Tuesday, May 18, 2010

What's a dollar worth

Seems like a simple question, right? It's worth 100 pennies. But dollars aren't real things. I mean the paper and ink they a printed on are real, but their value is made up.
Think about what you can buy with a dollar. Roma tomatoes are about 2 bucks/lb right now. 4 toms are about 1/2 a pound. So all the seeds, dirt, water, the labor to plant and pick and ship, the gas for the tractors and trucks, the floor space in the store, the stockers and the clerks, even the plastic bag that you put your toms in are worth less than a buck (gotta leave room for profit). Or for a more simple example, if you pay 1000 bucks a month for 200 hours of childcare (Less than minimum wage at 5 bucks an hour but a good average) a buck is worth 12 minutes of childcare.
Have you ever wondered why we hold things that are crucial to our existance, like food and clothing and childcare, to such a low value but give much more weight to people who do jobs that aren't crucial to our existence?

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