There is high value in the work that people do to build that house, though. Look to your computer -- all it is, is a collection of petrochemicals, metals, a bi

There is high value in the work that people do to build that house, though. Look to your computer -- all it is, is a collection of petrochemicals, metals, a bit of rubber, and a bunch of bits etched into silicon. If you were to look at the sum total cost of what it took to build your computer, it would probably be much less than what you paid for it. Yet you probably think you got a bargain. This is not because you are a fool, but because you probably did get a bargain -- your computer is, as a programmer, your means to create value and wealth. Every time I read about the gold standard, I'm reminded of the Germans and Japanese during World War II -- they were insanely gold-hungry, and yet the only lasting legacy of value from either culture, has been the technologies they developed. Wealth is something we create, not metal dug out of the ground.