The process of placing value on an object always has been somewhat mysterious to me. But, it seems,
someone always knows. If you ever saw Antiques Roadshow on PBS you know there are experts who will tell the unsuspecting person before them the value of the painting, old letters, or piece of furniture they dragged in for appraisal. How do they do it?
Online auction sites such as eBay move thousands of items and facilitate the exchange of copious amounts of money every day. The single most expensive item ever sold on eBay was acquired today by someone who had a spare $10 million to invest in a car signed by members of the cast of The Dukes of Hazzard television show. I never once watched the program, but I'm beginning to think I missed something.
In a free society, people earn or otherwise acquire their wealth in a variety of ways. They likewise put that wealth to use as they see fit. If someone chooses to pay $10 million for a car, that's their business.
An overwhelming proportion of the world's population tries to survive on the equivalent of one or two dollars a day. Many people, most of whom shouldn't waste their meager resources in this fashion, faithfully play the lottery. The odds against winning the "big one" are phenomenal. And, it turns out so often, winners of those gigantic lottery prizes end up bankrupt, divorced and unhappy.
As a nation we spend money for war as if we can just print what we need anytime. When it comes to health care, education and jobs, especially for those with minimal, if any, access to them, well, you know, our resources are dwindling. Budgets are tight.
The budget is really tight for hundreds of thousands of people who made the mistake of living in the path of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and others. As an eye-witness to the devastation 18 months after the fact, I can report that the Gulf Coast region likely will never fully be rebuilt. The evacuees will have to try and make it somewhere else, starting with nothing. Volunteers from churches and civic groups who are trying to help are told, "If it weren't for you, these people would have absolutely no hope."
Why not? Don't they have any value?