Part 2 in a series on commerce, the engine that literally feeds us, and a topic area where many Americans are stuck on stupid. (Part 1)

A Cheap and Cheesy Pic for a Thrifty Blog

Robert and Anne, proprietors of the R&A Potato Ranch, a growing private enterprise, took a wagonload of potatoes to the market. Wanting to diversify their diet beyond the exquisite Pomme de Terre (“Apple of the Earth” – French for “Potato”), they traded 20 pounds of potatoes for one pound of goat cheese, a product of the J&H Goat Ranch. As we learned in Part 1, through that transaction both parties benefited by acquiring a product that was of higher value to the purchaser than was the product that they transferred in payment to the seller. As a result of the transaction where the value of each item was increased, overall wealth within this society was increased.

Back at the ranch, Robert and Anne have been working on a home remodeling project. They are building an addition to their home, a second room! They have collected many of the required materials from the bountiful land of their ranch, however they have determined that it may be more efficient for them to trade for some of the building materials, particularly the nails.

At the market, Robert and Anne inquire with several blacksmiths (the industry that transforms raw metal into useful things). They find that there are several blacksmiths to choose from, and most of them offer adequate quantities and qualities of nails for the home expansion project. However, Robert and Anne discover that other producers of potatoes have already traded potatoes for metal goods from each of the blacksmith shops.

» Read more: Potatoes for Cheese, Cheese for Nails - Part 2 in a series

Part 1 in a series on commerce, the engine that literally feeds us, and a topic area where many Americans are stuck on stupid. (Jump to: Part 2)

Preface: The talking heads on the financial shows may have fancy degrees, extensive and successful experience in the financial markets – but how often do they consider, or talk about The Basics? Never. Politicians talk about “stimulating” the economy and “creating jobs,” but can government actually directly deliver on either of those promises? No. The purpose of this series is to use a building-block approach to describe and explore The Basics of commerce and economics. Through our experience and intuition we can rediscover the consistent natural laws of commerce and economics that have been demonstrated to be governing features within any society.

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Please meet Robert and Anne. Robert and Anne both come from lines of potato farming families. They are beginning the new generation of making a living for themselves with a dream of self-sufficiency, providing for themselves through the “fruits of their labor.” They own and work the “R&A Potato Ranch.”

Mmm Mmm Good!

On the other side of town, please meet James and Helen. James and Helen both came from lines of goat farming families and are similarly in the early years of building a life for themselves. They own and work the “J&H Goat Ranch.”

"Baaaaah!" From Cranberry Ridge Farm

Helen, James, Anne and Robert apply physical labor, knowledge, creativity, thrift, frugality, and even love to their work as they produce goods that are useful to their own physical health. To simplify, let us call all of these inputs, “labor,” but we must not forget that this includes important, intangible elements (e.g. knowledge) beyond physical labor.

The R&A Ranch achieves some measure of success in producing potatoes and the J&H Ranch achieves some measure of success in producing goat cheese. Yum, yum! We are already workin’ up an appetite after a long day of work on the ranch!

Of course no one wants to live on a diet of just potatoes, and any good mama would tell you that “no man can live on goat cheese alone” (or something like that). Eureke! We have an opportunity for commerce!

» Read more: Potatoes, Cheese and A “Win-Win” Transaction - Part 1 of a series

Thinking about Gramps today. He fought his way into the Army - He was too old and had too much family for them to take him initially, but he knew that he must go.  He went to North Africa, and then on to Italy and up “The Boot.” He lead men who fixed things, a company of mechanics.

I miss him. This country misses common men of uncommon character. He left this world several years ago. I was in Korea, working at being ready to defend the weak from the oppressor, and ready to march to the sound of guns.

The human spirit longs for liberty, and in this world, that liberty is occasionally secured by men and women who are ready and willing to run into a fight, to defend what is good and right and true. To be truly human is to be ready to give greatly of yourself in the defense and liberation of another.

A World Upside-Down

This week we have been told, “rape is not rape,” at least not when the perpetrator is a member of the glitterati and the victim is thirteen years old. This week we witness the Empire State Building bathed in RED light to commemorate, or celebrate the communist takeover in China - notwithstanding the 70 or so millions murdered by Mao in the process.

Some might say that we are witnessing moments of insanity, but I would disagree.  We are not witnessing insanity. We are witnessing the products of a witch’s brew that contains an absence of the intuitive values of humanity.  When these values are removed from the collective conscience of those in positions to display what they believe to be the way of the times (also known as “progress”) we witness examples of thought that seem unconscionable to us mere common men. Absence of morality invites immorality.

» Read more: A World Upside-Down

This is going to seem like a ramble, but it is not.  My limber mind has been expertly crafting this post for the better part of twelve hours during varying levels of awareness.  Our minds do some of their best thinking when well fed and then left to quietly and creatively churn while away from the hammering of our will.

Imagine a solitary lifeboat on an expansive sea.  We are all in this boat together, as they say.  The big fat guy up front says he is going to give everybody something to do.  His latest initiative seems a little bit crazy.  He told one group of people to poke little holes in the bottom of the lifeboat so that another group could come along and repair the holes.

Stated as this metaphor, this initiative is completely insane but in a large economic sense it is descriptive of “Cash for Clunkers.”  One of the real forms of wealth that a nation possesses is in what is called “capital equipment.”  In a grand economic sense, and particularly since we are now hurtling toward a collectivist existence, even privately owned equipment, in a sense, is a portion of the wealth of our nation.

» Read more: Lifeboats With Holes, Cash For Clunkers, Power Plants and Windmills - Huh?