Money, Two

Money has three main uses. First, and most important, it is a medium of exchange–that is, something people will accept for their goods or services. Without a medium of exchange, people would have to trade their goods or services directly for other goods or services.

Such trading, called barter, can take much time. A modern, industrial country could not function without a medium of exchange.

A second use of money is that it serves as a unit of account. People state the price of goods and services in terms of money. In Switzerland, for example, people use francs to specify price, just as they use hours to express time and kilometres to measure distance.

A third use of money is as a store of wealth. People can save money and then use it to make purchases in the future. Other stores of wealth include gold, jewels, paintings, property, and stocks and bonds.

Euros, Dollars, Pounds

13. Would you like your country to adopt the Euro (or the dollar, or Sterling) as legal tender? Or if your country uses the Euro, do they like it?

14. Do workers in your country exchange their wages or salaries for dollars or Euros? Do people in other countries exchange their currencies for your currency?

15. Do people keep the national currency, or Dollars, Pounds or Euros? Which is the favourite or most “desirable” currency?

16. Why have the UK, Sweden and Denmark refused to join the Euro single currency?

17. Are there (many) exchange offices in your city? What currencies are exchanged? Why are there (so many) exchange offices?

18. Are some transactions in your country (e.g. for rent, property, real estate) made in dollars or euros?

19. In the future, the dollar and euro will collapse . . . and the RMB will become the world’s reserve currency. What do you think?

Society

20. It is considered taboo to ask someone about their income and personal wealth. Yes or no?

21. Would you rather marry someone rich or upper-middle class who you didn’t truly love; or someone you truly loved but was working class or poor?

22. Men (secretly) desire young, beautiful, sexy women; women (secretly) desire rich, powerful men.

23. After health, money is the most important thing in life. Do you agree? Which is more important, love or money? Money or happiness? Money or friends?

24. Who is more respected or admired, a university educated, but poor writer or teacher; or a plumbing contractor who had dropped out of high-school?

25. Too many people buy things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, to be accepted by people they don’t really care about. What do you think?