Today, we went to the Chicago Federal Reserve Money museum for our Econ. Fundamentals class.
We watched a video about the federal reserve and the different things they do. Then we had a speaker talk to
us and gave us interesting statistics and stories. For example, he talked about
how the government spent trillions like it was nothing. Then he gave us alot of scenarios putting
a trillion dollars in to perspective, and burning an image in our mind of how far a trillion dollars
can go and last. Yet, the government can spend trillions of dollars in a matter of days. He also touched
on some other things that we are studying and learning about in class such as: the recession, depression,
debt ceiling, sub-prime loans, and the big question whose to blame. We got to do a lot of fun activities
and learn about new things at the same time. I learned that we shred millions of dollars every day
and we also print a lot of money everyday, wasting tons of ink.
FIELD EXPERIENCE QUESTIONS
1. Why was the invention of paper-like money so important?
The invention of paper-like money in America was very important. Before America had it’s own money they used
English, Spanish, and French currency. During the revolutionary war, they used paper money to finance the war and backed the
paper money up by assumptions of the money returning through tax revenues. This is similar to money is suppose to be backed
up by gold but it isn’t.
2. What are some of the ways our lives would be different if we had a barter system today?
The barter system has a lot of pros and cons but is very different from our current system. The advantage of the barter system
include not wasting paper, which we shred later. Also, the fact that now in the economy money has no real worth because it is no
longer backed by actual gold. With bartering, we wouldn’t have to worry about backing up what your buying because your trade would assure that
you and the person you are trading with are getting an even deal. The disadvantage of bartering is that it makes negotiations difficult.
3. Would you favor the U.S. copying any ideas from other countries for use on our currency?
I would not favor the U.S. copying any ideas from other countries for use on our currency. I think that a countries currency
system tells you a lot about the countries leaders and their culture. Different countries money shows their landmarks,
leaders, history, and style. The U.S. money tells you about our important landmarks, leaders, and founding fathers.
