Money when considered as the fruit of many years' industry, as the reward of labor, sweat and toil, is not to be sported with, or trusted to, the airy bubble of paper currency." ~Thomas Paine (1757-1809)
(Related to "Wise Words For Government Leaders.")
What Is Money?
As I grow The Sales Whisperer® by helping other businesses grow and I witness and experience the headwinds to success both intentionally and unwittingly thrust upon us by, at best ignorant, and at worst, destructive, politicians I realize it's time once again to clarify for the record:
- What is money?
- What is the purpose of business?
Money is nothing more than a medium of exchange, a store of value. It is a representation of the value one has provided to society.
In bygone eras men were forced to barter. One raised sheep, one grew wheat, one raised chicken, another honey bees and we all went to market and traded.
If the shepherd stayed up later at night to protect his sheep and walked farther to recover a stray or learned how to throw spears or sling rocks at wolves he had more sheep to take to market. He, therefore, had more wool, more meat, more mile for cheese or just sheep to trade. He was richer because of his hard work.
Fast forward to the age of banking and rather than take the wheat down the road to market and risk injuries, delays, theft, etc. the wheat farmer would deposit his grain in the temple where the farmer would be given a "note" that verified his deposits. He could then trade those "notes" for other goods on deposit in other temples.
Corruption of Real Money
Corrupt men quickly figured out it was easy to fake or counterfeit a "note" and impossible to fake the appearance of bushels of wheat or baskets of eggs, which is why nations required gold and silver be on deposit to back up and support the notes the temples and later banks issued. That's what Thomas Paine was referring to 250 years ago.
You and I work hard and our efforts are rewarded by clients giving us their money. When governments undermine the value of money by creating artificial inflation, removing the backing of gold and flooding the market with electronic money they make with the flick of a computer program they are literally robbing from us, the entrepreneurs, the business owners, the doers.
The Purpose of Business?
So what is the purpose and obligation of business? The purpose of business is to meet the needs of the marketplace. Its obligation is to create as a high a return on investment for the owner / shareholders as legally, morally and ethically possible.
When a business is profitable it means it is making products and/or providing services that are in demand by the marketplace. It means it is serving the needs of mankind.
When a business is profitable it means it is efficient in doing the aforementioned.
When the owner(s) of a business make money they can use it in one of the following ways:
- burn it to light their cigars or wipe their rears (this is what many "Progressives" and Socialists incorrectly think the wealthy do with their money.)
- stick it under their mattresses. (Some put some away like this but they don't put much away like this.)
- spend it frivolously. (who defines "frivolous?") But at least it's being put back into the economy, even if it's for facelifts for their cats and air conditioned dog houses for Fido.
- invest it in bonds so cities can build more bridges or stocks so companies can expand and hire.
- reinvest it in their own business so they can expand and hire.
So you can see how good it is for businesses to make a profit and how evil it is for non-business-owning lifelong politicians to make laws they never have to live and produce under.
Entrepreneurial Pride Is a Good Thing
Take pride in your business, your work, your products, your services, your income, your profits, your investments and your fat portfolio. Without business, without commerce, without capitalism the world will be run by caring and loving dictators.
Ask North Koreans and Cubans and East Germans how that has worked out for them.
Now go sell something.
