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Upon entering the History of Magic classroom, you’ll notice that it looks the same as ever minus a few minor changes. Holden’s desk has three boxes (all varying in size, shape, material, and colour: gold, silver, and lead - perhaps an homage to Holden’s favourite Shakespearean play) The Professor himself stands next to the chalkboard with a message written in chalk. Fortius Quo Fidelius. For those familiar with Latin, this may be a more obvious hint to what they would discuss in today’s lesson. Below those words are instructions: “Take a seat, class, and start working through the crosswords on your desk”
SPOILER!!: Crossword
INSTRUCTIONS: Use the clues to fill in the words above. Words can go across or down. Letters are shared when the words intersect. For longer answers that have multiple words, there are no spaces in between.
ACROSS
1. A gold coin equivalent to 493 Knuts
3. A musical song with the lyrics: "I work all night, I work all day to pay the bills I have to pay"
5. A form of wizarding currency. Burgock (A Goblin) was allergic to this coin's material
6. These magical humanoid creatures speak Gobbledegook and are adept metal smiths notable for their silver work
7. Made out of silver and equivalent to 29 Knuts
DOWN
1. The goblin and founder of a very important Wizarding Bank in the UK
2. Chief of the Wizards' Council who attempted to define all magical creatures as either a Being or a Beast
4. A plant used as currency many moons ago
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An astute observation, Mercer. It was quite true. From what she had gathered in her only half listening of the discussion regarding inflation of the galleon and what not, it all seemed rather subjective and within the control of a finite number of people who were either willing to shovel out more or not. Referencing the government did little to pull her interest either, though perhaps it ought to with her grandfather being the Minister for Magic. Such sentiments were further solidified when the professor declare his Holden Knuts (oh yes, those had been a thing) to be worth less than they had been the start of class, so it made it easier to disregard those. Between herself, Mercer, and Milo perhaps they had enough of the pseudo currency to turn in at the end of class for something to split among the three of them - a solution to the problem of inflation.
But, she digressed and shifted her focus exclusively on her friends who were scheming something far more interesting than what was going on elsewhere.
"Astral," she corrected Mercer fondly despite the internal grimace at the nickname. It was a Mercer exclusive. And it seemed Mercer was already in agreement about pooling their assets together, so she felt no further need to bring up such sentiments in their non-debate. "Dystyl Phaelanges has many skulls."
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When you’re stuck in a moment and your spark has been stolen .................................................. ........... this is our time to own it, so own it..................................... baby we were born withfire and gold in our eyes
Inflation… wasn’t that interesting? Or maybe it was just him. Anyway, the point was, he hadn’t made a single bit of notes this time around. Thank gosh for textbooks, yeah? And sisters plus a best friend who could help him out this. Counting, however, was something he was more than capable of doing at this point in life: his total of Knuts now equalled six. Go him.
Their friendship was still going strong but Jude was still surprised that Evan had chosen him to partner up with. Especially when Evan always had such a reasonable amount of friends to choose from for these sorts of things. Maybe the Ravenclaw was just feeling sorry for him. At least Jude had someone to work with, someone who understood his current headspace and wouldn't be harsh on him if he couldn't be much help. Jude listened to Evan’s thoughts without interrupting, and it was only now that he actually found a bit more motivation than earlier to do some writing; it was Evan’s points that he jotted down quite neatly in his book.
“I’m inclined to agree: inflation’s in the negative range for everyone involved. It puts a strain on spending and savings for everyone. Like… let’s say a Muggle family with young kids. Providing that there isn’t an increase in wages, the parents would have to budget more for petrol for their car and this can mean cutting back on their savings. Or some other expense." Jude drummed his quill on his desk thoughtfully. Funny how he seemed to be himself once more whenever Evan was involved. His gaze trailed to Lucia. “Hang on. Ev, do you think that’s what Lucia meant when she said gold is resilient?’’ Jude’s eyes lit up in a way that they hadn’t in a very long time. “I remember this once hearing something on the Muggle news while dad had the TV on. Something about gold increasing in value as the Sterling decreases.” His head tilted thoughtfully as he watched Evan, waiting to hear the other boy’s thoughts.
"Or all of the expenses." Evan added, thinking about it. "Which with savings that affects their retirement so people end up having to work longer and longer, or it can cut into their college funds for their kids if it's somewhere where higher education isn't free." Having been raised in the States, that was something a lot of people had to consider. Except now that Evan was thinking about it too... he didn't know how that worked with magic unis. He should probably speak to someone about that. Evan considered Jude's observation about Lucia's comment, before nodding. "I think so. Gold cannot be manufactured, while most other currencies can. Take those places that use paper. It's literally just paper and more bills can be reprinted. And the more bills there are circulating, the less they're worth." Given the worth was essentially imaginary anyways.
Evan pulled his notebook closer to him, jotting down some of their discussion before looking back to his friends. "Do you have any other ideas on how stop inflation from happening?"
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Let them point and laugh at who we are, it's you and me here dancing from the start
Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
Desiree couldn’t help but smile at the response Summer’s answer got. Granted, she didn't understand all of what Holden was saying, but she was happy for her friend getting the answer right. She turned to Summer with a smile and mouthed, good job! If only her own answer had been closer to the mark! Ohhh, price caps… She didn’t know about those, but she didn’t think they worked very well, judging by the number of people who needed food when she volunteered at the pantry with her dad.
Wait, what? The Holden knuts were worth less now?! That was a mean trick, and just when she was finally starting to catch up too! Stupid inflation! Her worries of being the only one without enough Holden knuts for a prize returned with a vengeance as she heard the directions for the next activity. Although she usually liked group work, the thought of voicing her thoughts on inflation scared her. First of all, she was totally lost! She listened to the discussions going on around her, hoping something would give her an idea, but that just made her even more scared. Everybody else sounded so much smarter than her! They’d probably think her ideas were dumb and laugh at her. Then she’d probably cry in front of everyone, and that would be even more embarrassing!
Yeah, no. She didn’t want that to happen! But she also didn’t want to be without a Holden knut for this activity, so she decided to write her thoughts down instead. Hopefully that would be worth something… half a knut? Was that a thing? Some was better than none anyway. Still totally confused, she considered the topic carefully. Maybe she’d have an easier time if she broke it down into smaller steps. Okay, so was inflation good or bad? That part was easy! It sounded like a bad thing to her! Higher prices meant lower purchasing power - wasn’t that what Holden said? - so that meant people would be less able to afford things they need like food and shelter if there were no price caps in place or if they didn’t do enough to keep things affordable.
The next part was a lot harder. Desiree had nooo idea how to combat inflation! She stared at the parchment in front of her, wiggling her pink quill back and forth as she tried to come up with something. Maybe looking at her notes from before would give her an idea. Hmm… So if price caps didn’t do enough, what else could be done? She thought for several minutes, her mind again going back to that day volunteering with her dad. Those with the means to afford the higher prices helping those without was one way to fight inflation, she supposed. What if the government operated like that food bank and set aside a stockpile of essential goods for people hardest hit by inflation? That may not drive the prices back down, but it would help people weather the storm. And what if the government raised minimum wages to better match the high prices? Would that help? She didn’t know! As she wrote those ideas down, another one occurred to her. Were price caps for housing a thing? If they weren’t, they should be!
Finally setting her quill down as she finished writing, she read over her work. Would any of those ideas work? Ugh, she had no idea! Why couldn’t she be smart like everyone else?!
SPOILER!!: Desiree’s notes
Is inflation good or bad?
It’s bad because higher prices mean lower purchasing power. That means people would be less able to afford essentials if prices caps are nonexistent or insufficient.
Ideas to combat inflation:
Have those with more help those with less
Government stockpile of essential goods for those hardest hit?
Raise minimum wages to match higher prices?
Price caps for rent/housing?
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Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: We love you, Evan <3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelliephone
"Or all of the expenses." Evan added, thinking about it. "Which with savings that affects their retirement so people end up having to work longer and longer, or it can cut into their college funds for their kids if it's somewhere where higher education isn't free." Having been raised in the States, that was something a lot of people had to consider. Except now that Evan was thinking about it too... he didn't know how that worked with magic unis. He should probably speak to someone about that. Evan considered Jude's observation about Lucia's comment, before nodding. "I think so. Gold cannot be manufactured, while most other currencies can. Take those places that use paper. It's literally just paper and more bills can be reprinted. And the more bills there are circulating, the less they're worth." Given the worth was essentially imaginary anyways.
Evan pulled his notebook closer to him, jotting down some of their discussion before looking back to his friends. "Do you have any other ideas on how stop inflation from happening?"
Jude nodded as he followed along with his best friend’s train of thoughts. “Exactly. It’s like the domino effect. Everything falls apart quickly.” This reminded him of those financial crises he had heard about decades ago. Today's HoM lesson was making him determined to really invest wisely in the future, after he started making his own money. Nodding again, he jotted down what he and Evan had come up with so far. Was Holden paying attention? Because these two had come up with some great points so far.
Except…
Jude wasn’t sure how inflation could be stopped. He looked down at his notes, frowning in deep thought. “Inflation boils down to the price of something, right? So, what if…” Cue more frowning. “What if those prices could be controlled by, say, the Government or in our case, the Ministry of Magic. Once they’re in control, sellers would have no choice but to sell their products or services at that stipulated one.” Jude eyed Evan curiously. “Does that make sense?”
Slytherindor ♛ The Crazytastic Besties ♛ Shan Watson ♛
Simon made his rounds around the classroom, listening to the students to discuss observing them work. It seemed as if the majority of the group was working together which was good to see. He always encouraged group work and discussions because everyone could bring their own perspective.
There were a lot of answers against inflation. Mr Nam set up the discussion by bringing several worthy points ranging from eliminating the currency as a potential idea. “Trading in goats and clothes? That’s one way to do it.” He chuckled and then turned to Jude to hear his perspective. Ha greed with Evan. Inflation was not a good thing but they were building off of Lucia’s comments. Good. Good. Simon was pleased. He stepped away from this duo to hover around the room.
His next stop was M cubed who seemed busy at work. He quickly checked in before moving on. It seemed as if the three were in the thick of it and he didn’t wish to disturb. Cool eyes cast over Bella who was hard at work. He continued walking until he heard Apollo AND Violet offering different viewpoints to Evan and Jude. Simon stopped in his tracks with an amused smile. Both students had good points to their argument. “Economical growth and the dreaded R word. Recession! Good points… keep these in mind for the homework assignment.”
Eyes cast over Desiree and then back to M-cubed… Still busy at work.
Simon made his way back to the front of the classroom. “Excellent! I can all see that you are hard at work. Please save your notes from your discussion. They will prove helpful in your homework assignment. Your assignment is to write whether or not inflation helps or hurts an economy. Plus there is the reading on the Goblin Wars to do prior to next class.” The page numbers of their reading appeared on the chalkboard behind him with a flick of his wand. “Right. That concludes our lesson. If you’d like to come up and exchange your Holden Knuts in for a prize, please come see me. If not, have a great rest of your day. Until next time!”
Fin.
OOC: Aaand that’s a wrap! I’ll leave this thread open for 24 hours so you can finish any posts. Thanks for coming!
Ugh! What a lot of homework! And Violet still had a lot of work to do to get ready for her N.E.W.T.S., which she didn't intend to leave to the last minute (she still remembered what a nightmare it had been catching up for the O.W.L.S., though that had mostly been "Healer" Poppy's fault). Well, she did have some Holden knuts, though, so she figured she might as well see what kind of prize she could get with them (Violet was hoping for the collection of books and magazines)
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HoM Lesson - A Knut for Your Thoughts? 
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