Melvin the Moon Man, Monopoly and Money

I really don’t remember what made me think of this old board game from 1959, but I did, and it brought back some great memories. I was about 4 years old at the time, and apart from “Candyland”, this is the first board game which I remember playing. Monopoly and Scrabble were staples in my home, but I was way too young to understand those games. My parents, like so many in the 1950’s, had friends over on Saturday nights to play games like Parcheesi and Monopoly. It seems that no one does that anymore.

The point of the game was to traverse the board, which is a replica of the moon’s surface; complete with craters; accumulating “Moonbucks” as you went along. Movement around the board was controlled by a dice cage which tumbled two dice which determined how many spaces your “spaceman” could move. At the end of the game the astronaut with the most money was the winner. I actually learned to count on this game, which used denomination of ones and fives for currency. 

When I say that I learned to count, I don’t mean to imply that I was stacking up bills like the banker at a blackjack table, but I did learn to count the pieces of paper I accumulated in my rounds. I think my brother and I counted all the bills as ones to determine the winner. He may have been older than me, but at 5 and a half he couldn't count any better that I could at 4, so it all worked out.

Anyway, I was thinking about the Melvin the Moon Man and the Moonbucks used in the game; probably in a subconscious response to the news about the Federal Budget and deficits. I kind of believe that money is an abstract, with no intrinsic value of its own, after all there isn't enough money; or even precious metals; in the world to cover all of the expenditures we have made and now owe money for.

 Well, what is money? It’s merely a system by which we keep count of our transactions. When the Indians ruled the continent they used wampum, a certain pinkish part of shell which they all agreed was “special”, and therefore valuable. That’s what we need today; something which we can all agree upon to accept in exchange for the goods and services which we use. So, I advocate the “point system”.

Simply put, since there is not enough real money to go around, we need to create some without risking inflation, or loss of wealth to anyone who already has that attribute. It’s an admirable thing to create wealth; just as it is equally despicable to prevent those less fortunate from surviving in a decent manner.

Remember Monopoly? I always liked that game; you got $1,500 to start out with. It came from the “bank” which, presumably, just printed it. We did this aboard ship one time and actually had to “print” our own additional bills to cover the $1,500 for all of the players. Different caliber bullets were used in place of the different pieces which came with the game. If you had one of the real pieces, it meant you had been in from the start, or else purchased your place at the table from another player. That was usually a cigarette - left or right handed – both were accepted as currency.

Simply put, doing away with “real” money; which has no real value, being backed by nothing; and replacing it with Moonbucks or Monopoly money would be a viable answer to almost every problem imaginable.  That this can all be done without bankrupting anyone, or redistributing anyone’s private wealth makes it all the more attractive as a solution.

Under this plan, all debts would be reduced to zero. There would be no balances left on credit cards. This will put people at risk of bankruptcy on an even keel, and spark some buying amongst the people who have been waiting out the “recession” before buying that new car or truck. People who own their homes get to keep them, but must keep paying the mortgage. People with equity get to retain their equity. People who rent and are in debt would get debt forgiveness and a stipend of about $25,000 in Moonbucks, or Monopoly money to start them off.

Just think about it before you laugh. I am not advocating socialism, communism, or any other “ism” for that matter. I’m just trying to let everyone know that money is only valuable as long as we all agree to accept it as such. Meaning that money; when not backed by enough “precious” metals; is worthless, just as Moonbucks or Monopoloy money is. It only has purchasing power because you have it.

For those afraid that most people would choose not to work; be assured that their 25,000 “points” would cover the necessary expenses to keep those people out of poverty without costing you a cent. If they do decide to work, they get to add to that, increasing their purchasing power. Rich people remain rich without the necessity of having people living in the streets, or families without a roof over their heads.

Taxes would be a thing of the past as they are currently levied; you could go to a fee based economy instead; with those who work using their points towards roads and transportation to get them to work. The ones who choose to remain at home would still have access to light rail and buses which would be manned by the same people who man them now. So, if you have money, or a job, or both; you’re not threatened in anyway.

Well, it will probably never happen; although I do believe that it is the only alternative left. We have tried everything else to no avail, and the catchphrase “There has to be a certain amount of poor people for there to be rich people” is just not true. Imagine, under my plan, you could actually cut out the “money” printed here and spend it. Laugh if you will, but Melvin would understand. 

"Wind at My Back" - A Mini-Series with Shirley Douglas, Kathryn Greenwood and Dylan Provencher

When the Depression forces Jack and Honey Bailey to close their hardware store, they move the family to Jack's hometown of New Bedford, where Jack's family owns a silver mine. Jack is killed in an accident shortly after the family's arrival, forcing Honey to move her 2 boys, along with their 2 year old sister, in with her domineering mother-in-law. She is unwelcome in the home and goes to Ontario, searching for work in order to re-unite her family.

Much of the action in this series takes place in Ontario, which, like the rest of the world, was going through the roughest days of the Great Depression. Distraught by the recent passing of her husband, as well as her inability to land even the most menial job, combine to tear Honey apart.

Meantime, her two boys, who have now been separated from their younger sister, are struggling to come to terms with their over bearing Grandmother, who is now planning to separate the boys. Running away to rejoin their mother proves fruitless, but the boys desire to be with her softens, ever so slightly, the Grandmother's heart of ice, and a tenative truce is worked out, whereby the boys will be able to see their mother on a limited basis.

As the story progresses, old family disagreements resurface. These disagreements must be met and conquered if the family is ever to be united as one. Wonderful acting by all, especially the two boys and their mother, have you pulling for them to make it work out, against all the odds which confront them.

Beautiful camera work, along with the scenery, and accurate depiction of every detail of the era in which the story takes place, make this a very textured, and poignant piece of work.

Can't wait to pick up the second volume.

The Bus

I can think of nothing that says "I am completely out of touch with the people" more than this bus does. Aside from the cost of this behemouth, the excuses of security and privacy are bogus when you consider that this bus is being lead, and followed by, other security vehicles, fully equipped to handle just about anything that may come up. And let's not forget the air cover. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is coming within 50 feet of this bus.

I think the President inherited a lousy job, with every thing imaginable going wrong, even before he took office. But I have to tell you that I am sorely disappointed with his Presidency. Having lost control of his own party in Congress, while holding a majority in the Senate, and still getting nothing done which was promised in 2008, I do not think that I would be re-miss in stating that he just might need this bus after all!

I believe the American people need to demand that all of the former Presidents, who are still living today, form a committee to work in tandem and undo the mess which they have helped to create. A team composed of these former presidents, who are still all on the payroll, would represent both parties, and may be the only way to end the partisan politics and gridlock which are bringing America to its knees. It is an unusual solution to be sure, but then again, these are unusual times.

P.S. I just saw that the 2 buses- there are 2 buses- were made in Canada, while the President travels the country preaching job creation. You cannot make this stuff up! Robert / Wednesday / August 17, 2011

Gasoline - Rising Prices, Same Old Schemes

There is a new scheme making the rounds on the Internet to force the oil companies to lower their prices. It is, of course, pure folly. It is a variation on the old "don't buy gas for a day" protest that has been circulating for years now. This one was supposedly "thunk up" by a retired Coca Cola executive, probably the one who was responsible for the idea of changing Coca Cola a few years back, only to be forced to re-introduce "Classic" Coke when the plan failed.

Sorry to tell you, but it won't work- most of us don't buy Exxon or Mobil directly to begin with. I use a local station that charges a few cents less per gallon. If everyone stops buying from Exxon-Mobil, then Exxon-Mobil's cost of providing a gallon of gas will rise, and they will pass it on. The smaller companies, seeing a rise in their customer demand for fuel will do exactly as Exxon-Mobil would do, raise the prices in lockstep with one another. Besides which, gasoline is what is known as a fungible commodity, that is, one which is transferrable. So boycotting one company will do little more than cause the fuel not sold by that company to be bought by another company, and the cost of the transfer will go directly to the consumer, compounding the problem. Here is the link to the "scheme" and the analysis of it on Snopes.com;

http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp

The same thing is happening all over the country now with water bills. The less you use - the more you pay- due to the added cost of having water treatment plants. The cost to run one is static, no matter the quantity of clean water produced and consumed. The only alternative is rationing, car pooling or getting a sense of urgency about developing alternative fuels that equals the way we got back in the car market after Japan blindsided us in the 1970's. (None of this happened after 9/11 so don't expect it to happen now.)

At this point, I would have to say that we are dancing to the fiddler's tune. Until the day that we are all willing to ration our use of gasoline, or car pool, as the country did in World War Two; the prices will continue to rise as an ever growing populace struggles to compete with an ever shrinking resource. Not to mention the politics, and money, involved.

In the meantime my 1996 Mitsubishi gets 30 mpg and has 195,000 miles on it. Long may she run!