The debt we pass down to future generations will de-incentivize them

M-O-N-E-Y & Influence

By Nancy Salvato
Friday, September 18, 2009

If you want that girl Listen, son Don’t you sit around and cry Because, love In this world Ain’t nothing you can’t buy
—Lyle Lovett, Money

Money may not really buy love or make the world go round, but it certainly does help society to function efficiently. Money, which is assigned a value, is the item of exchange we use if we want to purchase something.

The work we do to earn money is also assigned a value and the amount something costs reflects the value in producing or developing it. Most people would agree that the reward of money is the incentive they need to invest their time and labor into many of the tasks that demand their attention. While there may be additional reasons for applying ourselves to projects, a surplus of money allows us more freedom to devote our energy to additional pursuits.

In answering whether money is the root of all evil, Ayn Rand wrote, “Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?â€