Prices and Money Supply It may not seem like prices, money, knowledge, and technology belong together, but all the terms connect into one category. Money is a big deal when it comes to prices in the past and present. Knowledge and technology are also important. Tables and graphs that compare the prices of food and other goods can be surprising in their results. In 1915 the price of bread was seven cents. Right now, if you go to your local supermarket, you can find a loaf of bread for about a dollar. This is most likely the lowest price available for a loaf of bread. The price doubled fourteen times or increased by 1328% – an astonishing figure. 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%. The difference between prices and wages is 500%. This means that today you can purchase more items with the same amount of money than before. In 1910, the money supply was 3,148,000,000; in 1994 it was equal to 371,466,000,000. The percentage increase is approximately 11700%. As you can see, the percentage increase in money supply is greater than the percentage increase in prices, greater than 10372%. This is where knowledge and technology come into play. Technology has increased dramatically, therefore allowing manufacturing to become more proficient. The technology wouldn't be possible without the knowledge that makes it expand, helping businesses around the world. For example, the assembly line significantly lowered the prices of automobiles. Reduces the production hours of a car. Robots have replaced humans all over the world. The reason for replacing 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 used wisely. If knowledge and technology had not existed, the prices of all types of items would multiply. The assembly line example is perfect to explain this concept. Let's say robots were never made and humans were put in the position of robots.