People are silly creatures. When discussing inflation and growth, Wheelan states, "Your salary will have most likely gone up 10 percent as well, but so will have the price of everything you buy. It's the economic equivalent o f swapping a $10 bill for ten $1 bills - it looks good in your wallet, but you're not any richer"(194). His example reminds me of a story about a child and his father I heard a few years back. The father gave his son a dollar and was told to do with it what he wanted. The son found a man and traded him four quarters for the dollar and went back to his father proud of his accomplishment to make four out of one. Upon telling his unimpressed father, he went back to the man to trade him for more yet. He traded him his four quarters for ten dimes and returned to his father to show him his greater wealth. Once again his father was not impressed. Angered by the lack of pride his father took in his accomplishment, the son went back once more to the man and traded him his ten dimes for one hundred pennies. Determined to impress his father, the boy came to him and said, "Look father! I have one hundred pennies. You gave me but one dollar and I have turned it into one hundred coins!" And the father responded by only shaking his head.
Likewise, I feel the average person would rather have greater inventory of a sum rather than the same sum in smaller quantity. Personally, I would rather have the same sum in a smaller quantity for organizational purposes, but to each their own.
In addition, growth is good and bad. Take the example of a child. When he is small, he wishes to become tall enough to ride Thunder Mountain and dreams of the twists and turns it takes just beyond his grasp. However, when he is older (and several feet taller), he wishes to shrink down to that small size he retained as a child so he would be able to reach behind that small area behind his dresser without moving it. I have heard adulthood compared to that of a dog in a car. "Adulthood is like the vet, and we're all the dogs that were excited for the car ride until we realized where we're going" -Unknown
Adulthood can be compared to the economy. The economy is booming and everything seems to be going great! Well, then the crash of 1929 occurs and the Great Depression sets in. Similarly, you hit your prime and feel great, but then comes the back pain, the arthritis, and the bunions and you wish you could go back to when you were a child and all of your issues were cared for by your parents. Obviously I'm speaking from my parents viewpoints and adults whose stories I listen to as I am still technically a child, but I have decided to take heed and savor life before it gets more complicated.
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