Main Idea Practice 4

It's hard to imagine what things were like before there was money, but such a time did exist. During these times people exchanged goods using the barter system. The word barter means to trade. People using the barter system traded things instead of buying and selling them. So if you were a rice farmer, you would trade your rice with many people to get all the things that you wanted or needed. Unfortunately, the people from whom you needed things might not want your rice. Isn't it nice to just go to the store and buy candy instead of having to trade rice for it?

Money is pretty old but nobody knows exactly how old it is. Perhaps the oldest evidence of people using money is in the Code of Ur-Nammu. The Code of Ur-Nammu is a system of laws written around 2050 BC. That's like 4,000 years ago! Many of Ur-Nammu's laws carry fines, such as one stating that if a man is proven innocent of sorcery, his accuser must pay 3 shekels. This ancient document shows me two things: Ur-Nammu didn't tolerate false witch-hunts, and money is very old.

When the U.S. rebelled against the British, currency was a problem for the budding nation. So the Americans created Continental currency. Congress issued over 240 million Continental Dollars. Unfortunately, these dollars soon dropped in value. By the end of 1778, Continentals were worth 1/5th of their face value. By 1780, they were worth 1/40th. In the 1790s, the U.S. bought back Continentals for 1% of their printed value. One reason for this decline was economic warfare. During the war the British hired artists to counterfeit Continental Dollars. Then they funneled large amounts of these counterfeit notes into the American economy. The value of the Continental Dollar crashed. When people complain about today's inflation rates, I tell them about Continentals.

Hyperinflation refers to when the value of money drops rapidly. During World War I, Germany paid for the war by borrowing. The German Mark steadily lost value as the war went on and German people could buy less and less. After losing the war, Germany was required to make large payments to the Allies. They paid all the debts that they could by printing more money. Soon the German Mark was worthless. When the war had started, the U.S. Dollar was worth around four German Marks. By November of 1923, one U.S. Dollar was worth 4,210,500,000,000 German Marks. At this point the money had more value as a fuel than as a currency, and people burned it to stay warm.

Counterfeiting is the act of making phony money that looks official. It is a very old crime but recent advances in printing have made it possible for even amateurs to produce decent counterfeits. Fortunately, there are some ways that you can detect counterfeits. The first and most telling inspection is to pay attention to how the money feels. It is difficult to reproduce the texture of real money. If the money feels suspect, look carefully at the microprinting on the bill. Many features along the portrait and border of a genuine bill contain writing that is too small to reproduce in most printers. If you are still suspicious, hold the bill up to the light and look for the strip that says the value of the bill. With a little diligence, you can keep yourself from becoming a victim of this rising trend.

Currencies have changed and developed over the course of history, but one of the newest forms of payment doesn't even exist in the physical world. Bitcoin is an entirely digital currency. Users of Bitcoin send payments to one another over computer networks. These payments are nonrefundable. In other words, once the money is sent, you can't get it back. The value of a Bitcoin has risen rapidly since its introduction in 2009, when each Bitcoin was worth around 30 cents. At the time of this writing, it would cost you around 7400 U.S. Dollars to get one Bitcoin. That's quite a jump. On the downside, if the value of Bitcoin ever crashes, you won't be able to heat your home by burning it.

As young Americans mature into adults, they are tempted by the allure of easy credit. Credit card companies attempt to ensnare young people by giving away "free" headphones or sports towels in return for completing credit applications. Many of these young people go on to accumulate debt through undisciplined spending. They pay much more than the original loan because they are charged a high rate of interest and it takes them years to repay their debts. It is best to avoid this debt prison altogether.

Money is a greater mover of things in our world. It can even influence times and dates. For example, the National Confectioners Association (a group of seventy or so candy manufacturers) wanted to sell more candy. Apparently, when people buy candy, they make money. Anyway, they wanted to make more money, so in 1921 they created a "holiday" called Sweetest Day. They've since spent millions of dollars trying to convince consumers that this holiday exists and that consumers should celebrate this very real and meaningful occasion by purchasing candy. Card dealer Hallmark has also heavily promoted this specter of commercial interest. Their involvement has prompted the notion that Sweetest Day is a "Hallmark Holiday." That reminds me: have you ever heard of Give Me a Dollar Day? It's today. Let's celebrate it.

Are you having a birthday party? Do you want your school dance or function to be better than all others? Would you like to be the most popular kid on the block? If so, now is the perfect time to rent a cotton candy machine from Bob's Party Supplies. It's easy to rent from Bob's. Just come in and fill out the liability waiver. Then sign up for the cotton candy machine operating classes. Attend the operating classes every Saturday and Sunday from 8AM until noon for the next sixteen weeks. After submitting your 30 page research paper and passing the final exam, put down your $2,500 deposit and you will be the proud lessor of a cotton candy machine. With a cotton candy machine in your possession, you will be the envy of all. Remember, rent one from Bob's because Bob makes it easy.

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but he changed how they are made. Ford made cars in a more efficient way by using an assembly line. Rather than creating a whole vehicle, Ford's workers were only responsible for one small part of the process. Using an assembly line proved to be cheaper and faster than using craftsmen to produce specialized products. Because of his assembly line, Ford's Model T became the first affordable automobile for mainstream America. So while Henry Ford didn't invent the car, he did make it so that most Americans could buy cars and that's a pretty big deal.