Letter from Slim Wolfe
Economics – July 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
An economy based on the youcant
Martha and Ed,
I am grateful for those sharp minds who founded our nation. Yet I wonder that our economy came to be based on dollars, when it might be based on yucant. Currency, same root as current, indicates flow between people. The most basic flow is plainly the yucant. The more people, the more yucants, as in yucant park there. The less dollars, the more yucants, as in yucant afford that, but the converse is also undeniable: the more dollars, the more structures people will build, and yucant walk through a wall, or yucant fight that new regulation.
We got our basic yucants during potty training and we’ve been protesting ’em ever since. Society needs yucants but some folks confuse ’em for dollars, they think they’re scoring points when they give yucants to others.
Still I can envision a brave new world in which ATMs cough up yucants we can spend on pasta at City Market. It would revolve on debits since yucants are negative units. I could consider myself well-off for absence of yucants. Our paper currency would feature the same foundering fathers but they would be scowling and pointing an admonishing finger. Our charge cards could be red and octagonal, like stop signs. Instead of a hundred dollar bill, we could call it a “you can’t get there from here.”
Slim Wolfe Villa Grove
