Saving money for college
Once I got into high school, the pressure was on to find a job, work hard, and save up as much as I could so that I would be prepared for the future. But what I’m noticing now is that saving up seems to have taken precedent over other things, like how in the photo, the cash pile overwhelms the hands placing it. When I look closer, the hands farther down seem to be trying to take some money away, which represents, to me, the colleges taking money for applications and visits/tours.
I’m not sure if it’s just because of the stress of saving up, or the appointment I just made with my guidance counselor to talk over college plans, but all that seems to come to mind when viewing this photo is college, and most of all the hefty price tag.
— Mackenzie Thompson, Danvers, MA
An unstable society
In these current times money and wealth is everything. Without this, people would not be able to eat, own a home, drive a car, etc. This is why people are so focused on adding money to the stack, so they can live comfortably and provide for themselves. However, people in society get so focused on adding to the stack of money, they can become greedy and lose focus on other things such as family and friends. So when this stack eventually does come tumbling down, from losing a job for example, people will not know what to do or where to turn because the main thing they have been primarily focused on, the wealth, will no longer exist.
— Gabriela Ferullo, Danvers, Massachusetts
A message about patience
I think this picture is a message about patience, and the prosperity and wealth that being patient will bring. I see many hands with steam coming off of them, and this appears to indicate frustration. There is also the hand at the top, which I view to be taking the top stack of dollars off of the money tower. From this view, I interpret the message to being that, since the money is eventually going to reach you once the hands above you have their money, you just need to exercise patience when waiting. This relates to society in the sense that we are ALL waiting for money – and just like the frustrated hands trying to get one of the low layers of money, we all need to be patient, because wealth is coming to us too.
— Aaron Leventhal, Massachusetts
Individuals, corporations and the government
After seeing the image “Stacks of Money”, I have many ideas about what it means. The first that comes to mind is that everyone is trying to secure the bag and get some money. There are multiple hands reaching out to grab the money. These hands represent the people in the world who are trying to become successful. Everyone is trying to get money and some will do whatever it takes to get there. However these hands can also represent corporations instead of individual people. These corporations who are reaching out and stealing money from people. These hands could also represent the government. The government is taking money from the citizens of the citizens of the United States through taxes.
The ebbs and flows of money
In this image, Claire Merchlinsky portrays the conflicting economic interests of society and the lack of diversity in the top tiers of wealth. The stacks of money are standing precariously as different hands pull some away, and others add more to the top of the stack. The addition and removal mirrors the way society and different demographics use money; all Americans pay taxes and put money into the government, but we also take it away. There are schools that need more funding, healthcare programs to help those in need, and working people take their salary from employers. This ebb and flow of money is represented well in this image, and forces people to think about how they spend and save money; what they use it for, how they could use their money to help their communities, or to think about how this stack of money has gotten to be so tall.
Wealth corrupts
I believe that Merchlinsky is commenting on the corruptness of the wealthy in her illustration. In the drawing there is multiple hands reaching for the stacks of money, red and illustrated to look as if they are burnt and there is smoke nearby. Today money is “burning” people as it turns them corrupt, tempting them to use their wealth for bad. It is no secret the influence money has in all aspects of life. Recently there has been a prevalent issue with money being used to influence and entice the chances of students getting accepted to elite colleges college. In this incident, the wealthy’s access to money allowed them to bend the chances of getting into college in their favor. This photo is commenting on this unfair advantage the wealthy have, and how powerful and evil money can become.
