Friday, June 10, 2016

Intrinsic Value


My niece/daughter reminded me of posting this on Facebook.
I'm surprised I didn't blog it.

2014

As part of remodeling my flooded Family Room, I threw out a TV, a 25" cathode ray tube beast that still worked as well as when I bought it.
No one I know wanted it.
Purple Heart wouldn't pick it up.
So I put it out on the street with the trash this morning.
I don't know if they took it, or if someone else got it.

If someone else took it, I'm happy.
That means it had use still and someone was blessed (or cursed) by it.

It means that someone found value in something I found less in.

But it meant that the value of the TV was relative.

A few years ago, it was worth a few hundred bucks to me, but not today.

Did the value of the TV go down or the value of the dollar?

We know the value of the dollar has decreased, but what holds constant value that we could measure the worth of that TV against.
Gold goes up and down relative to the dollar, to oil, to real estate, as does the dollar.
I remember hearing years ago that the value of a new Lincoln was a certain weight of gold in the 20's, and that the same amount of gold would still by a new Lincoln.
Is the new Lincoln a constant, or is gold?

What is a constant, something that will purchase or redeem the same amount of something else, year after year?
I gave it a lot of thought.
OK, I thought about it on the drive home.
I wondered what had value that hasn't changed over the years.
The answer I came up with?

The human soul.
It is still worth the Blood of Jesus.

15 comments:

  1. It's amazing how throwing out an old TV can lead to a praise for our blessed LORD Jesus Christ. Very well done. I'm gonna share that.
    Hope your evening is blessed. ~:)

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  2. All good points Ed, The last I checked the value of the dollar relative to 1913 (When the Fed was created and mandated to grow inflation by 2% per year) is about 10 cents. And really probably less because the numbers out of DC are so far off as to be laughable.

    Anyway, to the main point, we have a big honking heavy CRT monitor. Paid 500 for it. No one would even take it for free. Technological advance is another way they rob you of your wealth. And yes it is managed. Japan has 2 gig per second download speed and the critters over here charge extra for 50 MB download. Whatever it is we're talking about, Americans are getting the shaft.
    And yes, nice turn of an everyday event.

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    Replies
    1. Would as much 1920 gold to buy a Lincoln buy a Lincoln today?

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    2. The price of Gold in 1920 was 20.68 Given it is $1,274 today, I'd say yes it would.

      As far as buying a Lincoln, no thinks. A friend had one recently and with 70k miles on it - it was indicating problems. He took it in and they said the cams were bad and out of warranty so he'd have to pay out the wazoo. 70k/ Hell, a Toyota is hardly broken in by then. My Sienna van had 180k miles on it when I traded it in on a Tundra and have No repairs at all. None. just brakes and oil and tires.
      And my Tundra is # 4 on the American made parts and labor list. F150 is 1, couple 'foreign jobs' 2 and 3, Tundra, then all foreign until # 10 which is the Corvette. Only 2 of the big 3 score in the top 10 of made in America. I'll never buy another big 3 vehicle, but it seems here in Ohio, everybody and their brother either has an f150 or a silverado. And silverado made the top 5 worst vehicles list in 2014...

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    3. My bro thinks his Silverado better than the F he had.
      All my F's have been pre-owned and lasted longgggggggg.
      Now a Ranger.

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    4. Wait a minute! I have a Lincoln. It is a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr and is a great car. It only has 72k miles on it but it still rides great. The old Lincoln Towncar didn't change style or anything else for a decade or so. I always thought it was under powered. So was the Mercury body equivalent )(don't remember the model name). In my opinion they were good cars. So, THERE!

      Great post, Ed.

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  3. I agree....Now about my dads truck......He never complained about his last truck....BUT, this one has four wheel drive.

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  4. This TV I found on your curbside in Ypsi is starting to act up on me - not to mention that my back has never been the same. The thing must weigh a couple tons. Anyways, I have aluminum foil draped from the rabbit ears and all the way up my maple tree out front, but the picture is still very snowy. please come take it back.

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    Replies
    1. I'd come get it, but I no longer have an F-150, only a Ranger, and it doesn't have the load capacity.

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  5. I have a couple of these beasts. Our trash people won't take electronics and I can't find a dump anywhere up to now. When I do, it will no doubt be of value as nothing but trash. But as you say, our value does not change. We are the constant.

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    Replies
    1. Target practice.
      Hook up a VCR with a loop of Hillary speaking and have at it.

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  6. We are the only value that remains constant... sigh...

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