The city of sin

April 9, 2009 0 Comments
Here I am in Las-Vegas.

This place is very strange.

First of all there was the drive.
We decided to leave in the afternoon, and so went through the mountains at night, and it was very cold. However there was plenty of passing through civilization, so no big deal.

We got into Nevada around day break...
Bad idea.

As soon as you enter Nevada civilization as we know it ceases to exist.
There are tiny towns throughout the plains to the north. And the tiny towns fall under one of two categories.

1) A few businesses on a dusty road,
These are the kind of places a person like me fears walking around in.
These are the places where manly men are, the kind of place where you just know a person like me wont fit in.
We passed a place called bobo's bar. Outside the only vehicles were ...
read more

What is a bank

April 2, 2009 1 Comment

There are a few concepts that need to be covered:

  • Wealth
  • Money
  • Monetary Policy
  • Banks


Wealth is the actual value owned by individuals. For a given individual wealth is relative. Perhaps you like shoes, and I like jackets, so I trade my shoes for your jacket. By trading these items, we have each become wealthier; however the wealth of the society has remained the same.

The wealth of the society can be measured as the average value held for each good or service multiplied by the quantity of those trade-ables. From this it is obvious that the only way to increase the wealth of the society at large is to offer a service or make a new good.

Trades become complicated if we're only bartering. Suppose I have shoes and I need a jacket, but the jacket maker doesn't need shoes she needs a sewing needle, but the ...

read more