The Genius of Money - Post #3

An Interview with Charles Terry

Charles Terry graduated from Harvard Law School with a small focus on corporate law, but chose to work for minimal wages by focusing on urban, community and poverty law in New York City. Initially he taught law at New York University of Law while being involved in may social projects, but eventually left teaching to be the Executive Director at The Door. At The Door he faced the common problem of always needing more money. Terry talks about how he was always interested in money, "ever since [he] first chose not to go the path of making lots of money through practicing law." I found this quote to be very interesting because I can't help but wonder if Charles had chosen to take the path of making lots of money, if his character would be different. Would he still be a philanthropist and give his money, time, and other skills back to the community? or would he allow money to consume him? 

Overall, reading this interview made me a lot more conscious about money. I realized the responsibilities that come with money and that making money is not a bad thing as long as you don't allow money to take over your life and be the source of your happiness. 

The Genius of Money - Post #2

Chapter 15 - The Transcendentalist and the Immigrant

Two Views of Money in America 

In chapter 15, John Bloom gives us a little background about the two different views of money early on in American history. The different views were between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton's vision of an economic direction for the future ruled over Jefferson's view. As a result, "economic trade required a monetary system as a tool of accounting to accommodate intra- and inter-national exchange of goods and currencies." 

From Hamilton's policy, came two perspectives on money in America that speaks more to the direct human experience - Ralph Waldo Emerson and Eva Hoffman. Emerson, who was an American transcendentalist believed that money was necessary; however, he questioned who had the right to own it. Emerson believed that each individual would know if he was worthy enough to take on the social responsibility to own money and use it to benefit the society - create jobs. On the other hand, Eva Hoffman a Polish immigrant, believed that money had the power to rule individuals. Hoffman states that an individual's "desire is connected to the worldly and material, rather than the spiritual." Hoffman believes that many individuals have allowed money to rule their lives and determine their happiness, but if individuals have faith in a higher being then they will be able to overcome the temptation of money and materials. Both Emerson and Hoffman asks us to explore our relationship with money because they believe that it is important to recognize the power that money has over us and to not succumb to it. 

The Genius of Money-Post #1

Chapter One – Tribute Paid

At the Intersection of Spirit and Money 

In this first chapter, John Bloom starts off by stating, “The realms of spirit and religion, engaged as they are with the non-material world, nevertheless must find a way to work in a world that trades in money.” With this, I believe that he is trying to show the readers that even though religion teaches about believing in something higher and overlooking material items - like money. Money is inevitable because we live in a society where money regulates the economy.

Bloom agrees with the religious organizations and believes that money brings the worse out of people; it represents greed, rights and power. It is possible that money can change us and take over our identity. He believes that we should not let money overpower us but instead “by seeing that money is connected to our intentions whether moral-ethical or disingenuous”. Bloom knows that we cannot ignore money, he believes that, “money is both material and spiritual”. Therefore, he suggests that we should find a common ground between the two. To allow money to be integrated in our lives but without letting it take over our identity.

Food Blog 3

Final Food Post

First off, I would like to say that I really enjoyed reading Growing a Farmer, by Kurt Timmermeister. His writing was very simple, easy to read, and interesting. I really liked how the book takes us on a journey with Kurt from the restaurant business to him growing a farm - we were able to go through his decision-making and learning process. Initially, I thought that this book would be boring because the title had the word Farmer in there and I thought it would be a story about a farmer living on the farm; however, the book was much more than that, it was eye-opening and it has taught me a few lessons.

As the book finally comes to an end, Kurt was able to accomplish his dream of living the “simple

life”. He has created a life for himself, by purchasing an old and beat up farm and turning it into something that was sustainable. As we see Kurt grow as a farmer, we see his appreciation for food grow as well. Kurt forms a strong connection with the food and no longer sees it as just food – he views it as much more. The food was something that he personally grew and produced; it was a long and difficult process. It is interesting to see how respect is formed for something after we understand the process behind it. Overall, by the end we see that Kurt is very happy with his accomplishments and he is able to create a sustainable life that he really enjoys.

To me, his life does not seem simple at all. Deciding to grow a farm was a risky choice and it required a lot of work – but in the end we see Kurt really enjoying the farm that he has built for himself. This has taught me to find something in life that I enjoy doing and go for it, regardless of how hard it is. Because life is an obstacle where I will fail in many things, and those failures are learning opportunities, but the end results will be priceless.

Anything Post

The History Lesson 

On October 3, 2015, I went to visit the Sriracha factory for my audit class. It was a class field trip and we were given the assignment – to go to the warehouse and understand the business operation, name the controls that they had in place and the controls that they were missing. However, I learned a lot more than a class lesson during the field trip, I learned about my family’s history.

My sister and I carpooled to the factory and after arriving and seeing how many families were at the factory we decided to call and invite our parents. When my sister and I arrived, we immediately took a photo with the founder David. He was a cute little old man who reminded me a lot of my grandpa. He didn’t speak at all, he just stood there taking photos with everyone. After taking the photo, my sister and I went on the tour with a couple of our friends and met up with my parents after they finished the tour. My parents were really excited and told us that they wanted to take a family photo with David. We told them that we already had, but we’d take one with them too. We headed over to where David was taking photos earlier on in the day, and we were told that he had left for lunch and that we could take a photo with his cardboard cutout. We did that, and left.

When we arrived home we showed our parents the picture and we learned that David Tran named the company Huy Fung Foods, Inc.  He named it after the refugee ship that brought him and 3,000 others out of Vietnam and that my dad and my dad’s family were also on that ship. My dad and my mom went on to tell us more about how they escaped Vietnam in a ship and how they had to pay 9 pieces of gold to the government in order to leave. My mom was not as wealthy as my dad so she and her family escaped in a small wooden boat of 200 that could’ve flipped over anytime. I always knew about my parent’s hardship when they came to America but I never thought about the hardship that they had to go through to leave Vietnam and at such a young age. Learning more about my family’s history was very interesting and eye opening. Overall, this day has made me appreciate and respect my parents even more and has taught me to appreciate everything in life because I realized how fortunate I am.