money, money, money

Today, I will evaluate a money system commonly used in most countries (An interesting subject, you might say)

I don't like the idea of money exchanging hands, determining a person's status, and everything else. When I stopped to think about it, money pretty much controls everything. You know the saying, "money can't buy happiness". Oh, if only it were true. In some cases money can buy happiness. Just as a little example, that shows how early a greed for money can start:
A little girl walking down the street, her hand in her mother's (you know how cautious they are, and for good reason!). The sun is exessively bright, and everyone is uncomfortably hot. She turns to her mother a begs and whines for "just one ice cream cone." The mother gives in and buys the ice cream. The two walk off, happily. The mother enjoys the peace and quiet and the kid slurps at the ice cream.
Huh? So money can't buy happiness, riiiiiight.
Money is everything. And everyone seems to have accepted that because when was the last time anyone lived without this money system (well they aren't alive today!). I can't believe how much money controls us, it controls what we wear, what we eat, what we watch, who we are friends with, and overall self-esteem. Anything you talk about, you can relate it back to money! But now, especially, in this bottomless pit that the economy has become, we all worry more about money and, as I like to argue, less about things that matter. How many people lay homeless on the streets, how many people starve or go without proper medicine/health care, how many people are hanging on the edge trying to hold on to their job, etc. for their kids and family? No one knows, because there are too many to count. We all, lower class and middle class mostly, stare at the newspaper or news on the tv/internet waiting in fear for news that will ruin our lives, and for some that has already happened. But what can we do? We are all suffering, and I don't have an answer, I really wish I did, but I don't.

I got really interested in this topic just now because I thought about a book I read (typical me). In the book, there was this trust system, no money exchanged. People took what they needed from the stores, and the only reason there were people at the front counter was to make sure that they weren't running out of anything. Then, again the book was about an alien race. But wouldn't that be great? I mean if we, people in general, could be trusted not to take too much. In the end I realize that nothing can change what we are now, we are all corrupt in some way, we are all greedy and jealous sometimes. (I'm not trying to be mean, just truthful)

Anyway, my evaluation: I think that the money systems run throughout the world are fine. Do you have an alternative that would work for the general public? (I didn't think so) ;)