Questioning Money

Hi All,

We all know that prices rise over time. Even though that’s true, prices don’t rise evenly. Over the last 50 or so years we’ve seen that the price of many goods has fallen while other important sectors in the economy such as healthcare and college tuition have gotten significant more expensive? Why does that happen? Why do those things get more expensive while other things get cheaper? And how does that relate to our system of money?

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

We live in an age where there is constant warfare going on. It’s gotten to a point where we are used to having US troops stationed in countries around the world even though most of us don’t really know why they’re there.

Believe it or not, this is only possible because of how our system of money works. Wars don’t end anymore, and it’s because of the money.

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

Today’s newsletter issue about congressional gridlock. Over the last decade or so, it feels like nothing gets passed by congress. The two sides have never been further apart. It’s frustrating when your political party has the president in office, yet nothing gets done.

I’m here to say that this is a good thing. When the country is as divided as it is, nothing SHOULD get passed.

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

Today’s newsletter issue is about ups and downs in an economy. It’s natural to fret about the idea of recession. In a recession, people lose their jobs, stocks lose value, and general quality of life goes down. Nobody wants recession.

Still - recessions actually serve a purpose in a healthy economy and are necessary in order to keep an economy healthy into the future. Over the last decade or so, there has been a subtle change in the way we think about recessions. Instead of letting recessions happen, now we are in a world where the goal is to prevent recession at all costs.

So why are recessions good for an economy? And how has the shift in how we manage recession going to affect the economy moving forward?

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

Today I’m going to talk about gold. We all know what gold is and we know that it’s been valuable for a long time. But why would we care about gold in 2020? Haven’t we evolved past caring about some shiny metal that we dig out of the ground?

Well, it’s not that simple. There are a few reasons why gold is valuable, even today. In fact, gold fulfills some properties of money even better than the dollar does.

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

Today’s newsletter issue is about how we got the employer-sponsored healthcare system that we have today. It’s interesting - we debate the concepts of private vs public health insurance, but private health insurance today is nothing like other types of insurance, such as auto insurance. How did our healthcare system become so intertwined with employment in the first place?

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

Debt is a natural part of any economy. Debt and credit gives individuals and businesses access to capital so that they can invest in themselves and expand. This encourages growth and innovation.

But the debt in the U.S. has been growing over the last 50 years and debt growth has been near exponential over the last 15. The economy has adapted to this in turn. We are now in a place where the economy needs an ever increasing amount of debt to survive. It’s worth discussing exactly how this works.

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

Welcome to Questioning Money - an audio newsletter that takes a closer look into how money works and how systems of money affect the world around us, often in ways we don’t realize.

Today’s newsletter issue is about the idea of saving money. Most of us have been taught that it’s good to save money in the bank. The reality, however, is that our system of money doesn’t let you do that. More than ever, if you save money in the bank you fall behind. There’s a broken inventive at play, forcing us to either spend our money or invest it.

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

Today’s newsletter issue is about why a form of money will always naturally develop. In pre-money societies, systems of barter never lasted long. In fact, there are no records of any societies that operated entirely on a barter economy. That doesn’t mean barter didn’t exist though - it did, barter as the dominant method of exchange just never lasted very long. But how does a new form of money start? How do you get from barter to money?

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com

Hi All,

Today’s newsletter issue is about the U.S. dollar’s role as the global reserve currency . Being the global reserve currency gives the U.S. tremendous power in influencing international trade. On the domestic front, being the global reserve currency also gives our government monetary and fiscal policy options that are not available to less demanded currencies.

If you like the newsletter - please subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter @seancover. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

Sean

https://twitter.com/seancover

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit questioningmoney.substack.com