Quote Originally Posted by Apázlinemjó View Post
Well, 1 mnai is 1/60 talent, so if we calculate with Attic talent and accept wikipedia as "source" then:

1 silver Attic talent is = $10 760
so
1 mnai is $179,33
so
100 mnai is $17 933
so
300 mnai (which is a regular unit's upkeep) is $53 799 and let's say that this unit contains 240 men, then it's $224,16 for a turn / man
It costs about $500,000 to support each soldier in Afghanistan, so given relative economics and logistics, the current unit costs are probably not a bad approximation.

Quote Originally Posted by Scipio Germanicus View Post
Interest is basically a fee paid to use someone else's money. If you borrow from the bank, you pay them back what you borrowed plus a little extra as payment for using their money. Likewise, if you invest in a savings account, a savings bond, etc... you are letting the bank use your money and when you withdraw or cash in, you'll get a little extra (usually much less than the bank gets on interest from loans) for letting them use your money.
Wow. I wish economists were that pithy in their explanations of economics

I'lll give you a balloon if you can explain inflation that effectively!