BEAUTIFUL QUESTION PROJECT By: Victoria Salako. THE QUESTION Could today’s society be able to live in a bartering society Meaning could they do away.

BEAUTIFUL QUESTIONPROJECT

By: Victoria Salako

THE QUESTION

Could today’s society be able to live

in a bartering society

Meaning could they do away with the

exchange of the currency as a whole

WHAT IS BARTERING?

By definition bartering is a medium of

exchange that results in the exchange

of goods for service and vice versa

HOW DOES BARTERING WORK?

All these actions would need to take

place without the exchange of money.

As long as goods and services are being

exchanged it is considered a form of

bartering

HOW DOES BARTERING WORK?(CONT)

Swap meet gathering of people in a

common location where they exchange

items they no longer need or to just

exchange for general purposes. Ex:

Clothes, Jewelry, Tool etc.

SERVICE EXCHANGE

This would be where people who are

proficient in certain tasks offer services to

each other at no cost

Ex: Planting a garden for your neighbor

and getting a homemade blanket in return

SMALL BUSINESS EXCHANGE

When small businesses give free

services to each other in order to cut back

on the budget

Ex: Clothing store gives free clothes to

electrician for fixing electrical shortage

ONLINE BARTERING

Finding a barter hosting site ,

creating a profile and putting up a post

describing your item, service, or goods.

After that you would wait for someone

who needs what you posted to respond

An online bartering website

Open to public mainly used for

bartering of clothes, furniture,

electronics,etc

Easy registration process open to

almost anybody

Does not assume responsibility for

items traded ,trade at your own risk

policy

Was unable to get a willing

interview subject

Private only accessible to Seattle

population

Restricted mainly edible foods like

egg, herbs, and spices, milk etc

Limited registration

All potential members must be

reviewed before acceptance

Small community type org

They tremendously care about

quality & accuracy of product being

exchanged

FREECYCLE.ORG VS BACKYARDBARTERING.ORG

Freecycle BackyardBartering

LIFE BELOW ZERO: HUNT, BARTER, & STEAL

Is a short documentary I stumbled upon while watching

TV. It is about Chip Hailstone & how his family survive in

Alaska

They barter for bread, ammunition, and any other major

things they need

Chip is a hunter & his wife is a home butcher

This documentary shows that bartering succeeds in times

of desperation where there is no other alternative

Follow this link below to watch a short clip of the

documentary

http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/25/life-bel

ow-zero-hunt-barter-and-steal/

DOCUMENTARY

Here is another long documentary about America's

use of money

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwmM5Nb6hiE

#at=429

INTERVIEW

Name: Professor Mead

Job Title: Professor of Economics

Q1: In your own opinion do you believe bartering is

sufficient replacement for use of currency exchange?

Answer: Absolutely not. He then compared it to

replacing cars with horse drawn carriages

INTERVIEW(CONT)

He explained that bartering would be us reversing

the progress that we had made

Follow Up Q: So do you believe that bartering

would hurt or help the economy?

Answer: Definitely hurt it, it would decimate the

whole economic system

INTERVIEW(CONT)

Where is the current state of the economy?

Answer: Depends on where you are. If you are at

the top its never been better. If you talking about the

U.S. its declining. The rich countries of the world

have declined they are at the worse state they have

ever been. As a result China is benefiting

unemployment in Greece is 50%$ for teens. We are

basically in another Depression. He called it “the

second guillded age”

INTERVIEW(CONT)

Q3: Do you believe this current state relates to the use of currency?

Answer: No, the amount of the money in rotation makes a big

difference in the economy. Let me put it to you like this Ben Bernecky,

chairman of the Federal Reserve decided to print less money. The stock

tanked as a result. He then chose to just print the amount we as

Americans needed and the stock went higher. See the amount of money

in rotation makes a huge difference. These problems our economy has

can not be traced back to the use of money. For example the mid 90s

one of the best times the U.S. has seen money was being exchanged

INTERVIEW(CONT)

Q4: Is there any possible way bartering could work in your

opinion?

Answer: Well I have not heard of much but, I do believe that

computers have made it easier. Say we did not have that ype of

technology and an accountant needed a plumber. It would be

hard tro find a plumber who would need an accountant through

word of mouth. Computer’s make it easier for them to directly

find what they need. Although the downfall would be that the IRS

would have a problem with it due to the avoidance of paying taxes

MY EXPERIENCEAfter my interviewing Professor Mead, he made me feel as though

all the information I had gathered prior on was unable to work. I

then decided that I wanted to test my question out by myself. To do

so I extended my services onto close friend of mine for no charge.

My skill is in make up artistry and my friend is a fashion designer.

She told me that her and her aunt were going to host a fashion show

and she could not find make up artists. I saw this as a perfect

opportunity to barter. I told her I would do it for free as long as I

received pictures from the show. Show day came and I kept my end

of the bargin. My friend tried her best to do the same but it did not

work out. Her photographer never burned her a CD of the pictures

and we both had nothing to show for our hard work but memories

MY EXPERIENCE

Unfortunately that lead me to the conclusion that bartering is not a

better alternate for the exchange of money. I was left regretting my

decision because I used up my products, wasted my time, and had

nothing to show potential clients. Also since I did not get to interview

actual dedicated barters I do not know if those websites I found are as

credible as they seem. To answer my Beautiful Question I would have

to say that bartering is the only showed to be most successful in

situations where there are no other alternatives, in reference to the

documentary on the Life below zero: Hunt, barter, & steal

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Backyard Barter - Sharing Food. Growing Community." Backyard

Barter - Sharing Food. Growing Community. Backyard Barter

Organization, 2013. Web. 22 July 2013. <http://backyardbarter.org/>.

Beal, Deron. "The Freecycle Network." Www.freecycle.org. The

Freecycle Network, 1 May 2003. Web. 22 July 2013.

<http://www.freecycle.org/>.

"Life Below Zero: Hunt, Barter, and Steal." Nat Geo TV Blogs. National

Geographics, 25 May 2013. Web. 22 July 2013.

<http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/25/life-below-zero-hunt-

barter-and-steal/>.

ACADEMIC RESOURCES

Documentary: life below zero hunt barter and steal

Documentary: The Money Fix

PERSONAL RESEARCH

Interview with Professor Author Mead

Attempting to barter with my friend