My Afternoon at the Money Factory
July 9, 2009
The other afternoon, my wife, my father in law and I visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, aka The Money Factory, in Fort Worth Texas. I learned two interesting lessons about money from taking the tour:
1) When I was a boy, one of my father’s favorite sayings was, “Money does not grow on trees.” Being the wise-ass that I was I would answer, “Yes, it does, Dad, money is made out of paper and paper comes from trees!” Dad would tell me that no one likes a wise ass and to emphasize his point he would smack me one across the mouth! Well, dad was right! I learned that the paper that they print money on is made out of cotton and other fibrous materials, not trees! Dad, if you keep up with this blog from the afterlife, please accept my apologies!
2) On the tour, I saw them printing thousands and thousands of dollar bills, ( no they did not give out any samples!) One pallet of five dollar bills is over 5 million dollars. The tour guide told us that the presses run through three shifts. it was totally amazing!
My point, first after all these years I am still a smart ass and second, I cant figure why we think money is scarce after how much money they print? There is an abundance of money out there, go out and get your share!
