Quest for virtual wealth leaving us without riches

FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan recently referred to economists as “financial engineers”. This is a slight on engineers who base their craft on sound scientific modelling.

Economists study the markets, which seems to be a meandering process of trying to study how people behave with money and their quest for more of it. The only constant in that model is that people want more of it, the rest is best guesswork.

Economic growth should reflect something physical. The problem seems to be that the economic wealth of the world does not reflect anything in reality anymore. The value of coins of old was based on the metal they were made of.

The value of notes can be reflected in the value of the tree that was felled to produce it and the ink that was used to colour it. Now with economic wealth, billions can just be the equivalent of a few electrons running around in a computer.

The economic crisis might bear some fruit in that it will slow down the plundering of the earth for our needless needs.

For a time though, I reckon that the quest for virtual wealth will see a devaluation of the actual riches the world naturally provides.

Tom Pelton

Inniscarra

Cork