Nomen Nescio writes:

Do you consider the deed to my house to be "worthless paper"?

The house is worth something, the deed may or may not be.

The dollar value of my house has dropped over 10% in the last year.
But it's still able to sell for 3 times what I paid for it.
And, in the end, it's still REALLY worth EXACTLY what I bought...........
ONE HOUSE. It was worth one house when I moved in, it's worth
one house now.

That's the house, not the paper.

Anyone who considers futures contracts to be "worthless paper" is
an idiot. They're only considered "worthless" by people who are on
the wrong side of the trade.

In every single trade, there is someone on the "wrong side," so 50% of those
trading must consider it worthless. Thus, it's no more than the flip of a
coin ... gambling, in other words.