The recession has been a huge part of the state of the economy for nearly two years now (according to when it officially began in December 2007). It has affected everyone in one way or another during that time. So, why not take something that was and continues to be awful and use it as a tool to teach your children about financial responsibility?

There are plenty of children that grow up with only a small idea of what the value of a dollar is. In the years leading up to the recession, many parents would indulge their children and even spoil them with some of the things they wanted without having to work to earn them.

When starting at an early age, children can be taught that when they do something good, they can earn things that they want; but how young should a parent start offering a child allowance? My sister and I did not start getting an allowance until we were 7 or 8. However, I believe that children can likely benefit from the system at a younger age.

Getting back to the issue of the “value of a dollar,” children need things such as clothes, school supplies, etc., but while those things are considered necessary, things such as expensive shoes and designer backpacks aren’t. As children get older, they can learn this lesson and, in some situations, may be able to earn the expensive shoes and backpacks by working for them.

Overindulging a child makes them a maladjusted adult in a lot of situations. A child that gets everything that he or she wants doesn’t help them as they get older. So, perhaps if a parent is a pushover now, the recession is helping him or her say no to their child as far as indulgences go. When one or both parents are out of work, things such as little trinkets which seemed harmless to get for the children before are now simply unaffordable.

Teaching kids about money when they’re young will definitely help them make better financial decisions as they get older.

Earlier this week there were reports coming out that Arab oil sheiks, the Russians, and the Chinese were all conspiring to stop using the United States dollar to set the value of a barrel of oil. Of course, if this were to really happen it would really hurt the value of a dollar across the globe.

Remember last week when I talked about what happens when someone give a false story to the press? That’s what is going on this week and it’s causing a serious decline in the value of a dollar and a serious increase in the cost of gold.

Even though someone as high up as the Saudi central bank head and U.S. officials have tried to bunk the rumors, the dollar has definitely taken a hit this week.

The website drudgereport.com quickly amplified the impact of the story with a headline atop the site: ARAB STATES LAUNCH SECRET MOVES WITH CHINA, RUSSIA, FRANCE TO STOP USING DOLLAR FOR OIL TRADING …

“You read that story, and you do two things: You sell the hell out of dollars and you buy gold,” said Les Alperstein, president of the financial research firm Washington Analysis. “The story has a lot of credibility, with some caveats.”

So, the fall of the dollar could be the key as to why the price of gold is now at record highs. At $1,050 a try ounce, investors are selling the dollar and buying gold just as Les Alperstein said.

No one knows who exactly leaked the fake information to the press. Many are thinking it had something to do with gold traders. Of course, your suspicions typically turn to the source who stands to make the most from the information, however false it may be.

Prior to the recession, the value of the dollar would not be as damaged by an article such as this one. However, with how poor our economy is doing and also how watered down the value of our dollar has become, it is quite the hit to the value of the greenback.

Robert Fisk wrote the original article and he listed very vague sources in his article. No one has been able to locate the exact sources and even people and administration from the banks he claimed gave him the information in the article have said that the story is completely false.

So, who’s got their hand in Robert Fisk’s pocket?

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