Economics essays

Economics essays In the beginning there was barter, (1) ...people learning to trade the things they had for the things they wanted. What sparked this form of trading was the fact that our earliest ancestors were self-sufficient. Occasionally there were surpluses of one commodity or another, this is how barter flourished, and the most famous example of barter was in 1626 when Peter Minuit traded twenty-four dollars for the island of Manhattan, which in 1998 was assessed at $23.4 billion. As trade became the norm, money came into use. When buyer and sellers agreed on what was acceptable payment, they then could establish a system that assigned different values to coins or other durable and easily transportable items. As early as 2500 B.C. various precious metals such as gold, sliver, and copper were used to pay for goods and services in Egypt and Asia Minor. Now days, a money cycle has been created in America to take old money out of circulation and replaced on a regular basis. The money cycle is run this way: first the Treasury ships new money to the Federal Reserve Banks, then the Federal Reserve Banks and branches distribute the new money to individual banks in their region, once it arrives there the individual banks distributes the money to their customers, including businesses and individuals. The reverse cycle is as follows: the money circulates through the economy, the money is then deposited into banks after it changes hands many times in many countries, from there the banks separate the worn bills and coins and ship them back to their individual Fed branch or bank, then the Fed banks return the old money to the Treasury to be shredded and burned into mulch. The next topic to be discussed was the Federal Reserve System. Described as, (2)...the guardian of the nations money- banker, regulator, controller, and watchdog all rolled into one. As a regulator the Fed authorizes the buying and sell...

Meddling with Mettle

Meddling with Mettle Meddling with Mettle Meddling with Mettle By Maeve Maddox Another of Daniel’s great words of the day, mettle, provoked readers’ comments that have in turn prompted me to get into the act. Reader’s Comment 1 Mettle can also mean the â€Å"stuff of which a person is made.† So if I say I’m made of mettle, people won’t think I’m a robot (or, more likely, delusional)? I know that Peter was joking, but I just wanted to point out that although the word means â€Å"the stuff of which a person is made,† to say â€Å"I’m made of mettle† wouldn’t make sense. Most commonly the word mettle is used with a verb like show, test, or prove: Miami proves its mettle in win over Oklahoma Bilo rugby boys show their mettle NCC cadets test their mettle Other idioms with mettle: to be on your mettle:  to be determined to prove that you are good at something, especially in a difficult situation Nancy coach Paul Fischer knows his team must be on their mettle as they seek Study puts stents on their mettle. (in this case an inanimate object is being put on its mettle. Probably not an apt use of the expression.) Here’s a headline that plays on the same pronunciation (and same original meaning) of mettle and metal: Scrap thefts: Cops on their mettle The adjective mettlesome means â€Å"lively, high-spirited, courageous.† . . . M. Epailza, one of our most mettlesome adversaries The word seems to have some specialized meaning for gamers: Copy this simulator to the mettlesome directory†¨Run the Trainer. Start the mettlesome with this trainer.†¨ I certainly can’t figure out what â€Å"mettlesome† is supposed to mean in this paragraph on a gaming site: Buy wow characters, you are ensuring you can freely mettlesome without the hornlike slog. Theres no requirement to intend on the mettlesome an distance early than customary so you can conjoin for eve accounts you can go on at your connatural instance and savor the mettlesome to its flooded possible ness the aforementioned way thousands of others do. INWOWGOLD.COM Reader’s Comment 2 How about one who mettles in someone else’s business to the detriment of the relationship or the business? One meddles in someone else’s business. The usual sense of meddle these days is â€Å"to interfere,† as in these headlines: Building chief tells politicians not to meddle in Olympics Avoid the Temptation to Meddle in Haiti How insurers meddle in your medical care The word meddle comes from French and Latin words meaning â€Å"to mix.† The meaning â€Å"to concern oneself,† usually in a negative sense, dates from 1415. From 1340-1700 it was used as a euphemism for â€Å"to have sexual intercourse.† Shakespeare draws on this meaning in this exchange: Third Servingman: How, sir! do you meddle with my master? Coriolanus: Ay; ‘tis an honester service than to meddle with thy mistress. Coriolanus: IV, 5 Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" The Possessive ApostropheApostrophe with Plural Possessive Nouns