Cash Rules Everything Around Me: Money, Markets, and Morals

Listen up. You want the truth? The truth is that all this shit—the Blue Jays signing some kid for millions, Yeat flexing his cash in music videos, crypto bros getting robbed of their digital fortune—it’s all just different faces of the same damn coin. And that coin? It’s what makes this whole system go ‘round.

How You Like Them Apples: The Economics of Everything

You see these trends? Take the Blue Jays dropping $6.2 million on this JoJo Parker kid. That’s not just baseball—that’s economics, man. That’s a financial instrument. That kid’s talent is a commodity now. They’re not just buying a shortstop; they’re making what they call an “under-slot deal” so they can spread wealth around to other assets. That’s right—these kids are assets before they even take their first professional swing.

I used to watch games at Fenway, right? Simple pleasure. Now it’s all about portfolio management. The Blue Jays front office ain’t much different from the suits at Goldman Sachs—they’re just playing with different numbers on different screens.

But hey, don’t quote Keynesian theory to me. I read it, I understand it. What I’m telling you is that when a 17-year-old kid’s talent becomes a financial strategy, we’ve moved beyond the game.

”It’s Not Your Fault”: The Yeat Generation and Conspicuous Consumption

And then there’s Yeat. “IM YEAT.” Man, that track isn’t just music—it’s a manifesto of modern capitalism. This kid’s got Billboard #1 albums celebrating what? His work ethic? No, his damn “extravagant lifestyle.” Every bar is about what he owns, what he can buy, how much money he’s got.

You know what’s really messed up? It works. The system rewards this shit. His “rage” music speaks to teenagers who’ve internalized that success equals consumption. They’re not dreaming about changing the world; they’re dreaming about affording what Yeat has.

But here’s the real tragedy: these kids aren’t stupid. They’re products of their environment. When wealth disparity is this extreme, when social mobility feels like a fairy tale, flaunting wealth becomes the only cultural capital some people can aspire to. It’s not their fault. It’s not their fault.

”How Do You Like Them Cryptos”: Digital Robbery in the Modern Age

Then we got this “giverep” trend. $263 million cryptocurrency heist. Home invasions targeting crypto holders. You see what’s happening? Money’s not even real anymore. It’s just ones and zeros, man. But people will still break into your house and threaten your family for access to digital wallets.

The authorities are charging 12 people, but they’re missing the bigger picture. The vulnerability isn’t just in the exchanges—it’s in the whole concept. We’ve created a system where wealth exists completely untethered from physical reality, yet we still kill for it.

And look at the response: “cloud mining” solutions with AI and “green energy” buzzwords slapped on to make everyone feel better about participating in the same broken system. It’s like putting a Band-Aid on gangrene.

”I Gotta Go See About a Girl”: Finding Humanity in a Commodified World

Here’s what really gets me. Between these three trends, where’s the humanity? Where’s the connection? The Blue Jays kid loses his college experience to become a corporate asset. Yeat’s identity is completely consumed by wealth signaling. And the crypto world is so obsessed with digital wealth that people are getting physically assaulted for access codes.

You know what? I don’t want to be a part of that system. People think they want money and status, but what they really want is connection. They want meaning. They want to look at another human being and feel something real.

Sean—you remember my therapist I told you about?—he’d probably say we’re all just looking for ways to matter in a world that increasingly puts dollar signs on everything. And maybe he’d be right.

But I’ll tell you this: no amount of Blue Jays contracts or Billboard hits or crypto wallets will fill the empty spaces inside us. That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.

So maybe instead of chasing all this wealth-signaling bullshit, we should be asking harder questions about why we’ve built a culture where money is the only measure of a person’s worth. Because from where I’m standing, that seems like the most worthless way to measure a life.

But what do I know? I’m just a janitor from Southie who happens to be good at math.