I am working on a story to help people understand money and the problems that arise in the system. A very good story that is popular: https://x.com/saylor/status/1878154748353818932 "What's the Problem". I am seeking to keep this to a couple of minutes. Here is the story that I told my wife:

Times are hard as are all too familiar to those at the little church at the edge of the city. The elders decide that the food pantry needs expansion to help those in need through this time. They decide to turn the pantry into a store where people can bring various goods like vegetables and things of basic needs, like sugar and blankets, medicines, and so forth. They decide to start a ledger where people can earn credits for the items they donate to the store. 2 eggs are worth 1 credit, as are 3 potatoes and a dozen carrots. There is also a table where people can offer items in trade for credits. The ledger is a huge success.

After some time, the elder that was named the bookkeeper encounters a widow in the store who is known to be very poor, such that her children have no shoes, and she is in great need. In his desire to help her get the few items that would help her family so much, he gets the idea to just add an entry on the ledger in her account. He gives her enough credits to help her through the month. He was quite pleased with himself.

Days passed, and now the brothers of the widow have come to the store. They ask for the bookkeeper, and when he meets with them, they demand credits as he had done for their sister. After all, they were orphans. The bookkeeper tells them that he will ask for a special collection to meet their needs, but they don't want donations. They want the dignity of buying what they need at the store where no one will look down on them as beggars. The bookkeeper is in a bind. He tells them he must consult with the elders on such matters to buy some time.

He meets with the elders to discuss this new development. They decide that he should extend the brothers’ credit to resolve the matter. They also decide that he should get a sum of credits for himself since the bookkeeping has become difficult. Not long after, the elders decide that they too should get a salary for their work, and so more ledger entries are created. The ledger book is getting quite heavy. The lines of credit are quite popular.

But then problems arose. The store ran out of eggs, vegetables, and meat was now worth twice what it was priced in eggs or credits. The elders gathered with the bookkeeper and were astonished at this development. They decided the solution was to start buying meat and eggs from the market to sell at the store. To do this, they made more entries in the ledger, issued notes at the market, and once again stocked the shelves. Only this time it was 1 egg/ 1 Credit, meat was 5 credits for the piece the size of a child’s fist.

The store languished with the high prices. The people quit paying their debt and stopped trading their vegetables for credits. They traded amongst themselves instead, sharing meals together. Many bought chickens, and some traded eggs for goats, goats for cattle, and cattle for land. The elders sat in the empty store and argued over the last potato; they decided to give it to the highest bidder. The bookkeeper offered all his credits, and next month’s too. He got his potato and traded it for one egg.