with privacy
protections to verify need without exposing people, or even incentives
that align care with sustainability, not just profit, because yes,
(09:43):
decentralization removes coercion, but scaling care without coercion that requires
a cultural shift and systems designs for empathy not just efficiency.
Decentralization can scale, but only if we choose to scale
compassion along with it. Bitcoin doesn't automatically create the world,
It just gives us the tools to try. I will
(10:03):
end with this. Bitcoin can fund roads, but only we
can decide who gets to walk and drive on them.
This is where I'll leave it for now. Part two
of the Bitcoin Series not with a clean answer, but
with clearer questions. If bitcoin really does remove the power
to print money, then what do we do to build
it in its place? How do we protect each other
(10:23):
and not just our wealth? Because roads, schools, clinics, care,
military and veterans, these things still matter, and maybe without inflation,
without corruption, without policy being rewritten behind closed doors, we
finally get the chance to build them better. But only
if we want to, and only if we believe the
responsibility to care for others doesn't start at the state,
but with us. If Bitcoin becomes the new foundation, then equity, compassion,
(10:48):
and access can't be afterthoughts. They have to be built
in from block one. Stay tuned for Part three of
the Bitcoin Series, where we explore whether bitcoin can truly
fight corruption or just make it harder to see. Until then,
stay curious, stay grounded, and keep asking the questions that matter.
I want to be extremely upfront. That'll try my best
to leave all of my opinions out of this. I
(11:10):
know this is very condensed and simplified, but I want
you to gain your own understanding of beliefs and not
be persuaded by me. I hope this helped gain a
better grasp of it. Please remember to share, a follow,
and subscribe to our mailing list and to your favorite
podcast app for future episodes so you can gain more
with your crypto knowledge. If this sparks something in you
or made you question what's possible, I'd love to hear
(11:31):
about it. And if you found this valuable, share it
tag someone who needs to hear it or just sit
with it. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening to this
episode of The Crypto One on one Show. If you
would like to join our email list, email us at
(11:53):
the Crypto One on one Show at gmail dot com
for more helpful tips. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app
and leave a review so that you don't miss our
next episode. See you next time.
Welcome to the Crypto one on one Show, where we
dive into the world of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, blockchain, and all
the technology with it. Whether you're experienced or a beginner
to crypto, our goal is to break down complex concepts
and make it easy for you to understand the basics,
from Bitcoin to all coins. We'll cover it all in
a way that's easy to digest and provide listeners with
(00:30):
the knowledge and understanding they need to make informed decisions
and better critical thought. Sit back, relax, and let's simplify
your understanding of cryptocurrencies on the Crypto one on one Show.
(00:50):
Part two. What happens to social programs in a bitcoin world,
The moral tension between decentralization and the public good. I
need to start off by saying this is not financial advice,
so if you are looking for that, the show isn't
for you. The content of this podcast episode is for
informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant
(01:11):
to be taken as financial investment or any other advice.
Welcome back to the Bitcoin Series, a deeper, more honest
look at what this technology really means for society, not
just for finance. In Part one, we discussed whether bitcoin
is truly policy agnostic and what that means in a
world shaped by inflation, debt, and centralized control. But today
(01:35):
we're moving into one of the most important, heavy, and
often ignored questions. If bitcoin replaces the current system, what
happens to public services, education, health care, roads, social safety nets.
If governments can't print money, how do we fund these things?
And more importantly, do we still want to? This episode
(01:58):
isn't just about economic it's about ethics. It's about the
moral tension between individual sovereignty and collective care. Because bitcoin
can give us freedom, but it won't guarantee compassion. That's
still up to us. So let's get started. Question one.
If governments can't print money, how do we fund education, healthcare,
(02:21):
and infrastructure in a bitcoin world? This is one of
the biggest moral questions around bitcoin, and honestly the one
that keeps a lot of people from ever taking it seriously.
In today's world, most public services are funded through some
mix of taxes and debt. When that's not enough, governments
just print more money. And that's how we paid for wars, stimulus,
(02:42):
education programs, roads, bailouts, healthcare, and sometimes sadly corruption, which
is where the financial system is at the moment. Bitcoin
removes the ability to print money. No more emergency stimulus
from thin air, no more quantitive easing. And that sounds
great when you're thinking about inflation and endless debt, but
(03:03):
it also means where's the funding for schools or clinics,
where's the fixes for roads or disaster relief? How would
we actually budget for these types of social programs with bitcoin?
What replaces that power, what replaces that funding? If we
choose to want these as a society, how do we
make these work? The honest answer? In a bitcoin based world,
(03:27):
governments or political powers and leaders would still need to tax,
but they'd have to be radically more transparent and efficient
because they couldn't just print their way out of bad
decisions anymore. Governments or political leaders would need visible, traceable
tax systems, which likely would have to be automated with
smart contracts or open ledgers. Would these have to be
(03:50):
tighter and give more local control over budgets? Would they
be voluntary or opt in public good models think mutual aid,
decentralized funding DOS or decas, Centralized autonomous organization for schools
or clinics. Most likely it would have to be accountability
by design, not just through elections. While bitcoin gives you
sovereignty and freedom, it doesn't guarantee anyone else's safety net.
(04:14):
That means we as a society would have to choose
to build new kinds of social support, not rely on
top down models. We would need communities that fund what
they value, protocols or rules that reward contribution and care,
and cultural shifts where helping others isn't just a policy,
it's a principle. And that's where the tension lies. If
(04:35):
we still want public goods education, healthcare, infrastructure, we as
a society have to choose to build them from the
ground up. Bitcoin provides the rails, but we still decide
where the train goes. In other words, code doesn't care
about equity. We have to care. So how do we
build for that? If Bitcoin replaces Fiat and the current system,
(04:58):
we don't just need new tools, we would need new
values to go with it. This forces us to ask
do we actually care about each other? Or were we
just outsourcing the responsibility to broken governments. Let's bridge idealism
with realism for a moment. If we want education, healthcare,
and safety nets in a bitcoin world. We can have them,
(05:19):
but we have to build them ourselves on purpose, and
maybe that's the real opportunity. Bitcoin can't do it alone.
It'll take human power, human direction, and a commitment to
equity and equality at every level. That's where the work begins,
not with code, but with us. Question two, how would
a decentralized system support those who fall behind? This is
(05:42):
where Bitcoin's promise of freedom meets one of its biggest criticisms.
What happens to the people who can't keep up, who
lose their jobs, get sick, get left out, or just
don't have the tools to thrive in a decentralized world?
Or what about infrastructure like roads, public transit, or even
military and veterans Because freedom and theory is beautiful, but
(06:04):
freedom without support can feel like abandonment. And the current system,
for all its flaws, we've built things like unemployment insurance, medicaid,
food assistance, disaster relieve, subsidized housing, military and veterans support,
and most importantly education. I'm not saying there isn't an
argument or criticism about how well those things work, but
(06:25):
at least they exist as a social safety net and
a decentralized system built on bitcoin. There's no central government
printing money to bail people out to cover the gaps.
So what does support look like? Because it's not that
we can't support people, it's that would have to do
it differently. A bigcoin based system would require bottom up care,
not top down control. Would this mean mutual aid networks
(06:48):
using BTC or stable coins? Decentralized social insurance protocols think
community rundos the cover emergency needs, smart contracts that auto
release support based on need or identity verification, local and
digital cooperatives at pool resources for members, or proof of
human work systems that reward caregiving, mentoring, or community work.
(07:10):
The infrastructure for support doesn't vanish, but it becomes more transparent,
more voluntary, and hopefully more responsive to real human needs.
But there's still a challenge with this. Decentralization removes coercion,
but it also removes the guarantee. There's no central planner
forcing everyone to contribute to a safety net. So the
question becomes what we choose to help those who fall
(07:31):
behind even when we don't have to do. We want
stable infrastructure, education, or even a military presence. That's not
a question of computer code. That's a question of culture
and morals. Bitcoin can create the opportunity, but only we
can decide if we'll build the system where people are
seen supported and protected equally and fairly. Question three, can
(07:54):
decentralization actually scale social responsibility? So now we get to
something a lot of people don't want want to talk about,
especially in crypto spaces that celebrate individualism. Even if we
can build decentralized support systems, can they actually scale? Can
mutual aid networks, cooperatives or DAOs really replace entire national
safety nets? Can communities still care for their vulnerable when
(08:16):
there's no central system enforcing it? This is where there
is tension. Decentralization removes top down control, but scale often
requires coordination, trust, and infrastructure. So the question becomes can
decentralization scale social responsibility or does it collapse when things
get too big, too unequal, or too impersonal? What makes
(08:38):
scaling hard without centralization? Think about today's society. We're more
connected than ever digitally, but often more isolated than ever physically.
We don't all share the same values, beliefs, or access in.
Trust in institutions is collapsing, but trust in each other
hasn't fully replaced it. So even If we have the tech,
(08:58):
what we show up for each other? Will wealthy communities
fund roads for poor ones? Will healthy people pay into
medical pools they'll never use? Will we care enough to
contribute to people will never meet? These are human questions,
not just technical ones. So what's the path forward? If
we want to scale the social responsibility in a bitcoin world,
we may need layered decentralization like small trusted groups linked
(09:21):
together by shared protocols, or transparent socialdos where funds and
outcomes are public, or cultural infrastructure where values that bind
communities even without central authority or identity, systems with privacy
protections to verify need without exposing people, or even incentives
that align care with sustainability, not just profit, because yes,
(09:43):
decentralization removes coercion, but scaling care without coercion that requires
a cultural shift and systems designs for empathy not just efficiency.
Decentralization can scale, but only if we choose to scale
compassion along with it. Bitcoin doesn't automatically create the world,
It just gives us the tools to try. I will
(10:03):
end with this. Bitcoin can fund roads, but only we
can decide who gets to walk and drive on them.
This is where I'll leave it for now. Part two
of the Bitcoin Series not with a clean answer, but
with clearer questions. If bitcoin really does remove the power
to print money, then what do we do to build
it in its place? How do we protect each other
(10:23):
and not just our wealth? Because roads, schools, clinics, care,
military and veterans, these things still matter, and maybe without inflation,
without corruption, without policy being rewritten behind closed doors, we
finally get the chance to build them better. But only
if we want to, and only if we believe the
responsibility to care for others doesn't start at the state,
but with us. If Bitcoin becomes the new foundation, then equity, compassion,
(10:48):
and access can't be afterthoughts. They have to be built
in from block one. Stay tuned for Part three of
the Bitcoin Series, where we explore whether bitcoin can truly
fight corruption or just make it harder to see. Until then,
stay curious, stay grounded, and keep asking the questions that matter.
I want to be extremely upfront. That'll try my best
to leave all of my opinions out of this. I
(11:10):
know this is very condensed and simplified, but I want
you to gain your own understanding of beliefs and not
be persuaded by me. I hope this helped gain a
better grasp of it. Please remember to share, a follow,
and subscribe to our mailing list and to your favorite
podcast app for future episodes so you can gain more
with your crypto knowledge. If this sparks something in you
or made you question what's possible, I'd love to hear
(11:31):
about it. And if you found this valuable, share it
tag someone who needs to hear it or just sit
with it. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening to this
episode of The Crypto One on one Show. If you
would like to join our email list, email us at
(11:53):
the Crypto One on one Show at gmail dot com
for more helpful tips. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app
and leave a review so that you don't miss our
next episode. See you next time.
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