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Ethics in finance case study
Ethics in finance case study
Improve ethics in finance
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Biblical Principles of Money and Banking by Dr. Gary North
Honest Money Biblical Principles of Money and Banking by Dr. Gary North is a book that brings together not only the history of how money came to be, but how to use it correctly. It teaches honesty and godliness in our daily dealings with earnings.
The value of money is something hard to determine. Money is a commodity. For money allows us to establish prices for most goods and services available. Money exists because man realized that some things are more wanted and sought after than others. People sell things for money to increase their income and enrich their futures. They exchange things of equal price, but the values differ in the minds of those involved. For money must have five essential characteristics: (1) divisibility, (2) portability, (3) durability, (4) recognizability, and (5) scarcity.
The origin of money is something that is quite surprising. It was not the government that established money, but the people. Those who used money voluntarily originated money and can still change it at any point in the future as well. It was the free market, which determined what was going to be the national unit for exchange.
Maintaining honest money is something of great importance. We should not be making profits in any way that is not pleasing to God. We are to be godly and honest in all our dealings with money. For the Bible is very clear about this. It says, "Thou shalt not steal." This sin is a sin against God. Honest weights and balance is not an option, it is a requirement.
Another important thing about keeping honest money is that the ruler be honest in his dealings as well. If the ruler is not right, the people will soon be the same. For people are morally corrupt, there is no exception to this when it comes to income. When civilizations become corrupt, they fall, which is their punishment for breaking God's commandments.
The contagion of inflation is also one thing to avoid. Our economy could crumble, if the monetary unit is changed. If this happens, the debasement of our currency will spread universally and end in disaster. The world would be living in complete immorality and sin. Government tries to control the economy with price controls, but it in return just tears down our free market system.
When the state monopolizes our money, it causes problems.
He states that the financial system was based on competing state banks with no central bank which promoted a rapid economic growth. As the American banking system developed the money supply developed with it. The federal government began the banking system through the issuing of specie but as the capitalist system developed the banking structure developed as well. During the Civil War, the North printed Greenbacks that drove gold from the domestic circulation to help pay for war necessities. The Greenbacks, however, were rarely used in the South expressing the different economies of the North and the South at the time of the Civil War.
That is simple. In the Colonies, we issue our own money. It is called Colonial Scrip. We issue it in proper proportion to the demands of trade and industry to make the products pass easily from the producers to the consumers. In this manner, creating for ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power, and we have no interest to pay to no one. (Binderup 1941)
...s evasive when it came to monetary exchange and its effects. Money tends to make the reasonable, unreasonable at times. We see evidence of this everyday as people are corrupted by money.
It is as true today as it was in the time of its authorship in the warning that mankind must not choose to place mistrust in wealth. Just as in biblical times all we have to do is observe daily life and the choices mankind makes in the misplacing of trust in wealth as it is permeates our surroundings and continues to perpetuate its continued deception as its consequences continue to unfold in the effects on this world.
While the idea of money as being so important in daily life in the modern era is not a concept that is given much thought, it is very important to realize that this is not exactly a new concept. It was as important during the medieval period in the time of Saint Francis of Assisi. Wealth, in many cases of modern times and medieval is seen as both the main factor for running the world as well as its downfall. It is something that no matter the period we as humans understand and use to classify the world in both abstract and in more literal ways.
The Bible does not say that money is bad. However, what it does say is
Money is the main source of power in the world, but in ways it can be viewed as good or bad depending on the situation. It has a negative connotation when mentioned by the word “acts”. “ Acts” means to perform a fictional role. Which shows that most things involving money are fake. Though humans associate being fake with being morally wrong,but its somehow acceptable if there is a greater power involved. Another definition for acts is to take action;do something. In this case to take an action can be either good or bad. There are many ways to come across money, but nobody cares if it is good or bad because it deals with a greater power.
respect from others and to obtain power. By being financially stable you can live better because you
This topic was previously mentioned in “The Richest Man in Babylon”. The quote, “Make thy gold multiply”, has similar meaning to Dave Ramsey’s ideas. Ramsey’s main idea of money was to use it to the best of its abilities. This does not mean to spend it all in one shot or invest all of it into a share, but it means that you have to figure out your priorities and get them in. For you financial life you need to understand what you need to save, invest, and spend and also how much money you are willing to use for each. Your money priorities should be shaped around life aspects, but you should always be reminded that your “wants” are not always
Even before the creation of the Federal Reserve, banks were used by the public just as we use them today. Deposits were made into savings accounts. Loans were taken out to mortgage a home or finance a new business. Banknotes were issued and spent when the public borrowed from the banks. Borrowers spent these banknotes just as paper money is spent today. These bank notes were valued as money since they were backed by the promise that they would be exchanged on demand for either gold or silver.
Money cannot. Knowing God and understanding his love are the true eternal treasures. If we study Hebrew 13:5, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you". Christian stewardship requires Christian to give back to God in shape of tithing. That is why Christians should set aside a tenth of their income for God.
Money, the media of exchange for products and services, provides things people need, like food, clothing, shelter, or medicine. People spend most of their life looking for it. My parent for example, works from sunrise to sunset to obtain it. The more money people have the more benefits they can get, because they will be able to get a bigger and better houses, clothes, or food. Less money means stress in bill payments, gas prices, and food prices. With money, people can fulfill their material need. However, money cannot buy everything such as happiness, friendship and love, health, and appetite.
Paper money is more complex. From 1900 through 1971 (with the exception of during World War I), the US dollar was backed by gold, meaning its value was legally defined by a certain weight of the metal. That ended in 1971, when Richard Nixon shocked the world by breaking the link to gold and allowing the dollar’s value to be determined by trading in the foreign exchange markets. The dollar is valuable not because it’s as good as gold, but because you can buy goods and services produced in the United States with it—and, crucially, it’s the only form the US government will accept for tax payments. Among the Federal Reserve’s many functions is allowing the issuance of just the right quantity of dollars—enough to keep the wheels of commerce well greased without slipping into a hyperinflationary crisis.
However, Monsma discusses in his article that if people are fully devoted to being a steward of economic judgement, we must strive to “provide all with access to the basic necessities for life in that society, and must provide all with opportunities for producing for their own needs in a context which gives them control over their own labor and a portion of the other resources of society.” No one in this world deserves to be left in the dust and fend for themselves if that seems to be their only option. As stewards we should strive to have “no poor among you (for the Lord will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to possess), if only you will obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment which I command you this day” (Deut. 15:4-5). People that have been blessed with access to many resources need to trust God that by using them for the greater good, it will lead the world closer to economic
Money exists no place else but in our minds. Money is not gold or silver; it is not a bill, and not a credit card. Love of money is recognized evil it always has been and it always will. People want money for various reasons, for security, status; to be powerful and etc. “This is also known as materialism, which brings in its wake tension and unhappiness.” Evil arises when people are controlled by money and compare everything in terms of money. Desire to earn money is not the root of all evil; everybody needs money to fulfill their needs. The problem appears when our wants increase. Therefore, the want of money increases, and we start to have a desire of wanting more of it and are never satisfied. Desires should not be confused to be the root cause of