Today I conquered the Angry Whopper. Two burger patties. Jalapenos. Cheese. Angry, angry onions. So hot. So spicy. So good.
The Angry Whopper was merciful in defeat. However, I still await the Revenge of the Whopper. Just in case.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
let's try this
1. People need certain stuff, like food. They learn how to grow food and become pretty good at it.
2. Some people realize they're better at making clothes than food, and that other people make way better food than them. They start to focus on making clothes, and then trade some of the clothes for food.
3. The people who make clothes realize they also want an iPod. But the people who make iPods don't want the clothes, they want duct tape. The people with the clothes can't get any duct tape. But they find out that the people with the duct tape want French poetry books. They trade clothes for French poetry books, which they trade for iPods. Then the iPod people trade the French poetry books for the duct tape they want. Everybody is happy.
4. Eventually people realize that although French poetry is a very desired commodity, gold is easier to carry around and divide into smaller parts. People sell the things they make for gold, and then sell the gold for things they want.
5. Some people discover a new gold mine. All of a sudden, there is twice as much gold in the town (they have a town now) as before. Everyone doubles their prices because of all the new big spenders. At first, it's difficult or the people who didn't find the new gold, but eventually, through trade, it spreads around to everyone.
6. Everyone is really happy. They make things that they think other people in the town will want. They sell these things for gold. Then they sell the gold they got for their products for stuff they want.
7. Then something bad happens. The town is attacked by a group of wolves. The townspeople decide they need to provide for their common defence. They form a government to oversee it.
8. Unfortunately, the government cannot tax the people enough to support all of the expensive anti-wolf equipment it wants. It doesn't want the people to hate it and pick a different government, so it says the government should control the currency, in order to defend against the wolves. Then, it says all the gold will be stored, to protect it from the wolves, in a heavily guarded tent. The government gives out pieces of paper it says represent the gold.
9. The government decides that to afford the new anti-wolf moat it wants, it needs more money. Instead of taxing the people, it gives itself some new pieces of paper. The new paper doesn't exactly represent gold in the tent, but it's ok, because it represents a certain percentage.
10. The government starts to make a lot of paper that it uses as money to buy stuff. Prices in the town start to go up because the government has more money to spend, and it gives some of it to its favorite people in the town. The people who make things think that there are now more people who want more things that cost more, so they make those. They go to the bank to take out loans because they think that it will pay off later because of all the new spenders in the market.
11. The government realizes it can't keep making pieces of fake money, because prices are going up too much, and the people are starting to come to the tent to ask for their money back. They can't give them their money because they gave too much of it away to other towns when they spent the fake money. They stop giving away money to their friends.
12. All of a sudden, there are less people spending money. The producers who assumed that there would continue to be a lot of people spending money in the future cannot sell their new, more expensive products and can't pay back the loans they took out.
13. There are lots of people in debt, and the banks are wary of giving out loans for new investments because they are not sure if anyone can pay them back.
14. There is a depression.
I'm just experimenting, but I think this is exactly what always happens to the economy. Thoughts?
2. Some people realize they're better at making clothes than food, and that other people make way better food than them. They start to focus on making clothes, and then trade some of the clothes for food.
3. The people who make clothes realize they also want an iPod. But the people who make iPods don't want the clothes, they want duct tape. The people with the clothes can't get any duct tape. But they find out that the people with the duct tape want French poetry books. They trade clothes for French poetry books, which they trade for iPods. Then the iPod people trade the French poetry books for the duct tape they want. Everybody is happy.
4. Eventually people realize that although French poetry is a very desired commodity, gold is easier to carry around and divide into smaller parts. People sell the things they make for gold, and then sell the gold for things they want.
5. Some people discover a new gold mine. All of a sudden, there is twice as much gold in the town (they have a town now) as before. Everyone doubles their prices because of all the new big spenders. At first, it's difficult or the people who didn't find the new gold, but eventually, through trade, it spreads around to everyone.
6. Everyone is really happy. They make things that they think other people in the town will want. They sell these things for gold. Then they sell the gold they got for their products for stuff they want.
7. Then something bad happens. The town is attacked by a group of wolves. The townspeople decide they need to provide for their common defence. They form a government to oversee it.
8. Unfortunately, the government cannot tax the people enough to support all of the expensive anti-wolf equipment it wants. It doesn't want the people to hate it and pick a different government, so it says the government should control the currency, in order to defend against the wolves. Then, it says all the gold will be stored, to protect it from the wolves, in a heavily guarded tent. The government gives out pieces of paper it says represent the gold.
9. The government decides that to afford the new anti-wolf moat it wants, it needs more money. Instead of taxing the people, it gives itself some new pieces of paper. The new paper doesn't exactly represent gold in the tent, but it's ok, because it represents a certain percentage.
10. The government starts to make a lot of paper that it uses as money to buy stuff. Prices in the town start to go up because the government has more money to spend, and it gives some of it to its favorite people in the town. The people who make things think that there are now more people who want more things that cost more, so they make those. They go to the bank to take out loans because they think that it will pay off later because of all the new spenders in the market.
11. The government realizes it can't keep making pieces of fake money, because prices are going up too much, and the people are starting to come to the tent to ask for their money back. They can't give them their money because they gave too much of it away to other towns when they spent the fake money. They stop giving away money to their friends.
12. All of a sudden, there are less people spending money. The producers who assumed that there would continue to be a lot of people spending money in the future cannot sell their new, more expensive products and can't pay back the loans they took out.
13. There are lots of people in debt, and the banks are wary of giving out loans for new investments because they are not sure if anyone can pay them back.
14. There is a depression.
I'm just experimenting, but I think this is exactly what always happens to the economy. Thoughts?
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