Chris Moffatt
Government 490: Technology
Professor Char Miller
Paper #2
This essay is based off of interviews of two young adults pertaining to their views about money and their belief in it. I chose to interview my sister, Amanda Perdue, who is an elementary special education teacher in Fredericksburg, Virginia who has a bachelor degree from West Virginia University and master’s degree in education from Mary Washington College. The second interviewee is my roommate Justin Mann, a twenty-one year old student at Northern Virginia Community College who also works as a groundskeeper at Landsdowne Country Club during the day and a server in a restaurant on the weekends. I selected these people because it would give an accurate, authentic portrayal of how young adults believe in money and what it means for their future.
When asked who was on the twenty dollar bill Amanda said “Hamilton” and Justin answered “Andrew Jackson.” Of course Andrew Jackson is on the twenty dollar bill, and it’s fascinating that the person with a master’s degree answered incorrectly, while a community college student with a manual labor job gave the correct answer. Amanda justified her incorrect answer by saying that she has not used cash in years, as she uses her check card for all transactions.
Why do they “believe” in money? Justin answered simply that money runs the world, every single aspect of it. No decision is made without taking money into consideration. Amanda stated that money is a illustration of the concept of ownership. It is a tangible representation of work ethic and ambition.
Could they imagine a time in which people might not believe in money? Justin dismissively answered no and referenced the answer to the previous question with the simple and direct idea that money runs the world. Amanda gave it a little bit more thought but agreed that a time where people do not believe in money is unfathomable because the only other option would be to revert back to the barter and trade system. Money is here to stay because human nature is insufferably selfish; human greed necessitates the concept of ownership, and the concept of ownership necessitates money. People will never live for a greater good. People will never give without assuming that they will be paid back.
Why is money important? Justin stated that you need money for anything. There is literally nothing free in this world, especially in the capitalistic United States. Amanda prefaced her answer by stating that she does not consider herself superficial or overly-materialistic but money is necessary for any major decision. Your housing, transportation, education, clothing, possessions, are all predicated on how much money you have accumulated.
What role does money play in your life? Justin states that money is his top priority in life, “It’s why I work my ass off, its why I study, its why I pull weeds out from cart paths, its why I subject myself to disrespect while I am serving spaghetti and meatballs for a three dollar tip. Money is the top priority.” Amanda responded that money, “rules my life,” on macro and micro level. Money dictated her education objectives, career path, romantic relationships and almost every other major life decision. It also dictates day to day decisions such as parking spots, daily fashion, lunch, utilities and groceries.
What is your dream financial scenario, and how much money is enough? By this point Justin was pretty depressed and said that he will never be able to achieve a dream financial scenario unless he, “wins the lottery.” Amanda believes that a higher paying job that insured that a house, car and other bills will not be a day to day concern. They do agree on one thing, no amount of money will ever be enough. Amanda stated, “Americans live up to and usually past their financial means, even the richest people are stressed about money. There is no such thing as enough money.”
These two interviews paint a grave portrait of the future of a young generation in a weak economy. It is even bleaker when you consider that the two subjects are middle class white people in possibly the most financially advanced civilization in the history of humanity. Accumulating this fictional money is the one of the most important factors of their lives, creating a perpetual stressor. Imagine if they were actually impoverished, or citizens of a third world country. I would like to think that their collective notion that there is no such thing as a sufficient amount of money is exceedingly pessimistic, but the older I get, the more naïve I appear.