Give A Child a Checkbook Or Make Him Bank President.

       Did you know that the makers of the board game, Monopoly, have decided that having a "go to jail" feature is bad for the young mind? It's true. The latest thinking is that children who play Monopoly should not face the embarrassment of being forced to go to jail. Is that true? I mean, will children who get a go to jail card, do not pass go, do not collect $200, will be scarred for life?

       On the other hand, not having a jail threat in Monopoly does make it more lifelike. Now the children can just keep on passing GO and collecting their rewards without any threat of jail time whatsoever. Just like real life. At least real life if they go into banking where if you work for a large enough, or to put it more clearly, if they work for a too big to fail bank, they can collect their profits and stock options without fear of prosecution or jail time. No mention of not passing GO or not collecting their $200.

       Here's another thing that makes Monopoly just like major banking. The Daily Show, last night, explained the animals and cars and all those items are made of metal. And you just keep pushing them around the board and collecting your rewards. So now, Monopoly is more educational than ever. More realistic as well.

       We need more lifelike games for kids to play. More educational games for those young lives destined to go into high finance. How about a board game where some less fortunate children get to buy homes on places like Ventner Ave. And then the more advantaged who go to work at the big banks get to foreclose on those homes so they can buy homes on Park Place. Wouldn't that be a great game to prepare kids for life?

       How about a war games board game where you get to name the country you will send your army into to create a brand new Republic. In this game you can borrow the money to go to war and thereby put your country on a spiral into bankruptcy. Then you can move offshore with all the money you made building the weapons of war and the interest on the loans for the war. Educational games are great aren't they?