Quote:
Originally Posted by asteram
The purpose of money is to have a medium of exchange, that both parties can agree to. Often times what one person has to barter is not what the other person wants to trade for. Maybe I want your chickens but you don't want my goat. And maybe I only want three chickens. How does one make change for a goat?
The medium of exchange can be anything, but traditionally it was things of scarcity, beauty and value. Wampum was money made from shell beads. Cowrie shells wera also used. Beads have always been a medium of exchange. There are some very ancient beads around.
Gold is the classic example in Asian and European history, but there were always problems with short supply. The shortage of coin was one of the main reasons for the American Revolution.
It gets messed up when there is interest charged by a third party simply on the medium of exchange; in the case of the US government, they have borrowed all of their money from the private Federal Reserve bank since 1913. They give the Fed bank an IOU, and borrow money at interest to run the government, then they ask the rest us to pay the interest.
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U drive a hard bargain......I have 3 chickens and a three legged dog with one eye named Lucky...Deal?? I've had my eye on your goat for a while.
