Anders Chelgren, Chapter 10, #6

The passage that was most interesting to me, and most significant to my future, would be the one on the true value of cash. Dollar bills are no longer backed by the gold standard and thus the value of a piece of paper lies only in the belief of the whole that it holds value. The dollars value is entirely dependent on the fact that buyers and sellers know they can exchange the paper for product, "Purchasing power." While cash is important to possess for simplicity of trading I was glad to have read Wheelan's commentary on the fact that cash itself can't be drank, or eaten,  ect. If the faith in the dollars purchasing power failed, the cash people spend their entire lives working for would be worthless and would do nothing to keep them alive. This is why I find major importance in using cash to purchase items with what I am calling "practical value." Things that can be used to survive, thrive, and grow despite the conditions of the generals public faith in the dollar. Some items will always be necessary and if currency fails of becomes overly inflated people will still be willing to trade real items for practical goods.