Rome had a system where slaves did the manual labor, but also earned wages so that they could eventually become citizens. We have robots in this day and age that have and can COMPLETELY remove the manual labor aspect of society. but then money would be worthless, because everyone could have food, shelter, amenities, etc. for free. Which doesn't make rich people feel good about THEIR wealth. systems are designed to propagate themselves, but when has there been a SINGLE system that has without a doubt not been changed?
We use fiat currency today, and before that it was dollars backed by gold. before that, bank notes that could be exchanged for worth. The romans and most other primitive yet sophisticated societies used coins which held their own value as denoted by the government. Tribes used to use barter, and before that, the hunter-gatherers survived by "hunting", and "gathering" what they needed and moving on before an area became unusable. So, why do we still use currency? The system hasn't collapsed yet. It'll happen soon, either hyper-inflation, or out-right socialism. Every dollar they "pump" into the US economy is NOT helping the problem. It is devaluing your savings, because the more of something there is around, the less rare it is, and therefore the lower its cost to procure.
Goods hold their own value against the dollar, not the other way around. prices don't go up, the value of your money is going down. A loaf of bread at the supermarket is $2.00, and an ounce of gold is $1,400.00. Bread prices seemed to be going up too. does that mean the value of wheat and other foods are going up too? imagining that gold is the standard, and seeing as its "value" continues to rise(this is a lie, the value of the dollar is going down which makes it seem to be increasing.) Ask yourself, is there more or less gold in circulation in today's age? There are a few gold mines still pumping out gold, so the supply HAS to be increasing. why is the value going up? Perhaps because the economy is failing? That is a catchall phrase for people who underestimate the machinations of our economic system.
our money value is designed to go down continually, in the understanding that stagnant supplies of currency is bad for population increase. But I've strayed. The reason we have money, and as part of it, a system of economics, is to regulate the supply of goods and services. one without money cannot procure said items, and one with Bill Gates-esque amounts can do as they please. how does one make several billion dollars? by taking that money out of circulation. and how does one continue to use money that is out of circulation? There is a theory that the money will be used right away, but that is a lie. how many people do YOU know spend exactly their savings within several weeks of getting it?
Most put the money in banks, under the idea that your "money" is safe there. or even that you can make money by keeping it in their hands. if you are extremely experienced with speculation and economy, which usually means you have VERY LARGE SUMS OF MONEY ALREADY, then yes, this is a good way to gather even more. but the continuation of money and circulation when companies have billions or even trillions of dollars is through the credit system, which brings in money through interest. Interest accrues through transactions, and is the lowest-powered money you can find. it isn't actually worth anything,but it IS a promise to pay someone something, and a little extra for the transaction holder who pays first. This post is too long as it is, though, so I'll leave on this note. Fiat economies have no boundaries for money value. inflation occurs no matter what you do, and is only sped up by banks and government bailouts. printing more money is what took out Germany's economy, along with gross debts. taking that as a DIRECT example, exactly how much "money" do we owe a certain superpower nation to the west in the US? China is playing with their economy to increase the value of their dollar by subsidization to make our debts to them worth even more, even as our ability to pay them back lessens with the dollar's value. check out www.zeitgeistmovie.com if you want something in-depth.