I think currency is a form of slavery... Everyone is dependent on it. It determines where you go, what you own, it decides your fate. Every since we were children, we've been taught that you have to make money to be successful. The United States is a supposedly "free" country. But we're all slaves to the dollar. I know bartering would probably not work in this day and age, but I'd like to hear what other people think of this.
I'll take currency over credit any day. Credit card debt is our slavery of today. You could spend your whole life giving your hard earned money to the credit companies in the form of interest! Don't fall into the trap. I paid mine off 7 years ago and haven't had 1 since. I save money for things I want instead of just charging them...most times I find I really don't want whatever it was I was saving for...with impulse buys practically eliminated, I don't have a bunch of extra junk lying around. Usually I use the money to travel. Things aren't important...experiences and memories are the only things that last a lifetime.
Money is certainly a necessary thing in society. Greed is a problem even if you don't have money. I wouldn't call us slaves to the dollar; some of us could really give a rat's rear end how much we make as long as we're happy with what we're doing. I certainly haven't been taught that I have to make money to be successful; I just have to make enough to do what I want. Being happy is being successful.
Credit is likewise only a problem for people that can't handle it. I have had a credit card for years and have never paid a cent of interest. How do I accomplish this amazing feat? I just always pay off the credit card at the end of the month. If you're spending more than you can afford in a month, the problem is not the credit card, the problem is your spending habits. Don't get rid of a credit card just because you misused it once; that's like saying we should get rid of cars because you had an accident once.
Or you could do what's been introduced in Australia: 'Bopo'- a prepaid visa card, which entails a much better regulated spending limit as well as required approval from appropriate parties.
Credit is only really safe and useful for those who don't have a high disposable income but have a high liquid fund intake. In the hand of many a youth the debt goes up like crazy because most young people haven't got the hang of figuring out what consequences are yet.
I think currency is a form of slavery... Everyone is dependent on it. It determines where you go, what you own, it decides your fate.
You do have a point there, but I think that, as kane said, currency is necessary to modern society, although I think saying that we are "slaves" to the Dollar isn't the right way to put it, I think it should have been put as "currency is playing a bigger part in our lives than ever before", but thats just another way of saying it and it still makes just as much sense. As for credit, well, people who use it properly should have no problem with it, but like Strop said, most young people don't know how to handle credit yet and have to learn from first-hand experience the consequences of credit. So I think that we educate the youth(such as myself) on handling money and credit, because as long as we know how to handle the Dollar, we will no longer be "slaves" to it.
Like an old Chinese proverb states, "Money shall enslave us all". If you think about it, although currency does not make us actual 'slaves', we do depend heavily on our different forms of currency.
But if you sit down and think it out though, there is really no other alternative. Bartering was effective for a time, but it just became impractical. When our dollar bills were first released, they were meant to signify that you had "one dollars worth" of gold in storage somewhere... nowadays it means nothing, and is just a green slip of paper....
Alright, I'm back and I think that Wallyohio is right in the sense that credit is a modern form of slavery, but it can be good only if you have th money to pay for things up front. Paying for things up front gives you buying power, but choosing to make a payment plan with someone give you the power too ghold money over there head. That is baecause payments will make a company more money over time, through interest accrued. Being able to pay for something up front is ultimate power. I can't say ronm experience because my wife and I have only a medium high credit score.
Oh and one more thing, Grimlock you aare right in the sense that we are 'slaves' only in the effect that the federal reserve banks that print the money, also let our government borrow money. When that happens, the value of the dollar drops and we have a false sense of economic growth and stability. We are seeing examples of this in most retail stores today. Also it doesn't help that the princes in the midle east who own the oil fields that we are buying our oil from are jacking up the prices and that china is buying up more oil because they are now having more cars on the road. It is a long line of kicking ourselves in the @$$.
@KING: I only wish I'd come up with your solution first.
@Necrotic: I entirely agree that education is the key to a lot of problems people have with money.
You are only a slave to money if you allow yourself to become one. The happiest year of my life I made $20k and paid all my own expenses. The credit companies can't steal your money just by giving you a credit card. You give them their money by misusing your card.
Greed is a good thing, if we're going to go into that.
Greed is the spark of inspiration, the drive towards profit, the true mother of invention. Why did Henry Ford perfect the assembly line? Greed. Why did Rockefeller come up with a way to sell oil so cheaply? Greed. Yet these inventions have helped improve society as a whole. The cheaper oil allowed families that would usually go to bed with the sun to have more time to spend together. The assembly line brought the automobile to the masses. Without greed, the very PC (or Mac) you're using to access this forum wouldn't even exist. Greed, my friends, is a good thing.
I believe you are taking the concept of 'greed' too far, Megamickel. Yes, those inventors wanted to make large profits, but whenever we go to work (i.e. our daily jobs) we have the intention of making money. Is that greed? I think not. If one does classify that as greed, that individual probably has a very demented outlook on many areas of life.
Greed, is screwing over one of your pals just so you can get some extra cash. Greed, is taking money from those that are less fortunate than you, simply because you 'want more money'. Did Henry Ford and Rockefeller have money on their mind when they invented such things? Yes, of course, but they (most likely) also wanted to benefit mankind with their inventions.
Or you could do what's been introduced in Australia: 'Bopo'- a prepaid visa card, which entails a much better regulated spending limit as well as required approval from appropriate parties.
Im pretty sure thats the same as a debit card, right?
Think of what would happen if we had no money.... *does the flashback noise*
People have different skills, which are valued differently. Would we trade, or just do our tradeskill and give it out freely? What would be your motivation to work, unless you are one of the lucky few who gets to do what they love for a living? If everything was free, what would stop people from just taking everything?
Yes, it is tough that everything we do is basically to make money, but I see no logical way that we could live without it.
