Stone Money Rewrite—phillyfan321

Money: What is it Worth?

P1. Every country in the world has some type of currency. The United States and Canada use dollars, the United Kingdom uses the pound sterling, and most of Europe uses the euro. Each of these currencies have different values and ever changing exchange rates. For example, when I went to Canada this summer one US dollar was worth more than one Canadian dollar and this got me thinking what is the difference? I was not complaining because the exchange rate was in my favor but I was very curious. One question that kept going through my mind was “Can one US dollar purchase more goods that one Canadian dollar?”

P2. One way to simplify how one values currency is to compare it to cows and chips. When I was in high school I remember hearing about bitcoin for the first time. At first I had no idea what a bitcoin was and my first question I asked my friend was “Which country created bitcoin?” The correct answer was no country did, but it was created by someone and a bitcoin is not an actual coin. In the article, “Bitcoin Has No Place in Your – or Any – Portfolio”, by Jeff Reves, one important thing about money is that a bitcoin is that it is not owned or backed by any bank . So a bitcoin’s value is based off what it is traded for in the market exchange. The value of a bitcoin can vary from day to day just like a stock. With a bitcoin, it literally is worth what people say it is worth which makes me wonder if a bitcoin really worth anything in real value. It is important to note that people use many different currencies to buy bitcoins, a few examples are United States dollars, Canadian dollars and the euro. No country backs the bitcoin as an official currency and it is not backed by gold or anything of value. So if the local 7/11 store charges one bitcoin for a bag of chips then that one bitcoin is only worth a bag of chips. One week later a farmer charges half a bitcoin for one cow. So now the value of a bitcoin may have changed, depending on what people value as more important, a cow or a bag of chips. So how does society value what is more important? A bag of chips could be worth more than a cow to some people, but to others a cow can be more valuable.

P3. While the United States currency is officially the US dollar, some countries have more unique currencies. One example of a country that uses a unique currency is the island of Yap.In the article, “The Island of Stone Money“, by Milton Friedman, it is told that the Islanders of Yap used stones as their currency . The interesting about is that some of the stones were too large to carry around in a pocket, so they were left somewhere and people would just know who owns the stone today. In a way it is not too different than the money in our bank accounts. I know the money is in my savings account but I cannot see it unless I went to the bank and withdrew it.Another concept that I found interesting in the article, “The Invention of Money”, by Ira Glass, was that mind money is physically real but only worth what society values it for. One example would be if someone says “I will give you one dollar for the soda,” then one dollar is worth a soda but if a different person said “I will give you a soda for $3,” then one dollar is not worth a soda. Money is what society says it is worth, but the value of the United States dollar is almost universal because most stores will not charge someone more than two dollars for a soda .

P4. While I am not an economist or economics major, I know how bad inflation can be. From the 1950’s to the 1980’s, Brazil had a chronic inflation problem, according to Channa Joffe-Walt in the article “How Fake Money Saved Brazil.” The problem in Brazil was that prices kept rising and people had no faith in money, also most people were probably not saving their money because over time it would lose its value. If I lived in Brazil at this time I would have no faith in my country’s money system. Rampant inflation makes people feel that their money is losing value every day because in a way it is. Currently, I do have faith in the United States dollar because it is considered a stable currency worldwide and while the value of the dollar has inflated, the inflation rate is very low.

P5. Over the last two weeks my concept of money has not changed, although I do feel that I have learned a lot more about currency and some aspects of economics. I still do have faith in the United States dollar. I know it is a stable currency and at least in my lifetime has not experienced rampant inflation. Although I understand how the Yap island currency can be similar to the United States currency today. An example would be that when I got paid this summer I was paid via direct deposit, so I knew I had the money, but I did not physically have it in my possession. Another reason I had faith in the money in my bank account was that I used it to pay off a credit card bill so I know the numbers in my bank account have value. If my credit card was not paid off my credit score would go down and I would be charged even more money, so the numbers in a bank account are important. In brief, I believe money is very valuable and a necessary thing for society to thrive.

Works Cited

Friedman,Milton. “The Island of Stone Money”. Hoover Institution. February 1991. Web.

Glass, Ira. “This American Life.” 423: The Invention of Money. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Joffe-Walt, Chana. “How Fake Money Saved Brazil.” NPR. NPR, 10 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Reeves, Jeff. “Bitcoin Has No Place in Your – or Any – Portfolio.” MarketWatch. N.p., 31 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Summaries-Phillyfan321

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/02/econundrums-do-vitamin-supplements-work

It seems counterintuitive that multivitamins could not have positive benefits. As a kid my Mother made me take multivitamins because she told me they would help me grow and keep me healthy. But today with so many super foods being sold at grocery stores, it may be unnecessary for someone to take a multivitamin. One example would be that with the new popularity of organic fruits and vegetables, it may be unnecessary to take in more vitamins. Taking too many vitamins can also have negative effects on someone so for everyone to take a multivitamin everyday might not be a smart idea.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-02-04/vancouver-combats-heroin-giving-its-addicts-best-smack-world

It seems counterintuitive that the best way to help heroin addicts is to give them heroin. Heroin has plagued Vancouver for many years. This problem is not something that recently emerged. This free heroin is a form of so called “damage control.” It is important to note that doctors are not prescribing free recreational heroin. This “free heroin” program is only for those who cannot and will not recover from their addiction. It is not uncommon to hear on the news that a drug addict broke into a home or robbed a store trying to get drug money. Keeping these people content can prevent many of these burglaries. Giving heroin to addicts may seem like a bad idea at first but everyone should look into the idea before they dismiss it as illogical.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1831725/
It seems counterintuitive that parents would have a reason not to vaccinate their child for polio. Polio is a devastating disease, being vaccinated against it should be something every parent wants for their child right? Well many people in Nigeria were boycotting the vaccine in 2003 because there was a rumor that Western countries were putting the HIV virus and cancer causing agents in the polio vaccine. Some people in Nigeria believed that the Western World was against Islam. While there was no evidence of this, it was enough to persuade people not to want to get their child vaccinated. This rumor prevented parents from getting their child vaccinated and it is such a shame for someone to have polio today because it can be prevented with just one shot.

Moving Image-Phillyfan321

Visual Analysis

0:00-0:02 A pick-up truck is dragging a boat and whatever is dragging the boat appears to be making sparks on the ground. The scenery is a type of forest because there are large trees in the background. The man can be described as middle aged, brown hair and brown beard with a camouflage hat.

0:03-0:06 The next scene is of the man bent over looking a the chains that were causing the sparks. The man must have exited his car.

0:06-0:11 While the man is still trying to do something to the dragging the chains, the angle of the video appears to be high up and looking down at him. This could possible mean that someone or something is looking down at him from a tall tree.

0:11-0:14 The man is still trying to fix his chains that were causing sparks.

0:15 The man stands up and a very large figure can be seen. This figure has no head shown but is covered in brown fur. The figure is clearly not a human but it is standing on two legs. The man is not yet aware of the figure behind him

0:16-0:18 The man turns around and comes face to face with this figure which seems to be a bear. The bear is much taller than the man and is wearing a park ranger type hat with only the two letters “sm” visible from this scene.

0:18-0:22 The bear is actually Smokey the Bear. Smokey the bear then gives the man a big hug. Smokey seems to be doing this as a thank you for picking the chains that were causing sparks. It can now be inferred that this an announcement is about preventing forest fires.

0:22-0:26 Smokey the bear and the man give each other a long stare. Smokey then pats the man on the shoulder multiple times. This seems to show that Smokey approved of the man for picking up the chains because he could have started a forest fire if he did not.

0:26-0:31 Smokey then starts to walk away from the man. The man waves multiple times at the Smokey. Then the screen says in bold white letters “Only YOU Can Prevent Wildfires.” This is obviously public safety announcement to prevent forest fires.

Stone Money—phillyfan321

Every country in the world has some type of currency. The United States and Canada use dollars, the United Kingdom uses the pound sterling, and most of Europe uses the euro. Each of these currencies have different values and ever changing exchange rates. For example, when I went to Canada this summer one US dollar was worth more than one Canadian dollar and this got me thinking what is the difference? I was not complaining because the exchange rate was in my favor but I was very curious. One question that kept going through my mind was “Can one US dollar purchase more goods that one Canadian dollar?”

While the United States currency is officially the US dollar, some countries have more unique currencies. One example of a country that uses a unique currency is the island of Yap. The Islanders of Yap used stones as their currency (Friedman 3). The interesting about is that some of the stones were too large to carry around in a pocket, so they were left somewhere and people would just know who owns the stone today. In a way it is not too different than the money in our bank accounts. I know the money is in my savings account but I cannot see it unless I went to the bank and withdrew it. So with this in mind money is physically real but only worth what society values it for (Glass). One example would be if someone says “I will give you one dollar for the soda,” then one dollar is worth a soda but if a different person said “I will give you a soda for $3,” then one dollar is not worth a soda. Money is what society says it is worth, but the value of the United States dollar is almost universal because most stores will not charge someone more than two dollars for a soda .

While I am not an economist or economics major, I know how bad inflation can be. From the 1950’s to the 1980’s, Brazil had a chronic inflation problem (Joffe-Walt). The problem in Brazil was that prices kept rising and people had no faith in money, also most people were probably not saving their money because over time it would lose its value. If I lived in Brazil at this time I would have no faith in my country’s money system. Rampant inflation makes people feel that their money is losing value every day because in a way it is. Currently, I do have faith in the United States dollar because it is considered a stable currency worldwide and while the value of the dollar has inflated, the inflation rate is very low.

When I was in high school I remember hearing about bitcoin for the first time. At first I had no idea what a bitcoin was and my first question I asked my friend was “Which country created bitcoin?” The correct answer was no country did, but it was created by someone and a bitcoin is not an actual coin. The most interesting thing about a bitcoin is that it is not owned or backed by any bank (Reeves). So a bitcoin’s value is based off what it is traded for in the market exchange. The value of a bitcoin can vary from day to day just like a stock. With a bitcoin, it literally is worth what people say it is worth which makes me wonder if a bitcoin really worth anything in real value.

Over the last two days my concept of money has not changed, although I do feel that I have learned a lot more about currency and some aspects of economics. I still do have faith in the United States dollar. I know it is a stable currency and at least in my lifetime has not experienced rampant inflation. Although I understand how the Yap island currency can be similar to the United States currency today. An example would be that when I got paid this summer I was paid via direct deposit, so I knew I had the money, but I did not physically have it in my possession. Another reason I had faith in the money in my bank account was that I used it to pay off a credit card bill so I know the numbers in my bank account have value. In brief, I believe money is very valuable and a necessary thing for society to thrive.