Time and money, two of the most meticulously organized aspects of our lives, follow obvious patterns. Sixty seconds form a minute, 60 minutes create an hour, and 24 hours define a day—this rhythmic structure mirrors one full rotation of planet Earth.
In a similar vein, the moon orbits Earth every 30 days, marking a month, while Earth’s journey around the sun takes 12 months, completing a year.
So far, everything seems straightforward, right?
However, the elegance of this system falters when we measure Earth’s solar orbit in days. The truth is, it takes 365 days plus an inconvenient 6 hours.
Still, we refuse to let these troublesome 6 hours disrupt our ideal world. As humans, we innovate, adapt, and reshape our reality. When numbers don’t align, we make necessary adjustments—we create leap years, for example, to account for the discrepancies.
A Day of Correction
Tomorrow marks a crucial point for reconciliation. In this off-balance scenario, we uncover 24 accrued hours that need to be accounted for.
Thus, a day of correction is essential to realign the calendar year with the astronomical year. We need to ground our measurement system with a solid reference point. Without it, what does a day truly measure? It risks becoming merely a scratched mark in a primitive cave.
Similarly, the dollar—like any form of paper money—loses meaning without being backed by gold or another tangible commodity. Without a reliable baseline for measuring value, what does a dollar represent?
It becomes intangible, uncertain, and arbitrary, capable of being generated at the will of the Federal Reserve. Moreover, it can lose its worth if its promissory obligation fails.
Today, you can hold a pocket full of dollars and purchase everything you need, yet tomorrow they may hold no value at all.
Even if the dollar hasn’t reached its worthless state, its constant fluctuations pose challenges. How can one save or invest when the dollar’s foundation is ever-inflating?
Reckoning Time and Money
For instance, when a carpenter measures a cabinet and finds it to be 3 feet long, he can confidently trust that 3 feet will always equal 3 feet. On the other hand, when a shopkeeper prices a 24-ounce loaf of bread at $3.29, he cannot guarantee that this value will remain constant. Consider that in 1971, the final year the dollar was tied to gold, three 20-ounce loaves of bread would have been valued at just $0.89.
Is it conceivable that the actual worth of a loaf of bread, per ounce, has skyrocketed by 826 percent?
Certainly not; rather, the standards by which we measure that value have changed. While individual prices may fluctuate due to natural supply and demand, stable money anchored to a dependable baseline typically leads to consistent overall prices.
In this way, leap years serve a necessary function for keeping our calendar in sync with astronomical realities. Likewise, today’s currency desperately needs a baseline to derive its significance and value from.
Absent such a measure, we risk inflating the numerical figures tied to everything related to money. What value is a $100 bill if it can only purchase what a $1 bill did previously?
So, relish that extra day. The time has always existed; it merely required reconciliation. However, we have a deep-seated belief that reconciling the distortions inherent in the dollar reserve system will prove to be a far more complex matter.
Sincerely,
MN Gordon
for Economic Prism
