Money

 

Money. That is the subject of this week's discussion. Money is an area (be it market or state) accepted check for the exchange of goods and services between buyers and sellers. Money's value can be based on the value of the medium used be it gold, silver, diamonds, or checks redeemable for these valuable commodities. Money can be based on the value of labor where the checks are worth so much time be it at the cost of a living wage or cheap labor where a day of work does not buy a day's necessities. Money as well can be based on the value of the issuer, be it a mint, bank, or government entity.

Money that is commodity-based is usually a coin or jewel in form. The coin or jewel gets its value based on the difficulty there is in obtaining the commodity from the world around the buyer and sellers. This is a system of barter between buyers and sellers. The more difficult it is to obtain the commodity the greater its monetary value. Everything purchased is assigned a value relative to its difficulty in producing compared to the difficulty of obtaining the commodity. 

Money that is based on the value of a day or week's labor is worth the purchasing power given to the workers. Where the worker is given a cost of living wage, or paid enough to afford the necessities of life, the checks are worth their percentage of a day's needs. Where labor is treated cheaply because there are more workers than jobs, then the money is worth the percent of the market basket of necessities it provides. The market basket costs more than a daily minimum wage because many are willing to work for whatever they can buy. 

Money that is based on the credit of the issuer is a true checking account monetary system. The better credit the issuer of the checks has the more the money is worth. This is whether the credit is based on commodity reserves or a gross national product basis. The more "goods" of value the issuer possesses the greater the value of its checks.  

Money is used to speed up the barter process by making it easier to buy milk, eggs, and bread than having to exchange three different things with the seller of the eggs, the milk, and the baker of the bread. With money, an agreed-upon check in the marketplace will be enough to make all three purchases. Money simplifies the exchange of goods and services.