Jadyn Hanson

I enjoyed your take on Francisco's money speech. Because money is such a significant part of life, I believe many people have strong opinions on it. I believe the statement that money is the root of all evil is incorrect, but that it can lead to evil. I believe that money becomes an issue when it becomes an idol or causes someone to become greedy. Greed in my opinion is the root of all evil. I agree that overtime, the obsession and idolization of money has caused great chaos and it can cause people to behave wrong. What I ultimately concluded from what Francisco writes is that money contains great power. It has the power to influence and change people's behaviors and motives.

Money is a necessary commodity in order for the world to operate correctly. Without currency there would be no common way to exchange goods and services. Money also allows people to showcase how hard they can work, and how intelligent they are. Francesco words this well when stating:

“Money rests on the axiom that every man is the owner of his mind and his effort. Money allows no power to prescribe the value of your effort except the voluntary choice of the man who is willing to trade you his effort in return”(Raud, p.1, 2020).

I believe that many people have lost sight of how money operates in the United States. People are demanding more than they are willing to work for. We have seen this through the demand for a higher minimum wage for simple jobs. The world is increasingly becoming more greedy and demanding of wealth with no contribution. While the dollar bill stands as the unit exchange, the value of the dollar continues to decrease. I enjoyed your last paragraphs about the efficiency of the dollar bill. I believe it is important that people work for the money they make and understand its true purpose. Bylund brings up a great point when he explains the determination of cost, and how bidding can increase the value of exchange. (Bylund, p. 22, 2016).

Money ultimately can be used for both good and bad. Money's purpose is to serve as a unit of exchange. The love of money and temptation of greed can cause many people to behave evil. I believe this is because money holds needed power. How people choose to use this power is a reflection of who they are not what money is. Knowledge ultimately is the true power and I believe the more knowledge one obtains, the more likely they are to obtain money.