cost and effect, part 1

Money.

What images already start to form in your mind? Do you see coins? Dollars? Hundred dollar bills?

In the book Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein the main character describes money as an incredible idea. The book is great by the way and is very buddhist to me if you catch the message. I digress.

Can we truly define money? It’s linen with the backing of.. umm.. the gold in fort knox?

Part of the issue with money is the very very subjective idea of what something’s value is. As them folk, me in this case, say, “To the dying man water is worth much but to the drowning man he would gladly give it away.” (May 14th 0025, SFA)

Money is the short pocketable form of barter.. kinda. Old world style, you make someone a rocking chair and they pay you with lots of fruits and veggies or something like that. Now you just get something in your pocket or electronically on a statement.

We place our own values on things all the time. Do you really need to spend millions of dollars to have a private flight into orbit? How about being able to not have to decide between medicine for your child or dinner for the family? In the similar water analogy, the rich person may, or may not, be wasting enough food to feed said family and going into orbit sure won’t help them at all.

$1.99. It’s not $2.00. That’s too much. But you see that #1 and almost forget about the 0.99. They do it at the gas pumps. If you’re not sure just take a few moments next time and look closer at the prices.

We can also be tricked into the value of things. Retail price $1,000. On sale for $100.  Doesn’t it matter what it is? Not really. Most people I think would at least take a look to see what the great deal is. Amazon is great with showing the retail price that isn’t even the price in the store sometimes and then showing the percent off. Get’s your attention fast enough you might buy it without doing a price comparison.

We use money on a daily basis. We love it and we hate it.

As they say, “Money is the root of all evil,” I’d say evil is the root of all evil and money can be used like anything of potential power, for good or for evil.

Until part 2 where I shift thoughts,

-Santa’s Fallen Angel