You get what you pay for.
Interestingly enough the symbol of an exchange in energy. The more energy you put in (it is assumed) the more you get out.
Since we have a barter system based on paper currency some will agree that for the right amount of money (base value of energy) you can motivate a system infinitely -- this is not the case.
"Barter system based on paper currency" is a contradiction. Barter implies there's no intermediate store of value exchanged.
The thought is based on the precept that the more something is valued, the more "expensive" it is... even though the run on all the same atoms :) -- racinejp@thot.net
A bonmot in German is: Someone who is paying with peanuts shouldn't be surprised when he get apes
"You get what you pay for"... Really? Did the people who bought Enron or Worldcom stock get what they paid for? I think it's more accurate to say that you don't get what you don't pay for. -- PierreCloutier
Or, for that matter, with OpenSource you get more than you pay for.
In some situations you get what you pay for. In other situations you don't get what you paid for. The more life experience you have enables you to more likely to sniff out the 1st or the 2nd. -- wc
See: YouGetWhatYouPlayFor