Some professions are every bit as good as gold

Aside from their scarcity, I have often wondered why we value our planet’s so-called precious minerals over our own productivity. In other words, why aren’t selected human professions and their ongoing contributions to society valued enough to be assigned stock symbols and placed on the stock exchange as a commodity?

After all, shouldn’t we really value the professions of doctors, policemen, firemen and teachers over owning gold or investing in pork belly futures? Shouldn’t each graduating class of physicians raise the stock of their profession where by investing in their work (stock) we also raise money for hospitals, their work and and us?

The same can be said for purchasing growth shares in athletic accomplishments and the performing arts. Who wouldn’t want to own stock in the Seattle Seahawks or invest in Lady Gaga’s next tour. Even unethical investments can pay dividends, such as investing in the plethora of law firms who are adept at getting cash settlements for the most ludicrous of lawsuits. On another note, just think of the money one could have made if they had invested in O.J. Simpson’s defense team? That investment would still be paying dividends.

On the other hand, I suppose it would be stretch of anyone’s dollar to invest in the work of our politicians, a profession which has provided absolutely no growth in the last half century.

I guess I can only dream that someday, those people who are tasked with enriching humanity can ever be considered “good as gold.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 7:46 AM with the headline "Some professions are every bit as good as gold."