Money is power. Money is power because money creates. Money creates jobs. Jobs create every necessity in human life. There are jobs to build reservoirs for water, jobs to build houses and business, jobs to make clothes and grow crops. Money is power because money destroys. Money creates jobs. There are jobs to make guns and ammunition, jobs to discover new technology of weaponry, jobs to murder in war.

Money is power because human survival is dependant on money. Having a job earns money. Some jobs pay lots of money that can afford not only basic necessities like food, a home, and medical care but also essential luxuries like a car, an ipod, and Ugg boots. Think back to 2006. How much money did you spend on clothes, on new technology, on yourself? In 2005, Americans ages 16-24 spent an estimated $164 billion. Most advertisements are directed to this age group, our age group. Money is power, and power requires responsibly and morality.

America is notorious for its excess use of natural resources. Just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean that you should buy it. On any given highway in America, on any given day, the road will be clogged with large sedans, massive SUVs, and hulking Trucks. Most of these vehicles have the capacity to seat 5 people, many have room for more; but when I am in a car driving down any given American street, I rarely see every seat belt being used. Mostly, I see one person, the driver, in each car. It pains me to see the amount of gasoline wasted when a single person is driving a Cadillac Escalade, Land Rover, or Hummer.

The biggest problem is that America has too many Joes. There is always a Joe, we all know or have seen a Joe. You have probably seen at least one million Joes in your lifetime; I know I have. You may even be a Joe. Who is Joe? Joe is the man driving alone in his big Hummer or the man swiping his credit card at a gas station for over a hundred dollars just to fill up his tank. Joe usually just drives his hummer to work and back, exhausting a gallon of gas for every 8 miles that he travels. Joe’s commute may be over 45 minutes long. Money well spent? Sure, Joe can just as easily reach his destination driving a small car that gets 30 miles to one gallon, but he can afford to drive his hummer. Sure he could even take the bus to work, there is a stop the bus makes just a block away from his work, but looking over at the bus as he sits in traffic blowing out CO2 emission like a booming power plant, he thinks how comfortable he is in his big Hummer, and plus he can afford to be comfortable.

Americans feel entitled to all the resources they can pay for. If you can afford to pay for a gas-guzzler, have one. This attitude does not promote responsibility with money. It is unethical to use large amounts of a limited resource just because you can afford it. Rich or poor, conservation is a priority. I believe it is wrong to spend large amounts of money on gallons of gasoline. Public transportation is not just for those who cannot afford a car but for everybody. Using public transportation cuts down cost, CO2 emission, and conserves fossil fuels.

Colorado is frequently in a state of drought. When Colorado is in a state of drought, water is a limited resource. Yet I rarely see people significantly cutting back on their water use. Many Coloradoans don’t take shorter showers or water their lawns less. Not if they can afford to continue their wasteful lifestyle. It is unethical to spend money on wasted resources. Some Coloradoans do cut back on their water use during a drought but only because water is more expensive; the cost should not be the only deterrent to wasting massive amounts of water each day. Water should be conserved out of ecological responsibility.

Facebook is for sale for $1 billion. How can it be ethical to spend that sum of money on anything? $1 billion used appropriately has the potential to end hunger for millions, yet the person who will buy Facebook will do so to make more money. $120 to Heifer International is enough money to donate a goat to an impoverished family in a 3rd world country. With this goat, the family can receive up to a gallon of goat’s milk a day. That is not only enough to drink but also to make butter or yogurt to sell. With this money, the family can afford to clothe their children and send them to school. Just $120 and a family can be saved from poverty. Think of what $1 billion could do for the world.

Oprah Winifrey is an award winning talk show host, a billionaire, and one of the largest philanthropists in the world, having donated over an estimated $250 million in her life. Two of her most notable donations include a $10 million donation to Hurricane Katrina relief and the $7 million donated to send 100 black men through college. Recently she has built a school in Africa for young girls with academic potential. This is one of the finest examples of ethical use of money. Oprah didn’t make an investment in stocks and bonds that will only bring her more money, but in mankind. Money is power. Her money has created change. 100 men will be able to get an education that they could not have otherwise afforded. With this education, these men will be able to get a well-paying job and raise healthy, educated children. A person’s livelihood that was washed away by Hurricane Katrina will be rebuilt, and the girls in Africa will be able to raise themselves up from poverty and oppression with their invaluable education.

Money is power. And with power, comes the ability to produce or destroy. From 2004 to the end of 2007 the United States has dedicated approximately $315 billion for the war in Iraq. American taxpayer dollars are being spent to fight a war in which America invaded and occupied a sovereign nation that had not attacked, threatened, or harmed us. America has spent $315 billion; Bush has turned his taxpayers into terrorists because American citizens are paying for the war: paying for jobs that kill innocent lives in a once sovereign nation. Tax dollars are spent on guns, ammunition, and other military expenses while the unemployment rate and national defecate increases and schools are not properly funded. If only that $315 billion was spent on public education, then every student in America could receive the kind of education we get at George School. It is wrong that there are schools that must cut programs for the arts because funding for education is cut as a whole. However, money is never an issue when it comes to arming the graduates of that school as they go fight and die in a meaningless war. Sure America will pay for your college education but only if you take the gun they hand you a gun and shoot an Iraqi. This is in unethical. We, as future taxpayers, have the ability to change this. We have the power to say how our money will be spent, for money is power.

We can be a generation that does great things. But will we say as righteous consumers that money is not a toy but a tool for change? Will we tell the government as righteous citizens that we will not pay for war but for the promotion of the meek and the impoverished? What will we say? What will you say?

Our generation spends the most money and is the most influential. We have the power to create change. How we spend our money determines the future state of the planet.

In the words of Kurt Vonnegut, “We have squandered our planet’s resources, including air and water, as though there were no tomorrow, so now there isn’t going to be one” (Vonnegut 44). Even is money isn’t an issue, the way you spend should be.

No one can tell you how to spend your money. $20 a month is a great investment in mankind.