Thomas A. Edison: Issue Bonds

Thomas A. Edison Money Quote saying that the country should be able to print currency and not only bonds. Thomas A. Edison said:
 

 

“It is absurd to say our country can issue bonds and cannot issue currency. Both are promises to pay, but one fattens the usurer and the other helps the people” — Thomas A. Edison

In this quote, Thomas Edison is contrasting bonds and currency issued by a country. Bonds are debt instruments where the government borrows money from lenders (“usurers”) and pays interest, which Edison says “fattens” or enriches those lenders.

However, he argues that for a nation to directly issue its own currency through mechanisms like the printing of paper money does not burden taxpayers with interest payments and instead “helps the people” by stimulating the broader economy.

Edison’s view is that since governments can legitimately take on debt by issuing bonds, they should also have the power to directly fund activities by producing currency rather than being entirely reliant on borrowing from private sources. He questions why one financial tool is seen as acceptable while the other is not, when both essentially represent promises to pay by the issuing authority.

Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931

Thomas Edison: Sale Utility

Thomas Edison Money Quote saying there’s no point to inventing things that nobody buys or wants. Sales prove utility. Thomas Edison said:
 

 

“Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success” — Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is emphasizing the importance of commercial viability and market demand for any invention. He’s saying he did not want to devote time and resources to inventing something that would not ultimately sell well. In Edison’s view, an invention achieving meaningful sales and adoption by consumers was the truest proof that it was actually a useful and successful innovation that met real-world needs.

His philosophy, as conveyed in this quote, was that utility or usefulness in practical application by the public was the primary measure of an invention’s success – not simply its technical achievement or novelty alone. Edison cared most about inventing things with real commercial potential that customers wanted and were willing to purchase.

Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931

Thomas Edison: Sun & Solar Energy Money

Thomas Edison Money Quote saying he would bet on solar energy because it was so readily available – he’d have lost that bet during his lifetime but seems to have expected a long wait – until fossil fuels were exhausted. Thomas Edison said:
 

 

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that” — Thomas Edison

In this quote, Thomas Edison is expressing his belief in the enormous potential of solar energy well before it was widely harnessed. Though oil and coal were the dominant energy sources of his era, Edison recognized the sun as an infinitely more powerful and sustainable “source of power”.

His hope was that society would pursue developing solar technology proactively rather than waiting until fossil fuels were depleted to address future energy needs. Edison seemed to foresee that the sun could someday replace oil and coal as a primary energy provider if given serious research and investment.

The quote conveys Edison’s forward-thinking view of the sun as offering virtually limitless clean energy opportunities if humanity would only “tackle” harnessing its power through innovation and engineering progress.

Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931

January 10 (yearly) is #NationalCutYourEnergyCostsDay #CutYourEnergyCostsDay

Thomas Edison: Money Value of Invention

Thomas Edison Money Quote saying he had a sixth sense (or physical gland) which tells him how valuable an invention might be in the marketplace. Thomas Edison said:
 

 

“The point in which I am different from most inventors is that I have, besides the usual inventor’s make-up, the bump of practicality as a sort of appendix, the sense of the business, money value of an invention” — Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is highlighting a key difference between himself and many other inventors. While he shared their creative talents for invention, Edison also had a strong “sense of the business, money value” side that he likens to an “appendix”. His point seems to be that in addition to the technical skills of inventing, he possessed an additional practical orientation focused on assessing how commercially viable an invention could be and determining its potential financial worth if brought to market.

Edison is suggesting this practical “bump” allowed him to not just invent things but also recognize their business potential and profitability in a way many inventors did not. He saw the value in considering real-world application and demand – not just the inventing itself – giving him an edge over those who may have been more theoretically or experimentally minded without this practical business sense.

Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931

Thomas Edison: Inventor Costly Amusement

Thomas Edison Money Quote saying inventors pay less attention to marketability than personal interest in their inventions and end up creating expenses only. Thomas Edison said:
 

 

“Most inventors who have an idea never stop to think whether their invention will be saleable when they get it made. Unless a man has plenty of money to throw away, he will find that making inventions is about the costliest amusement he can find” — Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is cautioning inventors that developing and commercializing inventions is an expensive process that requires serious consideration of whether an invention can actually be sold profitably on the market. He notes that unless one has significant funds to spend without regard for financial losses, pursuing inventions purely as a hobby or amusement will likely end up being an extremely costly endeavor.

Edison’s point seems to be that inventors need to think practically about commercial viability and demand for their ideas, not just the inventing process itself, or they risk wasting a great deal of money trying to bring inventions to market that have little chance of earning back development costs. His advice is to properly assess saleability and avoid treating invention as an indulgent pastime without regard for financial sustainability.

Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931

Thomas Edison: Main Purpose, Make Money

Thomas Edison Money Quote saying learn what the market wants and create it when it doesn’t yet exist in order to make money to continue invention. Thomas Edison said:
 

 

“I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent. My main purpose in life is to make money so that I can afford to go on creating more inventions” — Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is explaining his approach to invention and his motivations. He suggests he first identifies necessary or desired inventions by considering what problems exist in the world that need solving.

Once he determines a need, he works to invent something to address it. However, his primary goal in doing so is not just to create inventions for their own sake, but rather “to make money” through their commercial success.

Edison acknowledges his main purpose is to earn enough financial profit from his inventions that he can continually fund the research and development costs of inventing new things.

His comments portray a pragmatic philosophy of addressing real-world needs through invention, but doing so in a financially sustainable way through monetization of his ideas.

Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931

Thomas Edison: Middleman Dollars & Cents

Thomas Edison Money Quote saying he brought the crazy ideas of inventors to profit by turning them into marketable products or commodities. Thomas Edison said:
 

 

“I am a sort of middleman between the long-haired and impractical inventor and the hard-headed businessman who measures all things in terms of dollars and cents. My principal business is giving commercial value to the brilliant but misdirected ideas of others” — Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is cautioning inventors that developing and commercializing inventions is an expensive process that requires serious consideration of whether an invention can actually be sold profitably on the market. He notes that unless one has significant funds to spend without regard for financial losses, pursuing inventions purely as a hobby or amusement will likely end up being an extremely costly endeavor.

Edison’s point seems to be that inventors need to think practically about commercial viability and demand for their ideas, not just the inventing process itself, or they risk wasting a great deal of money trying to bring inventions to market that have little chance of earning back development costs. His advice is to properly assess saleability and avoid treating invention as an indulgent pastime without regard for financial sustainability.

Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931

Thomas Edison: Government Debt Brokers

Thomas A. Edison Money Quote saying that bankers are controlling the national wealth (and debt) by charging the government interest while contributing nothing. Thomas A. Edison said:
 

 

“It is a terrible situation when the Government, to insure the National Wealth, must go in debt and submit to ruinous interest charges at the hands of men who control the fictitious value of gold” — Thomas A. Edison

Thomas A. Edison is criticizing the way monetary policy was tied to the gold standard at the time. His point is that by basing the value of currency on gold, whose worth could be manipulated, it forced governments like the U.S. to take on debt at high interest rates controlled by those who set gold’s artificial price.

Edison suggests this put nations in a “terrible situation” of being financially beholden to such moneyed interests. He implies tying the wealth and stability of countries to an arbitrarily valued commodity like gold was misguided and resulted in governments having to pay exorbitant “ruinous interest charges” on loans.

The quote reflects Edison’s view that this gold-backed economic system impaired national fiscal health and autonomy.

Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931