A Question of Allocation

The Real Value of the Time We Spend

© 2007 by Eric S. Meyer

Every time we think or do something, an action is taking place. An action leads to new actions, and at the same time denies the fruition of another action from become a tangible reality. Work done or play resources spent, time marches on, and we each have to decide how we will expend every moment of our life, and every bit of resource.

First and foremost in importance, in the quest to understanding time and therefore becoming master to our life, is the key of knowing certain fallacies.  The scope of fallacy is quite immense and complex.  Of such fallacies, it should be noted that misunderstandings about money, time, labor and love are quite prevalent and widespread in our American culture (or lack of culture). Let's explore this a bit:

False idea: a dollar saved today will provide a dollar more wealth tomorrow. An accounting professor at City College of San Francisco uttered such nonsense when he said that, in effect, that a bank account is a the result of every dollar spent and every dollar saved since one was a child. Such a view is pure rubbish and baloney because as money is spent it changes one's life, and as money is saved, it denies transfer to others, which depending on how the others may have spent that money, will vary the effect.

Taken a step further in clarification, the above false perspective is like saying your altitude is the result of all the steps you walked up and all the steps you walked down plus is compounded by all the times you jumped minus all the times you fell. What does that analogy say about your comfort, satisfaction or integration in a community? Nothing, unless you over emphasize the fact that technically it is true that your altitude is, indeed, the result of all steps walked up/down, jumping/falling. But is your altitude important to know? If you are doing certain activities, it may be helpful, but otherwise it bestows no real insight as wisdom or comprehension that would in any way improve one's comfort, satisfaction or integration into a community.

What is, then, you might ask, really important to understand and comprehend about money that would be more helpful, and perhaps consequently, more accurate of a model to visualize ones connectedness with a society? Would that not be to examine who receives your money, how they spend it, and analyze that in context of such criterion like how does that money affect the environment, the homeless, the mining and manufacture industry, the transportation industry, the retail industry, the banking industry, the governmental sector, the nonprofit sector, the education sector, and all the students, professors, bus drivers, cab drivers, retail clerks, bankers, farmers, food processors, the meat and poultry industry, environmental engineers, software designers, movie producers, actors/actresses, and everyone one else that buys, sell and lives on the earth at any point on the globe yesterday, today and in the future.

Clearly, here is where you need to determine which industries/sectors mean more than others. Of course, you might be lazy and say, “hey, all those industries/sectors are equally valuable.” But by doing so, you would deny the reality that certain things may matter to you and that you have the power to affect those industries/sectors by your dollar and where you spend and save it.

Maybe you are a farmer. They you may value highly low taxes on your fields, low fuel costs and energy costs, low cost labor to pick your produce, and an omnivore diet of the populace. But it can get even more specific: what if you are a certified organic farmer, then you may value more buyers of more expensive, vegetarian foods. Maybe you are a McDonalds franchise owner, then you may value low cost cattle to have slaughtered to be processed into your beef patties. Maybe you are a movie producer, then you may value low cost labor as actors, sound techs, light techs, and extras for production, and for there to be a lot of people with money to want to pay money to see your movie for two or so hours.

Depending on what you want to see more of, you can spending your dollar accordingly. Or you may work in that industry, or promote that industry, or receive free of that industry in exchange for barter or business leads, opportunities or contacts. Time spent and dollars spent vote in a similar, parallel manner.

The principle of nonprofit organizations is that a cause receives more attention because more people are interested in that project. What constitutes an 'interesting project?' Indeed, something that brings either the participant (donating person's time) the sponsor (donating person's money) or the target (end goal or purpose, for 'public good' or 'public benefit') is very broad and agreeable definition.

What motivates people to get involved with a nonprofit? For the target, whether it be food, clothing, education, or something else, it brings comfort by protecting from the elements and from basic needs for food, shelter, clothing and medicine. Education, too, is valuable, but often uses behavior modification systems to try to get the students to do what they are told; yet, education tends to be nonprofit.

What motivates the providers of money and time? That is a complex question, with many possible answers, which could easily fill volumes of books before reaching any absolute answer. However, it should be noted that, generally, people are motivated by a need to connect with each other to obtain validation of feelings and help get needs met. Those needs include basic needs like food, shelter, clothes and medicine, but often has other needs as strong secondaries.

These secondaries include the need for integration/meaningful work/learning, attention/love/affection and revolve around the theme of every person wanting to share and connect with the future of the community, by interfacing via talents, skills and their interests, in helping shape the current structure of community.

Therefore, community responds to how every dollar is spend and saved, and by either saving or spending money, every individual, family and business is actually helping to shape today and, as a result, every moment that transpires from now into infinity, with a strong magnitude of impact being in the following year but spiraling or curtailing after some length of time. The effect, of spiraling or curtailing, is often unknown to even the best paid scholars and thinkers, to even our best super computers, until time transpires.

Thus, think twice about buying a slightly less expensive product for the sake of a few dimes, and especially beware the trap of saving money to hoard it rather than using it wisely, such as in purchases and investments that are somehow supporting that which is important and matters to you. For if you only save money, you may deny yourself the privilege of shaping your economy. Instead, invest the money in ways that empower others to hopefully earn you a return. Saving money in a box might be good for coin collections, but admittedly, coin collections are bad for community.