The Power of a Dollar

I used to teach high school economics, and there was a point in the course where I’d take a dollar out of my wallet and hold it up.  It was a moment when everyone in the class paid attention.  There was unnatural quiet. The girl over by the windows who was penning a billet-doux to her boyfriend lifted her head.  The boy in the back row awakened, and the kid who was trying to finish math homework due next period lost his train of thought.  Everyone looked at the money. 

My point was the dollar was only a piece of paper, a medium of exchange that facilitated the flow of goods and services in the economy, but the reaction gave that theory the lie. Cash has mystical properties.  Handling money can actually ease pain.  I have this fact from that noted fogy source, AARP Magazine.  Asleep, we dream of finding money; awake we work for it, gamble for it, and sometimes steal it.  Misers hoard it, and everyone likes a healthy bank balance. 

A dollar bill like the one I was holding has utility, but that’s an economic aspect, not a magical one. It’s a device, a tool, a convenience, something to avoid the cumbersomeness of barter. It shouldn’t be more. Saint Paul tells us, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” (1^st Timothy 6:10)

Recently I was reading a comparison between small and large businesses.  Having owned a small business, I confess my prejudice.  The article noted that large businesses have stronger buying power and can offer goods for a lower price.  The writer concluded that this settled the matter; big businesses are better than small.

The economics of scale was something I taught my high school students, but the value we get from a purchase may be more than the ownership of the thing.  When I go into Charley’s Hardware in North Plymouth, I say hello to the owner, not a hired greeter.  I deal with intelligent adults who know who I am. If I ask for something, it’s brought to the counter, so I don’t have to walk a mile to look for it.  I can pat the dog and discuss town politics or the weather.  I have continuity with the past.  To me that’s worth quite a bit. I’m sure the Apostle wasn’t instructing me to waste my dollars.  He just meant I should keep my priorities in order.