The Value of Money

Everyone know that the world runs on a term called "Money". However, what is this "money" that people speak of? And how/why did it become such a powerful object that can run the world?

Money is, according to Merriam-Webster, something (such as coins or bills) used as a way to pay for good and services and to pay people for their work. Although this is the actual definition of what money is, I believe that there is more to the word Money than its definition. 

Since the end of bartering, Money served as the medium of exchange for all goods and services. As governments from all around the world created their own money (currencies) they assign values to this currencies and call it money. The value that society has placed on these currencies is what makes the currencies have meaning. It does not matter if the currency is just a piece of paper with ink on it, as long as everyone believe that that paper is worth a certain value, then it becomes more than just a piece of paper with ink on it. 

In the Zeitgeist Film, many people discussed the value of money to be depended on the supply and demand of the money. As the supply of money is increased, the value of money is decreased. This can be seen in real life as inflation to the currency. Inflation causes the value of the currency to decrease because the supply of it is much too high without any measure to back up the increase in value. The ones that control the supply and demand of money is usually the nation's Federal Bank. For this group of people to have the power to control the value of money is unthinkable...however in reality, it is this group of people that actually control the value of money. The Federal Bank can create money and destroy money whenever they feel the need to do so. This is the value of money, those that are in power to control how much worth a piece of paper with ink on it. 

                      

Hawaii - The Aloha State

Roughly 1,500 years ago, Polynesians from the Marquesas Islands first set foot on Hawaii Island. With only the stars to guide them, they miraculously sailed over 2000 miles in canoes to migrate to the Island of Hawaii. 

500 years later, settlers from Tahiti arrived, bringing their beliefs in gods and demi-gods and instituting a strict social hierarchy based on a Kapu (taboo) system. Hawaiian culture flourished over the centuries, giving rise to the art of the hula and the sport of surfing, but land division conflicts between ruling chieftains were common. 

In 1791, North Kohala born Kamehameha united the warring factions of Hawaii Island and went on to unify all of the Hawaiian Islands into one royal kingdom in 1810. In 1819, less than a year after King Kamehameha's death, his son, Liholiho, abolished the ancient Kapu system.

In 1820, the first Protestant missionaries arrived on Hawaii Island filling the void left after the end of the Kapu system. Hawaii became a port for seamen, traders and whalers. The whaling industry boom flourished in Lahaina Harbor in Maui. Throughout these years of growth, western disease took a heavy toll on the Native Hawaiian population.

Western influence continued to grow and in 1893, American Colonists who controlled much of Hawaii's economy overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom in a peaceful, yet still controversial coup. In 1898, Hawaii became a territory of the United States.