Summary
In times of hardship, many small businesses and store owners are now looking to alternatives to buying and selling goods. It is difficult as of late to sell certain goods/services because people are heavily lacking financially. So as a creative alternative to receiving all the required goods and services they need, many small business owners are now using a barter system in which they trade what they can offer to a person who needs it in return for them trading back something that the other person requires. The barter system has always been around but has long lost prominence until now.
Connection
One of the core concepts discussed in chapter 7 is "The Barter System". The "Barter System" is a system by which, had money not existed, would still happen between individuals. It is quite similar to the exchange of money in that a good or service is traded off for something of value ( in today's case, money is perceived as having value). However, the key difference is that instead of trading money, one may trade the other person something they have to offer in return for something they require. Although the barter system can work in many cases, it is not an effective or "fair" system as there is no set value for anything and can cause disagreement. In this case, however, it is effective even though the goods and services traded do not have a set value because the small business owners do not mind as they perceive it to be a fair trade since it is all basic day to day necessities.
Reflection
I believe that although the barter system may at the moment seem very effective and smart, it may not be in the long run. In the article, it states that the business owners are doing it as a way of saving money in times of hardship. It is seen historically during the Great Depression that saving money during times of nationwide economic downfall causes much more problems than it solves. By collecting the money and not spending it, it stops the flow of money which will eventually throw them into a deeper hole (if enough people do it).
link: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Bartering-Sees-Comeback-with-Businesses-20110511-am-sd
