Prices And Money Supply Essay, Research Paper

Prices, money, knowledge, and technology may not seem that they should be together, but all of the terms connect in one category. Money is a big issue when talking about prices in the past and present. Knowledge and technology are important, too.

Charts and graphs comparing prices of food and other items can be astonishing at what it brings forth. In 1915, the price of bread was at seven cents. Right now, if you go to your local grocery store, you can find a loaf of bread for about a dollar. That is most likely the lowest price available for a loaf of bread. The price has doubled fourteen times or has increased by 1328 percent- startling.

The percent change in wages is not even close to the percent change of prices on foods. The minimum wage in 1938 was twenty-five cents; today the minimum wage is at $5.15. The percent increase is exactly 1960 percent. There is a 500 percent difference in prices than wages. This means you can buy more items with the same amount of money today, than you could before.

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In 1910, the money supply was at 3,148,000,000; in 1994, it was at 371,466,000,000. The percent increase is approximately 11700 percent. As you can see, the percent increase of the money supply is greater than the percent increase of prices, 10372 percent larger. This is where knowledge and technology come in to play. Technology has increased greatly, therefore letting producing become more competent. Technology would not be possible without having knowledge which makes technology expand, helping companies all over the world.

For example, the assembly line has lowered car prices greatly. It cuts the hours of making a car. Robots have been replacing humans throughout the world. The reason for replacing humans with robots is that robots do not work for money; they are programmed to run. This is only one of the many examples of technology and knowledge used wisely.

If knowledge and technology had not occurred, prices on all sorts of items would be multiplied. The example of the assembly line is perfect for explaining this concept. Let’s say robots were never made and humans are put in the robots position. Humans do not work for free, they work for a fee. As told before, robots work for nothing. The company who is making the cars has to charge more to make up for the lose of money. Therefore, prices would be greater if technology and knowledge had not occurred.

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Altogether, The numbers can be confusing. The bottom line is knowledge and technology are the main cause of prices not doubling. The study of the effects of prices from the money supply can reveal many interesting facts. If you want more information on this subject you can go to your local library, get on the Internet, or wherever the information may be. This is a great topic to do research on and should be studied by everyone.