Money

Many things make little sense to me in today's society. Money ranks high on the list and I've often wondered about it, why it came into existence, why its use is so widespread, why we struggle so hard for it.

The first thing that strikes me about money is that it makes no sense. Today, more than ever, it's strictly an illusion. The value of money lies in its exchange-ability. By this I mean that, if enough people were to refuse to accept money for their goods or services, the value of money would fall and the government would lose power over the populace. We're told that the primary reason for the money's devaluation is that the government prints too much. It's a distinct possibility, even a probability, but the primary cause for money to lose its purchasing power, called inflation, is the unwillingness of the public to accept it in exchange for services and products. The lack of confidence in money which causes people not to accept it in exchange for their wares or services is caused by various factors, one of which being the government's pumping too much of it into the money cycle.

Think about this: The government, ours specifically--but also most other governments on the planet--has set itself up as the sole provider of money for the country. In doing so, it cured a couple of problems. First, it made a uniform medium of exchange nationwide and this was important because, when the original colonies formed, each had its own currency. Sometimes, between rivaling colonies, money from one wouldn't be accepted in the other. For the country to unify and to work, the founders established the right of the federal government to issue the sole currency of the land. In unifying the country through standardization of the system of currency, a huge degree of power was placed into the hands of the federal government. Ultimately, this is what money has been about throughout history. Power.

With the control of a nation's money in its grip, any government has the means to levy taxes as well as to have another aspect of control over the populace. It can demand, and has done so, that records be kept on business incomes and profit as well as on individual incomes. Where people are honest, the control is obvious. Where they are not above board with their incomes, their is little control. At one time, income taxes were voluntary in this country, but now are so controlled that employers are required to deduct them from employees' wages and pay them to the government on a regular basis. Then the employee is allowed to reclaim any overage at the end of the year which the government was paid in excess. Most people who pay taxes will say that they pay out of patriotic duty, but I will guarantee that, were the tax collection system made voluntary tomorrow, the influx of payments would stop as soon as those which were in the mail or in the banking system at the moment were processed. If they didn't cease, then they would diminish from a huge tide to a rivulet in the desert.

Then there are the property taxes. I have an apple orchard of, let's say, five hundred trees. One day along comes Mr. Tax Assessor and lays claim to fifty of my trees and tells me that in the name of the government, all of the produce from those trees belongs to the government and shall be given delivered to it at the end of the harvest season. What do I say? That this is a blatant form of robbery in the guise of government? No, I simply send my apples as required and hope that somehow next year the tax will be lower and I'll have a better crop and, and,....

Rulers and monarchs figured out many many centuries ago that the easiest way to pay for themselves was to make the populace pay their way and living for them. Some proclaimed themselves divine. Others proclaimed their might. But once someone figured out that a bit of shining metal could be exchanged for goods and services, governmental control became tighter and tighter from then on.

Money is only an advanced system of barter. It is a system of "I'll give you this for that" until both parties reach an agreement as to what is to be exchanged for what. Instead of exchanging a hog for a good dress for his wife, for example, a man can now lay down paper and metal, or plastic, and take the dress home, having simply exchanged the idea of numbers with the seller of the dress. The same goes for anything wherein money is the unit of exchange--houses, jewels, cars, drugs, etc. This is why its use is so widespread. It's easier than hauling wares to exchange or working at some trade or chore for someone to be able to take home the item or items one wants. It's a facilitator. And it fills the role well. But it also hinders in that now one has to work exclusively for the illusion of having this bargaining power. Consequently, everyone caught in the system of the money cycle, except for a niggling few, struggle just as the poverty-ridden masses of ancient times did in order to eke out a basic level of living compared to the society surrounding them.

We struggle so hard for money because of the illusion everyone has accepted regarding its necessity. We are so deluded into thinking it necessary for our lives that we no longer fare for ourselves as did our ancestors. We want the things of the moment, the toys and products that make us feel as though we are accomplishing something. We want material things and not emotional or spiritual fulfillment and this is where money's power reigns supreme. As long as we want things we will struggle with the illusion of having to have money to fulfill our needs. And the Earth will continue to be polluted by the waste of our consumerism.

Walk in Peace and Love.

Will Quietwalker