Nothing puts a glaze into the eyes of average citizens quite like discussing economic theory. At best, it’s a confusing topic. Start injecting things like gross domestic product, prime interest rate, futures pricing, trade subsidies, and compound interest and you’ve pretty much lost most of your audience. But talk to the average person about money, and it’s a whole other ball game. Money, after all, makes the world go ‘round, or so they say. Everybody needs a way to earn money because nothing, except maybe the air we breathe, is free. Money, or a lack of it, shapes our lives in every imaginable way.
Growing up in a capitalistic society, we are raised to look at money as an end in itself rather than a means to an end. What I mean is, for most of us, the acquisition of money is what drives our lives. We need or want things that cost money, so we work to make money. We trade that money for things and then need more money to get more things. The more we have, the more we need. The more we need, the more we work. Capitalism requires a certain level of materialism to function properly, and we seem to have that down to a tee. But as our lives grow increasingly more dependant upon a steadily increasing flow of money, and as our materialistic tendencies increase with each new innovation, we slowly lose focus of what is really important in life and we instead turn all our energies into amassing as much money as we can (or as many things as we can, which can prove how much money we have or had.) Rather than spend our relatively short time on earth in harmony with each other and nature, we construct an adversarial environment that pits man against man with money right in the middle.
Of course, governments need money too, and as a result, we have taxes. Because government does not produce anything sellable (in theory at least) yet it is expected to provide many tangible and intangible things for the citizenry, the only source of money for the government (again, in theory) is taxes. The bright side of taxes, at least in a democratic society, is that their collection and use is supposed to provide for the common needs of the society, so you get back what you put in, in some manner or another. Unfortunately, the reality is often somewhat less than that. Too often, the people in government spend public tax dollars as if they had won the lottery, providing little oversight or accountability for the way those monies are spent. Such waste or abuse causes the average citizen to have to provide more tax dollars, making him earn less or work more. In addition to setting tax rates and spending tax dollars, government also creates legislation that causes more money to be drained from the everyday worker and into the pockets of the business industry, setting up an adversarial environment between man and the government.
And then there’s business. Provider of jobs (so people can earn money) and creator of goods or services (so people can spend money.) Friend of the politician (through political donations) and befriended in return (with tax subsidies and tailor-made regulation.) Business is the glue that holds the whole system together, but being in that position requires a greater level of trust and integrity than exists today. Part of the reason for the animosity between people and business stems from the mutual reliance each has on the other. We wish we didn’t have to work for a living and business wishes they didn’t have to pay us to work for a living, but as we can’t have one without the other, an uneasy truce exists. The other reason stems from the misguided notion that a business entity is the same as an individual, at least so far as the law is concerned. Businesses exist to provide jobs, goods, or services. They exist to generate money for the workers and money for the owners. But they are not thinking, breathing, sentient forms. Businesses are piles of paper and rooms of inventory. They have no need for food or shelter or health care. Yet government policies and regulations afford businesses many of the same rights that are afforded to individuals. As such, businesses (and those who head them) can affect social mores and agendas more readily than average citizens can simply because business has greater wealth resources than individuals do. An already adversarial environment just gets that much worse.
Underlying all this commotion though, is still the idea that money is an end in itself. And with that concept comes the tendency of people, government, and business alike to devise any scheme to get more than they are entitled to. Because in addition to satisfying our materialistic tendencies (which I believe are more ingrained than innate), money also carries with it an element of power or control. The more money a person has, the more control they have over their destiny or the things they want to have. The more money a business has, the more it can control its corner of the marketplace and the more power it has in the political sphere. The more money government has, the more it tries to spend it, usually on ill conceived plans, but just as often on things or in ways that the tax payer would not approve of. Too often, tax money just fades away or gets diverted while the original intended use is forgotten about. Yet government always wants, and has the power to get, more money than it needs. And all too often, business and government conspire to get more from the citizens, whether it is money or work or both.
The business of money is yet another area to consider. Banking, insurance, and investing are all aspects of our financial world that touch us each on some level, including government and businesses. Because money is so important in our world, entire industries evolved to help us manage, protect, and increase our own supply. In a not so surprising turn of events, these industries are among the most powerful “behind the scenes” forces that shape financial and economic legislation in ways that affect the daily lives of John and Jane Doe, sometimes for the good, often for the bad.
Money is important. There’s no getting around that. But is it the most important thing in life? Problems with money are often the main cause of family strife, business failure, or government corruption. For those who have little, it’s never enough. For those who have some, it’s never enough. And for those who have plenty, it’s still never enough. This is the prevailing attitude of the majority of people in our country, and the majority of businesses as well. The next several essays will talk about various economic issues, among them credit and bankruptcy, insurance, taxes, trade, saving money, business and labor, unions, and the consumer society we live in. I’m not an expert on economics, but I hope to take a fresh look at these necessary aspects of our world and throw in a little Common Sense where it’s needed. I hope you’ll join me.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 at 6:43 am and is filed under Democracy, Economy, Government, Life, Politics, Reform, taxes.
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August 16th, 2005 at 7:54 am
Wow! You have a distinctive blog. I’ll bookmark you for sure.
I have a non-transdermal patches site. It pretty well covers non-transdermal patches related stuff.
Please check us out.
August 16th, 2005 at 7:59 am
1.)
As a society, we have constructed an adversarial environment pitting man against man with money in the middle.
Re: Federal Reserve System with Governing Body, and the Majority of Seats, Controled by Historically Dominating Region, in the North, with Disadvantages, of Less Working Days, due to Climate, Less Natural Resources, ex: Agricultural, causing a search for Methods to Overcome these disadvantages.
2.)
Government created legislation causing more money to be drained from workers into the pockets of the business and industry, setting up an adversarial environment between man and government.
Re: Federal Reserve System, Environmental Cafe Standards, Federal and State, going around the Constitutional Prohibition against Interstate Commerce Taxation.
3.)
Business a Provider of jobs and creator of goods or services is more then a Friend of the politician (through political donations) and is befriended in return (with tax subsidies and tailor-made regulation.) Re: above,
4.)
Businesses (and those who head them) affect social mores and agendas actively because business has greater wealth than individuals. An adversarial environment is now much worse.
Re: incursion into use of PBS, Broadcasting by Businesses, using Public Broadcasting through Advisory and Policy Setting Boards via Infusion of Money to Twist Arms. Re: National Academy of Sciences has gone through Recent Changes as an Example doing these Very things. National Academy of Sciences gives credibility as Supporter Evidences in Commercial Broadcasting and is often Cited as Experts in Issues, like this in Commercial and Public Broadcasting and also by Politicians, Re: Jay Insler of Washington,
5.)
The tendency of people, government, and business successfully devised many schemes to get more than entitled to.
6.)
Money is so important to our world, that entire industries have evolved to help us manage, protect, and increase our money supply. These industries are among the most powerful “behind the scenes” forces shaping financial and economic legislation, affecting our daily lives.
Re: Federal Reserve System, the Securities and Exchange Markets and Exchanges themselves, utilized by Bankers and Financial Corporations, like Insurance Corporations, and Securities and Stock Purchasing and Sales Organizations, Agricultural and Natural Resource Trading Organizations and Corporations, are some examples.
7.)
Problems with money are the main cause of family strife, business failure, or government corruption.
I concentrate on Government Corruption here because I beleive it is the Most Prevalent yet Ignored and actually assisted by Media Broadcasting Companies as the Largest Manufacturing Companies in the World actually Own the National Broadcasting Companies and actually control Public Broadcasting System as well via Foundations Owned by Families owning the Largest Corporations in the World, and Policy and Programming is controlled as well by these Foundations, via decisions of Owners, the Families controlling Like Corporations in Commerce.
August 16th, 2005 at 8:01 am
A job well done! inspiring blog
I’m sure you’d be interested in cartoon animals
Lots of information about cartoon animals
August 16th, 2005 at 8:18 am
Two wounded in blast near Egypt military airport
Beards and scarves aren’t Muslim. They’re simply adverts for al-Qaeda at The London Times, Jul 27 World News Iraqis Fail to Agree on Constitution AP Israel Begins Evictions in the Gaza Strip AP Coroner: 6 Alive …
Great info dude. I really enjoy reading blogs! I have a free chess site. It really is about free chess and stuff. Check it out some time.
August 16th, 2005 at 8:35 am
Can I use some of your posts in my blog on my website?
August 16th, 2005 at 3:06 pm
Hey Ken,
I find it more than a little ironic and infinitely amusing that 4 of the 5 comments on your post about money and capitalism are “advertising” comments to promote someone elses site.
As for the context of the post – as usual, I totally agree with you. Money and economics are big important issues, which most are woefully ignorant or apathetic about.
I wonder if we can change that phenomenon without completely changing or radically altering the social structure.
I’ve always wondered what would happen if we went totally capitalist – where the government was a business as well – one that was governed and administered like a business as well as subject to the same market economy system as the rest of the world – the leadership would be similar to an executive board and the citizens would be stockholders – ultimately the government would be judged like business leaders and replaced accordingly. I know it would be more in depth, but I wonder if that would help things even out a bit – probably not.
The only other option I see is to scrap the system entirely, but to me as long as you have a monetary based economy, then you will forever be subject to the corruption, greed, influence peddling, materialism and endless cycle of earning and spending as well as class disparity that any monetary based society brings.
I’m sure you have read Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael – if not definitely check it out. But the tribal model, while still subject to human nature, did not suffer from the same social disparity or monetary based woes as capitalism – it’s a nice model, but i’m not sure it could work on a large scale.
Food for thought.
In other news I have a great site that sells a special cleaner to wash antelopes – come check it out!
August 16th, 2005 at 6:04 pm
Ken, I look forward to your upcoming essays on the subject of economics and Government’s role. I agree with the problem of businesses being treated as a person and the conflicts of interest this presents to the actual Citizens.
Oh, and if you’re tired of bathing your pets, I’ve invented an automatic dog polisher – dogpolisher.com – (just PLAYING!).
Blog ON…
August 16th, 2005 at 9:27 pm
Ken,
This all sounds to be an enticing line of writing. The economist, perhaps is an obsolete occupation. Aside from Greenspan, not many economists get air play becuase they are as dry as toast with no butter.
Moreover, Dr. Seuss sums it all up more poetically than any other in The Lorax (one of my favorites that I just finished reading to my son before his afternoon nap)
“The Lorax said,
‘Sir, you are crazy with greed.
There is no one on earth
whou would buy that fool Thneed!’
But the very next minute I proved he was wrong
For just at that minute, a chap came along
and he thought that the Thneed I had knitted was great
He happily bought it for three ninety-eight
I laughed at the Lorax, ‘You poor stupid guy!
You never can tell what some people will buy.”
Those interested in the economy or ecology or both who have not picked up this book should have a look. The moral is as valuable today as it was when it was published first in 1971.
Oh, and incidentially, if your tired and weary of love long lost, and fancy yourself a modern romantic, I have a wonderful web location for you – reinasance man dot com – for the do it all poet in you.
Blog away brother.
August 16th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
Very well writen as always.
Thank you for your posts.
August 17th, 2005 at 4:54 am
It’s funny; I’m often accused of being a socialist when I say that unbridled greed is a bad thing. Benevolent capitalism would be okay, maybe a free market without exploitation..? I guess the human factor is the toughest obstacle.
Off topic: I see I’m not the only one who has been bombarded with weird spam-comments. So, to carry on (like Windspike): Dude! Great blog, fun and very informative! I have a site all about rubber drain stoppers, I know you’d be interested, stop by if you have time.
August 17th, 2005 at 6:33 am
(responses)
Anonymous 1, 2, and 3- I’m not really interested in non-transdermal patches; enjoy, but ultimately don’t activly seek out cartoon animals; and have never yet actually paid for a good game of chess. But thanks to you all for the spotaneously generated compliments and spam. I would normally delete these comments, but the irony (as pointed out by another commenter) to this post shall spare you. This time.
TRES CEE- Thanks for illuminating my thoughts with actual institutions that others can research and learn about. And I agree that government corruption is a big problem, especially if you narrow the definition of corrupt to mean the wasteful spending of public funds for specious projects or give-aways.
Drop in again.
Anonymous- I don’t think I can really stop you. I only hope that you are using them as models of reasonable thought and that you note my authorship, either through a link or with a byline. Stop by again and leave your name or something.
Rudicus- Amusing start to the comments, wasn’t it?
I think we are seeing the effects of government run as a business, at least according to the business standards of the late 90’s and early “00’s. (and you can pick your century, because they’re aren’t a lot of differences between practices of the 1890’s – 1900’s and the 1990’s and 2000’s.) We even have an MBA guiding the ship. No, government as a business isn’t such a good idea, I don’t think. To start with, government is about people, not making money.
BUt there does need to be better accountability and rationalization for the expenditures of our government.
Money breeds greed only so far as we allow it to. If our primary focus is on wealth creation and accumulation, then greed will be at the forefront of our actions. If we choose to enjoy life first, and earn money as a means to that end, as well as adjusting our materialistic tendencies, we might be both richer cash-wise and happier in life.
I’ve read both Ishamel and the sequel, though I prefer Ishmael of the two. We are truly a society of takers. Thanks for the return visit.
GTL- I look forward to writing them. More than just a basic understanding of the issues, people need to know that much of the economic industry is designed to concentrate the wealth and toil of the average person into the hands or control of the few. I’d like to present some of my thoughts on that.
And yes, I’ll hit the “businesses aren’t people” stump too.
Incidentally, I used to have a dog polisher business too. Tell me, is it all still about the ball bearings?
Thanks for the comment, friend.
Windspike- I too am a fan of The Lorax, having carefully tended to many a Truffula Tree myself over the years.
And I never did see a Thneed I might need, but the greed of our breed is a bad creed indeed, and one that I hope from which we’ll be freed.
Pol Pie- Thanks. And, you’re welcome.
Shea- The errant belief that greed is good is completely contradictory to most of the teachings of religious faith, yet those most eager to drape themselves in religious piety are often the greediest of the bunch. Indeed, the human factor is a tough one. But changing the emphasis from money being the end to money being a means to the end might help.
[BTW, I’m starting to love all the clever (made up)web pitches. Are you guys sure you’re not the real spammers in disguise???]
August 17th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
Ken,
Thanks for taking the time to read the comments and reply. I grabbed your reply to my post to link up over at my location. Perhaps we have another Seuss in the making?
Incidentially, all poets may be interested in trying to stave off writers block. I have a web location you might like to visit – BlogBlockBeGone dot com – come on over for a visit and I am sure you will find a paypal donation location towhich you can further my advancement.
August 18th, 2005 at 4:40 am
Oh, this is good – and actually on-topic, because now every comment can now include a naked plea for money-grubbing capitolism!
By the way, Ken, your blog is terrific and entertaining. I have a site all about little plastic sock hangers, you might be interested. Come check it out if you can.
8^)
August 18th, 2005 at 3:55 pm
Your Blog is always inspiring. Your recent post reminded me of a quote I used in a paper not long ago. It comes from Stuart Ewen’s essay “Advertising and the Development of Consumer Society.” An early Boston department store “Magnate” by the name of Edward A. Filene stated: “Mass production demands the education of the masses. The masses must learn to behave like human beings in a mass production world . . . the time has come . . . when all our institutions . . . must concentrate on the great social task of teaching the masses not what to think but HOW TO THINK, and thus to find out how to behave like human beings in the Machine Age.” In a capitalist society we are taught to think money and consumption. As Marx suggested, things replace relationships and emotions. Wouldn’t it be nice to disrupt this type of training?
August 18th, 2005 at 6:48 pm
The problem is post WWII economic theory (or I should say practice) of consumption. It was instituted as a method of keeping the econmy healthy after the war. It is a theory without conservational provision.
Oh, by the way, you can learn to eliminate global reliance on finacial systems. Make a future without money rality. Want to know how? Buy my book called “FREE” ($39.35 distopia press)
August 18th, 2005 at 6:58 pm
Hi Ken!
Appreciate your article here. It goes far in backing up “the love of money is the root of all evil”.
I taught economics at Penn State, but I find that the best definitive work on the topic is by Thomas Sowell called “Basic Economics”. You mentioned that your blog is about common sense, Thomas’ book is probably one of the most common sense looks at economics in print today.
Check it out if you have the interest.
-Jack
August 19th, 2005 at 7:39 am
(responses)
Windspike- Thanks for the plug. And I have always thought that those who take time to comment deserve at the very least acknowledgment for their efforts, so I will continue to respond to comments, unless they are obvious spam.
Shea- Yes, these comments certainly exude the creative side of advertising, don’t they. I may actually start an on-line store with all the great ideas. I’ll even have an outlet to sell my master innovation- the swivel toilet!
Rebekah- Thanks for the compliment. And the quote is clearly on topic here, so thank for sharing. Yes, our own materialism has replaced our sense of community and replaced it with a spirit of one-upsmanship. Sad, to say the least.
Hope to hear from you again.
Ozy- Unbridled consumption eventually leads to several things- depletion of products and/or resources being just one. It is a short-sighted practice to be sure.
Thanks for dropping by.
Jack- I’m not an economics teacher, just a guy trying to point the light at some of the problems in our financial institutions that restrict individual freedom and growth in favor of enriching an ever elite class of businesses and their major investors. Thanks for the book tip. I’ll look for it.
August 19th, 2005 at 3:01 pm
Hi Ken.. interesting observations on economics there..
I must admit that in the realm of all things that affect us, my understanding of economics is probably the weakest. I just use some common sense – but I notice that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
When I was a kid, I didn’t have much money and there were always things I wanted and couldn’t have. Now, I could buy all of those things if I wanted to, but really have no interest in them.
I make about 5 times the amount of money now then when I started out in the work environment. My lifestyle hasn’t changed much at all. I still live like a college student, minus the raman noodles.
Still, the weird thing is, even though my lifestyle hasn’t changed, expenses seem to have inflated to eat up a great deal of the difference between what I made then, and what I make now.
I prefer not to think about it, because if I did the math, I’d probably depress myself..
August 21st, 2005 at 6:43 am
(response)
tom- I know what you mean, but I think about it so I can offer some ideas to change the messed up situation the we have created. Thanks for dropping by.