Monopoly: A Terrible Finance Teacher

閱讀暖身

《大富翁》是許多人童年美好的回憶；擲骰子、算格子、蓋房子，努力成為最後贏家。當時覺得遊戲中理所當然的房租、稅金、貸款，如今看來都與現實不符。在讓下一代繼續玩這個傳統遊戲之前，也應好好思考遊戲能夠如何教育他們財經相關知識。

進入本文前，請先想想以下單字：
(A) 波動／ (B) 房貸／(C) 遵守

Monopoly, a classic board game that many grew up with, may not be the first choice to teach children about real-world finance. The scarcity, tradeoffs and the sole purpose of the game—becoming the wealthiest player through buying and selling of property—indeed reflect that of the real-world. Nonetheless, players need to be aware of the plethora of inaccuracies in contrast to how the systems work in the real-world.

《大富翁》是一款相當經典的紙盤遊戲，卻不是最好的商業教材。雖然稀少性、交易模式及遊戲中「成為最富有的玩家」主旨與現實相符，但玩家需意識到其中為數可觀與真實世界不符的錯誤。

1. Predetermined Pricing　已預定的價位
Unlike in most capitalist societies where prices are determined by (1)supply and demand, all prices for properties, houses and hotels are predetermined and flat in Monopoly. The property purchasing price does not (A)fluctuate with social and political trends. The landlords may not raise rent (2)as they see fit or charge extra fees. Therefore, players cannot play the real estate market as they would in the real-world. Although they can negotiate among themselves for trading, it is only for unimproved properties, railroads and utilities.

《大富翁》不像資本社會多以供需為標準來決定價格；遊戲中所有地產、房屋及飯店都已有既定價位。由於地產買賣價格不會被社會及政治趨勢影響而波動，地主也不能心血來潮加收房租或其他費用，因此玩家不能如現實世界中炒房地產。即便遊戲中玩家可以商談交易價，但所能交易的物產只有仍未改建過的土地、鐵路及水電廠。

2. Unusual Property Rights 獨特的財產權
Similar to unrealistic pre-established prices, many property rights are misrepresented in Monopoly. For instance, players must purchase unimproved property, a house, or hotel from the bank with full payment in cash without (B)mortgage. Monopoly does have a mortgage system—players who do not have enough money may choose to mortgage their properties. Once mortgaged, players may not collect rent for the properties in the game. Monopoly fails to address reality in these aspects. In real life, banks are only involved in foreclosed properties; property transfers usually take place between two individual owners and people often finance them with mortgages. People collect rents to pay for their properties constantly. The improvement policy in Monopoly also has flaws. Players must build structures in order: from house to hotel, with hotel building having a prerequisite of four houses. In the real-world, people may build hotels and houses simultaneously providing that they (C)abide by city zoning laws, neighborhood deed restrictions and homeowner association requirements.

除了與現實不符的預定價位，許多遊戲中的財產權也扭曲了實際情況。舉例來說，玩家必須向銀行購買地產或加蓋房屋並以現金一次付清，不可貸款。《大富翁》的確有貸款選項－在遊戲過程中若現金不足可抵押資產向銀行貸款，但貸款中的地產不能向其他玩家收取租金。《大富翁》並未完整重現實際情況：現實生活中大部分的地產交易皆存於買賣雙方，只有法拍屋需要銀行介入；許多人買屋時便申請房貸，不是一次付清。拿房租付貸款也十分常見。地產增建改建制度亦皆有瑕疵；玩家必須先建房屋才能建飯店，想建飯店得先蓋好四棟房子。現實生活中房子及飯店可同時增建改建，只要步驟皆遵守市區規定即可。

3. Gambling Taxes　投機的課稅方式
In addition, tax in Monopoly is not collected in a fair and timely manner. Players only have to pay either $200 or 10% of the net worth tax when they land on the Income Tax board space and $75 for luxury tax. Unlike in the game, actual income taxes are collected annually and based on income, not net worth. Property taxes and school taxes are even more (3)hit-or-miss; players pay property taxes and school taxes when they draw the unfortunate Community Chest card with the amount indicated on the card. In contrast, actual property taxes collected annual or semiannually are based on both the lands and their improvements.

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