Prices and Money SupplyPrices, money, knowledge, and technology may not seem like they should be together, but all the terms connect into one category. Money is a major issue when talking about prices past and present. Knowledge and technology are also important. Charts and graphs comparing prices of food and other products can be astonishing in what they produce. In 1915, the price of bread was seven cents. Right now, if you go to your local grocery store, you can find a loaf of bread for about a dollar. This is probably the lowest price available for a loaf of bread. The price has doubled fourteen times or increased by a surprising 1,328 percent. The percentage change in wages is not even close to the percentage change in food prices. The minimum wage in 1938 was twenty-five cents; today the minimum wage is $5.15. The percentage increase is exactly 1960 percent. There is a 500 percent difference between prices and wages. This means you can buy more items with the same amount of money today than before. In 1910 the money supply was 3,148,000,000; in 1994 it was 371,466,000,000. The percentage increase is approximately 11,700 percent. As you can see, the percentage increase in money supply is greater than the percentage increase in prices, 10,372% more. This is where knowledge and technology come in. Technology has advanced significantly, allowing production to become more competent. Technology would not be possible without the knowledge that allows technology to grow and help businesses around the world. For example, the assembly line has significantly reduced the prices of cars. This reduces the hours of manufacturing a car. Robots are replacing humans all over the world. The reason we replace humans with robots is that robots don't work for money; they are programmed to work. This is just one of many examples of technology and knowledge being put to good use. Without knowledge and technology, the prices of all kinds of items would be multiplied. The assembly line example is perfect for explaining this concept. Let's say robots were never created and humans are put in the position of robots.