Download Prosperity

A look at the
disadvantages of
possessing money
Monetary Value
“Behind the talk is the notion that
monetary spending makes the
economic world go round. It does not.
Increasing money supply does not
magically increase the quantity of land,
labor, or capital goods available for
production. Creating money out of thin
air does not produce more consumer
goods, and there is the rub. We cannot
eat money. We cannot wear money. We
cannot live in money.”
- Quote from WMIcentral
Investors + Industries
“The trouble is that such inflationfueled spending does not result in true
economic prosperity in the form of
more goods to satisfy our ends. It might
encourage more spending, but not
investment that reflects the wishes of
society. Investors are encouraged to
invest in industries that are too capital
intensive relative to the wishes of
savers in society.”
-Quote from WMIcentral
Imported Oil
“With gas prices up from $2.75 a gallon
since last September, higher prices
translate into a 5% cut in discretionary
income, and Americans will be eating
fewer restaurant meals, wearing fewer
new clothes, curtailing summer
vacation plans, and postponing
furniture purchases and home
improvements. As most money paid for
higher priced gasoline leaves the
country to pay for more expensive
imported oil and doesn't return to buy
U.S. exports, this shift in consumer
spending reduces demand for what
Americans make and slows economic
recovery.”
-Quote from thestreet.com Business
News
Taxed Businesses
“According to the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities, nearly two thirds of
the cuts proposed by Ryan would come
from programs that support lower
income Americans. The Center
analyzed the plan and discovered that
of the over $4.3 trillion of actual
proposed cuts, $2.9 trillion of those
cuts would come from Medicaid,
Medicare, Social Security, Pell Grants,
food stamps, low income worker
trainings, and housing subsidies.”
-Quote from care2.com
Stocks
“Additionally, high stock indices are not
necessarily signs of a healthy economy.
On October 9, 2007, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average closed at 14,164 and
the S&P 500 closed at 1,565. These
were the highest they have ever been.
Were they a sign the economy was
strong? No.”
-Quote from WMIcentral
Monetary Spending
“Real GDP, likewise, hit an all-time high
in October 2007 and then proceeded to
contract 4.1 percent during the Great
Recession. Similarly, nominal GDP was
at an all-time high in July 2008 and
then decreased 3.1 percent in less than
a year. That monetary spending is up
does not necessarily mean the
economy has healed. It is just as likely
that remaining economic problems
have merely covered over with a
monetary Band-Aid”
-Quote from WMIcentral
Economic Strength
“Regarding current macroeconomic
statistics, no one is disputing the facts, but
the happy interpretation leaves much to be
desired. In the first place, while official
unemployment has fallen a little over 1
percent from its height of 10.1 percent
during the Great Recession, if the Fed's
expansive monetary policy is really that
wise, one might think the unemployment
rate should be much lower. In fact, much of
the drop in the unemployment rate is
related to a drop in the civilian labor force
relative to its December 2007 level. A low
official unemployment rate is not per se an
indication of a flourishing economy. In May
2007, the unemployment rate was 4.4
percent. Was the economy strong? No.”
-Quote from WMIcentral
Opinions
Many people don’t have control over
the amount they pay on utilities, food,
rising gas prices, mortgage payments,
and education. With bigger privileges
comes bigger responsibilities, and more
complications. Prosperity opens more
opportunities, but leaves more room
for error and negative effects. The
more money you have, the harder it is
to carry, leaving people to rethink
prosperity in their lives.
Links Used:
•http://business-news.thestreet.com/morning-sun/story/higher-gas-pricesdig-into-american-prosperity-opinion/11079175
•http://www.wmicentral.com/opinion/editorials/money-can-t-buy-youeconomic-prosperity/article_5edd7fb2-6540-11e0-b410001cc4c002e0.html
•http://www.care2.com/causes/politics/blog/the-path-to-prosperity-backselderly-poor/