Rainbows and the real value of gold

What if there was a literal pot of gold at the end of every rainbow?  Imagine the resources that would be poured into the race to get to it. Leprechauns be damned. A country’s military would be budgeted to deploy its armies to secure this bounty. Then again, considering the number of rainbows that must be generated around the world during the course of 24 hours, that would be a lot of gold. Think of it. And what if there were a pot at each end?

And then there’s double rainbows. That’s a lot of bullion! It would probably drive the value of gold down to a more common element’s value, equivalent to minerals like iron or tin.

That is unless an entity like DeBeers can corral the majority of the planet’s gold like they do diamonds and, holding that monopoly, raise the value to whatever price they devise. Maybe that’s what the Leprechauns would do, gather all the pots of gold into their possession and rule that commodity like OPEC rules world economies with oil.

Then again, let’s take the stand that rainbows’ pots of gold are only figurative, preserving its desirability and value. Let’s keep those pots of gold an imaginative feature of fairy tales. I think about the Disney animated movie “Pocahontas.”  When the English character of John Smith questions Pocahontas about gold and shows her a gold coin as an example, she’s clueless. He explains that it’s very valuable. Now she gets it and holds up an ear of corn. “We have plenty of this.”

His explanation of gold, an item of value that happens to be yellow, translated to the grain that’s cultivated and sustains Pocahontas’s tribe. Grain that could be stored and feeds her people during the lean winter months when plant life goes dormant is their equivalent to John Smith’s gold coin, which her raccoon tries to eat and tosses away in favor of some hardtack.

So, one man’s gold is another man’s useless bit of metal. This would likely be true if civilization is ever reduced to a life and death struggle brought about by a catastrophic famine or drought. Food or water would be the commodity of life. Or death, if you couldn’t acquire the needed sustenance. Barring that level of devastation, in a society with food/water security and shelter, necessities would be bought with labor or barter. Having a common currency is desirable for those classes that move into the higher levels of society. That elite faction has buying power and doesn’t need to exert itself in physical labor. So, a way to exchange currency for goods is handy. They can purchase luxury items made by the lower classes. And the lower classes can position their skills and products towards those wants to improve their own stations. Because humans want stuff. Like a sporty, go-fast ride. Or flashy clothes and a house to match. Or a Le Creuset Dutch oven.  

Then what nebulous things do we really treasure and long for? Wealth, sure. What about health? Or family? Or love? Or a career you truly desire? Long life, to see the  world, to have that last visit with a grandparent? A baby? So many things can be on that list. What is truly more precious than gold? Something money can’t buy? No matter how many rainbows you rob of their pots of gold.

Now you. Think about what’s valuable to you. Suppose you take gold (i.e. money) off the table, what would that be for you?