Monopoly Money vs. US Dollars

Everyone has played the game Monopoly at one time or another on a rainy day. A key feature of the game is the paper money used to buy everything from properties to railroads and pay rents and luxury taxes. In the "real world" we use the US Dollar for the very same purposes. I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast the two paper currencies to see just how eerily similar they are to one another.

US Dollar - A paper fiat currency unbacked by any commodity like silver or gold. Backed solely by the "good faith and credit of the United States" government.

Monopoly Money - A paper fiat currency backed by the good faith and credit of Parker Brothers.

US Dollar - accepted on some level in most of the 195 countries of the world. The world's reserve currency...for now at least.

Monopoly Money - Played with by people in 103 countries.

US Dollar - About $829 billion dollars in circulation.

Monopoly Money - About $3.8 billion dollars in 250 million games sold.

US Dollar - The Federal Reserve Notes first issued in 1913 have fallen victim to inflation in the last century and have lost 97% of their buying power.

Monopoly Money - In the Monopoly Here and Now edition all dollar values are multiplied by 10,000, so a player collects $2,000,000 for passing go instead of $200. Another way of looking at this game change is that the Monopoly Money has lost much of its value as well.

US Dollar - When the Fed wants to tinker with the economy it just prints more money and floods the market with devalued dollars sparking inflation, and perhaps someday hyperinflation.

Monopoly Money - When Parker Brothers needs more money for their games they just print more.

US Dollar - All paper fiat currencies backed by nothing have eventually lost value through inflation. Many have been hit by hyperinflation and lost all buying power, becoming worthless pieces of printed paper. The US Dollar and the current policies of the Fed seem custom-designed to hurry the US Dollar to this same ignominious fate.

Monopoly Money - The game money only has value while the game is in play. When the game is complete, the money reverts to its inherent worthless status as pieces of colored paper valued by none.

Lastly, I'm reminded of a time that my brother and sister decided to play Monopoly out of sheer boredom. To try to make the board game more interesting, we decided to start the game with 4 times as much money as the rules typically called for. In addition, we decided to mimic real life and allow for everyone playing to bid against one another for each and every property sold. Without meaning to, we simulated an inflated economy littered with too much fiat paper money. We didn't end up with any additional property of course, as there was a finite number of properties available in the game (as in the real world). Instead, we only ended up paying 4x as much for Boardwalk, Marvin Gardens, and those darned railroads as we normally would've using the standard game rules!

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies (below):

Rick

CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!