'Y2K Barter Packs by Pat Mershon
Barter, according to Webster's 9th New Collegiate Dictionary means: "to trade by exchanging one commodity for another." I do not know if I agree with this classical definition. In today's world, I believe the word barter means that a person is willing to trade an item or a service for an equally valuable item or service. By this I mean that I may be willing to trade someone a loaf of bread for a gallon of gas in order to run my car. Another example of barter in modern times would be to exchange four silver dollars with a doctor so that he will examine my sick child. Barter, therefore, means to exchange something of value with an item that we perceive to be of equal value. Perception of value is the key phrase here. It is an interesting phrase, and I recommend you remember it.
Why would someone want to barter anyway? As history has shown, people have used barter for many different reasons. A farmer who had chickens and eggs bartered with his neighbor who had cows and milk. Throughout the years, and especially in times of difficulty, people would hoard items that were hard to come by, and when someone came to barter with them they were able to get more than they could in normal times. A dozen eggs that would normally command a gallon of milk may suddenly be worth three gallons of milk. It is all what the individuals perceive their items to be worth. It does not matter what anyone else feels the value is, only the perception of those involved in the trade.
Currency failures and crisis throughout the years have also necessitated that barter be used in order for people to survive day to day living. After all, it is a person's willingness to part with their own goods, services, and investments for dollars that gives our paper and coin currency a value to barter with in the first place. It is the belief of our nation that the U.S. dollar is valued as an accounting unit and that it is a good standard to use in the bartering of goods, services or property. It is perceived to have value, and therefore does have value as long as others perceive it as having value as well. What type of event would it take to shake the American confidence in the dollar as the accounting unit of choice? And worse, if such an event does occur, what will you use to buy bread to feed your kids, or gas to run your car? Barter is going to be the name of the game.
There are several probable events that could shake the American confidence in the dollar enough to cause us to revert to bartering. Bank failures, bank suspensions or closures, and Y2K are just a few of the events that have the capability of shaking the American confidence in the dollar. The first two could be a direct result of the third, if the experts are correct in their predictions. According to experts there will be serious problems in the banking industry due to Y2K, and to such extremes that barter may become necessary for day to day living. Since most banks are unwilling to estimate the extent of the potential problems that may exist due to Y2K, I feel it is wise to be prepared with the best form of barter available.
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