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Showing posts with the label Micronesia

Just my thoughts #0572

Most people study in school, yet the education system does not provide financial education. Even though it doesn’t take long for us to realize that finance is an essential element of survival, isn’t it strange that schools don’t offer financial education? Economic activity is a power game where someone wins and someone loses. One person’s loss is another’s gain, and my sacrifice is someone else’s fortune. In other words, economic activity embodies the harsh reality of deciding between discomfort and the uncertain odds of a game that determines who occupies a position, even though that position has already been predetermined. This issue is further exacerbated by the fact that people have different productive capacities and society mandates that the means of value exchange is cash (fiat currency). To survive, you must first understand how social systems function. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Just my thoughts #0085

I previously presented the stone currency "Fei" used on the island of Yap in Micronesia, the western Pacific island nation. The "Fei" currency was a round circle, sometimes over 3 meters in diameter and weighing 3.5 tons. The island of Yap had no roads. People went in and out barefoot. Several people carried this money by placing wooden sticks in the center hole of the circle. The island used to belong to Germany when Germany bought the Caroline Islands from Spain. The German government ordered the village chief to repair the path. But the village chief refused the order. A fine had to be imposed, and the heavy stone money could not be confiscated. After much agonizing, the German government marked the stone money with a cross in black paint. In other words, they confiscated the property. Surprisingly, the village head repaired the path and the German government removed the cross. The seizure was lifted. Economic value is personalized through ownership. The key to o...

Just my thoughts #0080

There is a country of 607 islands in the West Pacific, Micronesia. One of the islands, “Yap Islands,” used limestone as a currency. The monetary unit is “fei”. Big stones, oh no, big money, 3.6 meters in diameter and weighed 3.5 tons. The bigger and heavier is a more expensive price, because of the harder the carving. The peculiar thing was that when the people moved the stone for trading, they directly moved it with a canoe, and no one marked the money after the transaction. In the meantime, a rich man had to deal with someone and he met the storm while carrying the stone money in a canoe. Securing his survival, he had to throw his money out of the canoe into the water. When he met the counterparty with an empty hand, no sooner did they confirm the force majeure case than the counterparty confirmed that the villagers additionally recognized the value of the sunk money in the water and approved the transaction. Then, the existence of the sunk stone money was recorded on a wooden board,...