Description

Money has become a national religion of sorts. People and institutions worship it, like a surrogate god. They have little choice. No one has enough of it; thus the need to grasp more of it or budget very carefully what we have stands at the center of our lives and our institutions. Money issues encircle us, whether we like it or not. This includes those being paid far better than I am. We are not talking about people who take vacations every weekend, or eat at swanky restaurants every night, or who buy a new SUV every year.

Frankly, I don’t know anybody who does that. I am starting to wonder if such people really exist, or if they are part of the edifice of lies.

The irony is, our money system is the biggest lie of all. It isn’t really money at all, but pieces of paper with numbers and the phrase legal tender printed on them.

This essay is about our money system, its obvious problems, and a few suggestions for surviving our money crises.