Monday, December 01, 2014

Barter in the age of Obama

I am unused to being without as my needs are simple. I am amazed at the informal system of bartering and even just sometimes sharing meager resources. I went to the store for some Advil and purchased a large container. The girlfriend gave two neighbors including an old lady around twenty pills each. This likely would explain how certain resources disappear and how things appear out of thin air.

Every now and then what items are recognized surprise me. I use trace amounts of powdered turmeric   with my drinking water. The girlfriend noticed it in seconds whic is odd because there was no pictute or writing. Items that are used in the community are bartered and those that are unfamiliar remain. It is as simple as bartering four laundry pods for a bag of potatoes.

I don't think poverty alone explains this as I pretty much cover most things. However the neighbor might want to trade an item for a luxury good. Right now we have a type of fish in abundance about ten pounds. The neighbor might want a small amount and trade yams or something else.

This is different then my mother borrowing eggs or sugar.

Certain items never get traded. I  am safe with egg noodles and kielbasa that is until someone else develops a taste for it. Chicken franks and barrel pickles were safe years back, but my daughter has developed a taste for them. What is going on with the containers of chicken livers that the girlfriend
took from the home made dog food project is unknown. I suspect that is being bartered or passed to the less fortunate.

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