My entry for the Review Game's February 2011 Writing Challenge Contest. The prompt: change something. Some folks didn't read the very last part and completely missed the point.

—

The Economics of Money

Money represents a value. It is passed between people or it may be valued for its own sake, though money that is hoarded benefits no one and is ultimately worthless even to to the person holding it. One who is miserly with his money is rightly despised. To be of value, money must be passed between people. The more it flows, the more valuable it becomes, and the better for everyone. The supply of money is limited only by the supply of people who give it value.

Money may be earned or it may be made. Money is earned by doing something something of value for the person giving it. Money is made by reckoning value to the thing itself. Neither is to be despised, for they both increase the wealth of everyone they touch. Money may also be destroyed, principally through the destruction of the thing that stands behind it.

Counterfeit money drives down the value of all money. A person who unwittingly accepts fake money ends up losing everything he thought he gained, plus the time and effort spent to gain it. Those who make and pass fake money are despicable, because they bring even the soundest of money into question.

Those who have money get more money, those poor in money will lose the little they have. So teach your children the value of money. Set a good example. Show them how to get it, how to cherish it, and how to use it to get even more, so that they will have abundance and a rich life. And let them remember the example of your charity. Remember that dark days will come, and money is most valued when times are hard, and charity is most needed.

Money is the ephemeral substance that makes the world go around. There's no such thing as having too much money. Make as much as you can and spread the wealth.

:CHANGE/money/love

(22 changes made)

: