Economics 101

Economics Theory on Carsis 101

By the council for fair trade

The council was comprised of clerics from the following gods; Ballomur Prince of order - writer of the law - keeper of the score. Addella Princess of duty - who is committed to the collective good. Ratarlur God of merchants. Gebalur God of farmers, cooks, bakers and brewers. Arkalra Goddess of textile workers, cobblers and dyers. Fremelur God of masons, carpenters and architects. Their mission was to establish a foundation for the coinage cost of essential goods and services.  Thus all modern economics on Carsis stems from the words of the council, which are taken to be divinely sanctioned as a just system of pricing.

Under the system of barter all exchanges are negotiable, all prices are relative. “What will you trade me, here and now, for this item?” is the foundation. Although tradition had established certain norms of exchange value, the rule of supply and demand clearly dominated economic life. There is nothing morally wrong with this system; however it has some sizable faults. 

Coins offered a stable storage for value. They had been common in ancient days but they fell out of use during the Dark Age, because a coin itself provides no real utility; you can’t eat a gold piece and it makes a poor tool. (the Elves always held this view) The question “What should be the purchasing power of a coin?” was posed as civilization became more stable and coins began to be used again. However there was no established value for any coin, it fluctuated from place to place and even from season to season.

As Gebalur said “Bread is the basic sustenance of life.” so we shall start there.

Taken as a basic commodity we shall say that; 1 loaf of bread = 1 coin. From this we can start to deduce some other basic costs. 

The average family needs a minimum of 1 loaf per day, x8 days / week = 8 coins spent if they buy bread from a baker. If they make it at home, as most families do, they need to use 8 lbs of flour. As any baker knows the real amount of flour used will be a bit more. Thus we find that a 10 lbs sack of flour should cost 1 coin.However flour is not a raw product, it is milled grains of wheat (or other cereal crop) that requires the labor of a miller. In the grinding possess the weight of grain is effectively reduced by half. So it takes a 20 lbs sack of grain to make a 10 lbs sack of flour. Thus we may say the basic allotment of grain should be a 20 lbs bag costing 1 coin.

Under this system of logic 1 coin can either buy you ready to eat bread for 1 day or the main ingredient for enough bread for 1 weak.

Taken as a general guide for ready to serve food and drink, the cost of a basic meal; a bit of bread, meat or cheese and a few vegetables, should be 1 coin. Likewise the average mug of beer; 1 pint should cost 1 coin. 

            How much will it cost a house hold to put food on the table?

We shall assume a simple few items for a family of five, living in a town.  

Flour for bread, 10 lbs sack / week, 1 coin, x4 weeks / month = 4 coins

Potatoes, 10 lbs basket / week, 1 coin, x4 weeks / month = 4 coins

Onions, 10 lbs basket / week, 1 coin, x4 weeks / month = 4 coins

Cheese or meet, 10 lbs / week, 1 coin, x4 weeks / month = 4 coins

Beer, 1 gallon keg / week, 1 coin, x4 weeks / month = 4 coins

We find a weekly cost of 5 coins and a monthly cost of 20 coins.

Of course farmers don’t pay for their food, that’s their big advantage in life.

When you start adding a few more items and especially if you want any luxury foods, you can double the monthly cost of feeding your family. We must stress that these costs are for locally grown products. The cost of transport will increase the cost.

            How much does it cost to put a roof over your table?       

We shall assume a dwelling for a family of five, living in a town.

Quality	Cost / Day	Cost / Week	Cost / Month
Low	1	8	32
Medium	2	16	64
High	4	32	128

Low quality often means an apartment with a shared yard if any.

Medium quality means a two level house with a small privet yard.

High quality means a large home with room for servants and a sizable yard.

Some apartments rent on a weekly rate, but most dwellings only offer a monthly cost.

The exact rate will change slightly because of location and other factors. Most typically as follows; Low 30 coin, Medium 60 coin, High 130 coin.

The cost / day, reflects the piece rate for an inn. Low; bed in common room, Medium; small privet room, High; luxury suit with sitting and bed room. Generally each extra person in a room pays 1 coin, so two people sharing a Medium room would cost 3 coins.     

             Cost of Living

We shall briefly look at the cost of living for an average family of five in a town.

Food cost 20 coins / month, according to out above list which is rather incomplete. A more reasonable sum would add 2 coin / week for various kitchen supplies, for a total of 28 coins / month. Rent on a low quality home would be 32 coins / month. Fuel costs would add about 1 coin / week, for the kitchen fire that is always burning, 4 coins / month. Clothing is not purchased regularly but its cost is usually significant, so we estimate about 4 coins / month should be set aside. Drinking at the tavern, four days / week as many men do, will amount to 16 coins / month. Thus our grand total is 84 coins.

This tells us that our average working family man must earn more than 80 coins / month.

This example of a cost of living would be considered poor by most; it offers no real luxuries or savings and requires a low quality home. But it provides a valuable scale to measure non-aristocratic social levels by offering a subsistence bench mark.

            Required levels of Income

Anyone making less than 80 coins / month would be considered poor. Those making 80 to 100 would be lower average. Those making 160 to 200 would be considered upper average.  Those making 200 to 400 would be the wealthy commoners.   

The next question is about wage rates. Most towns have a 6 day work week and pay is by the day. No one pays by hour, but some jobs do pay on completion of specific tasks. What matter here is the average wage as follows…

Pay / day	Pay / week	Pay / month
2	12	48
3	18	72
4	24	96
5	30	120
6	36	144
7	42	168
8	48	192
9	54	216
10	60	240

A rate of 4 coins / day will provide a solid lower average class living.

With a wage of 6 / day you are middle class.

At a rate of 8 / day you are upper average.

But the above is not true for many people.

It must be pointed out that life in rural areas still operates very much with out cash.

Most food is free, so is fuel, rent is usually taken as an amount of crops you grow. For the farmer money is generated by selling surplus crops at market. It is used for luxury items which can not be made locally. For the towns’ people money is more essential.