Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Genius of Money Post 3
"Money and the Meaning of Life.- Jacob Needeleman. I learned the true value of money from this interview. This interview taught me that the value of money is inside and thats where you find the true meaning to it. To know money you have to know yourself. Every aspect of yourself in order to truly succeed at knowing the money. Knowing money is like also knowing other people. Money can do crazy things with relationships. It can make a couple get divorced or even to fall in love. If one truly knows itself and its money these factors will have no relation to their outside life as a human being. Money has nothing to do with making someone smarter or more knowledgeable. Just because someone is rich, does not mean they are smarter than you. They may have just gotten lucky. At the end of the day money does not define the human being, the person truly defines the human being as they are.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Genius Part 2-Chapter 7
Chapter 7 – Culture for the Price of Admission
The author begins by explaining what one typically receives in return for an exchange. For example, money for a car is a clear exchange of economic currency for a good. However, when it comes to cultural norms such as orchestras, one cannot guarantee that the price that they pay for a ticket will guarantee them the satisfaction of good music. Rather, this is a risky bet when looking at it from an economic perspective. The author then shifts his tone by explaining that not everything can be valuated through the lens of economics, but some cultural aspects need bypass economical logic. For example, much money is gifted to orchestras so their music can be played and enjoyed; if this did not happen, many would not pay the price of admission and that would lead the extinction of an important aspect of American culture. In sum, the author concludes that in order to preserve culture, we must pay more than we should economically speaking, and hence pay the “Price of Admission.”
When Brandon and I discussed the issue at hand, we thought of the issue in a different light. Just like all of the businesses that have shifted from tastier foods to healthier foods to adapt to millennials, maybe the music industry is no different. As young culture is adapting, so should its surroundings. We believe that if it is no longer economically viable to have orchestras, maybe they should fane from existence. Gift money is a temporary solution that will soon fade. This is not a solution that can keep orchestras in existence forever, but rather a short-term solution to a deeply rooted issue. We as a society have a responsibility to shift our norms to appeal to the next generation, whether we like it or not.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
The Genius of Money Chapters 3&15
Chapter 3:
In the 1890's, the select very rich in the United States were making it a burden for individuals such as the lower class to even make money. Because of them they were becoming more and more impoverished. This was due to a mistrust of powers. The banks and the government were wrestling with one another over the gold backed currency at the time. Paying back the civil war debts using "greenbacks" was an issue because there was nothing to back up the paper bill. It was not like today where the money is backed by the federal reserve. This was a conflict of what was "real" money at the time. Distribution and the supply of money have always surrounded the issues of quantity and quality. Consumers tend to favor quantity over quality because the desired idea that having more indicates having more purchasing power until the value of the money drops. On the other hand, producers favor quality because it increases value and the cost of production. The depiction of money in barrels in the image above refers to the populist period, where almost everything was stored in barrels. The image contains wit and irony because the money is shown in an isolated space, where the only other thing you can see is the floor. The sizing of the bills in relation to each other and the barrels are also representative of their value.
Chapter 15:
The lust for money in the American "dream" per-say, came from Alexander Hamilton's direction for the country's monetary policy at the time. Thomas Jefferson was arguing for more of a economy based off agriculture while hamilton was a monetarist. Hamilton saw the future by backing money from a reserve or gold standard and transformed money from a physical substance to electronic/ paper record. Ralph Waldo Emerson elaborates on how those who work hard should have the pavement carved for them. Meaning that hard work should pay off in any aspect of work you do.
Hoffman said that money was dangerous as the desires will soon take over what is truly right. Emerson recognized that money is a "natural recourse' to survive and live as a human being. Hoffman saw the power of material over spiritual and how dangerous it was. She believed value resides in gratification not celebration of more money. Both ideologies saw the abilities money has on the people and how it can either be used for good or evil.
In the 1890's, the select very rich in the United States were making it a burden for individuals such as the lower class to even make money. Because of them they were becoming more and more impoverished. This was due to a mistrust of powers. The banks and the government were wrestling with one another over the gold backed currency at the time. Paying back the civil war debts using "greenbacks" was an issue because there was nothing to back up the paper bill. It was not like today where the money is backed by the federal reserve. This was a conflict of what was "real" money at the time. Distribution and the supply of money have always surrounded the issues of quantity and quality. Consumers tend to favor quantity over quality because the desired idea that having more indicates having more purchasing power until the value of the money drops. On the other hand, producers favor quality because it increases value and the cost of production. The depiction of money in barrels in the image above refers to the populist period, where almost everything was stored in barrels. The image contains wit and irony because the money is shown in an isolated space, where the only other thing you can see is the floor. The sizing of the bills in relation to each other and the barrels are also representative of their value.
Chapter 15:
The lust for money in the American "dream" per-say, came from Alexander Hamilton's direction for the country's monetary policy at the time. Thomas Jefferson was arguing for more of a economy based off agriculture while hamilton was a monetarist. Hamilton saw the future by backing money from a reserve or gold standard and transformed money from a physical substance to electronic/ paper record. Ralph Waldo Emerson elaborates on how those who work hard should have the pavement carved for them. Meaning that hard work should pay off in any aspect of work you do.
Hoffman said that money was dangerous as the desires will soon take over what is truly right. Emerson recognized that money is a "natural recourse' to survive and live as a human being. Hoffman saw the power of material over spiritual and how dangerous it was. She believed value resides in gratification not celebration of more money. Both ideologies saw the abilities money has on the people and how it can either be used for good or evil.
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