Ministry of Finance

The Ministry

The Ministry of Finance is the government ministry responsible for monetary policy, public finance, currency administration, and oversight of the cereal-based monetary system of the Glorious Revolutionary Microrepublic of Whaaat!?

The Ministry supervises the Cereal Exchange Authority (CEXA), which establishes exchange rates among the Republic's recognized cereal commodity currencies.

Monetary system

The monetary system of the Glorious Revolutionary Microrepublic of Whaaat!? is based upon measured quantities of breakfast cereal.

The fundamental commodity unit is the bowl, officially defined as approximately:

1 bowl = 1¾ US cups = 400 mL

Different cereals constitute different classes of currency. Exchange rates among these commodity currencies are established and periodically adjusted by the Cereal Exchange Authority.

The four principal cereal currencies are:

• Sweet Corn — entertainment, luxury goods, and hard foreign exchange
• Corn — ordinary unofficial commerce
• Wheat — government and official transactions
• Chocolate — health care and medical transactions

The Whaaatloo

The Whaaatloo (symbol: ₩) is the basic monetary unit of the Glorious Revolutionary Microrepublic of Whaaat!? and is expressed in bowls of Wheat cereal.

₩1 = one standard bowl of Wheat currency = approximately 400 mL (1¾ US cups).

Sweet Corn, Corn, and Chocolate currencies are valued as multiples or fractions of the Whaaatloo, with exchange rates established by the Cereal Exchange Authority.

Typical monetary notation includes:

• ₩1 — one Whaaatloo
• ₩½ — one-half Whaaatloo
• ₩¼ — one-quarter Whaaatloo
• ₩⅕ — one-fifth Whaaatloo

The ₩ character is derived from Unicode U+20A9. Its use as the symbol of the Whaaatloo should not be confused with its use for the South Korean won.

Based upon average United States retail cereal prices, the Ministry assigns the Whaaatloo a nominal reference value of approximately US$0.60 per bowl.

This reference value is used for comparative accounting and exchange purposes and does not eliminate the underlying commodity basis of Whaaatian currency.

Commodity currencies

Sweet Corn

Sweet Corn is the Republic's hard foreign-exchange currency and is principally used for entertainment, luxury goods, and other discretionary transactions.

A standard Sweet Corn bowl consists approximately of:

• 200 Frosted Flakes; or
• 100 Cap'n Crunch nuggets.

A typical 400 mL bowl weighs approximately 60 grams and represents approximately 240 calories.

Sweet Corn combines relatively high desirability with convenient cereal-piece denomination, making it particularly appropriate for discretionary and luxury commerce.

For a generic illustration of the flake-type cereal used in this currency, see:

Generic bowl of cereal flakes — Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Corn

Corn currency is intended for regular day-to-day transactions of an unofficial nature. It is generally not used for government activity or health-care transactions.

A standard Corn bowl consists approximately of:

• 200 Corn Flakes; or
• 150 Corn Chex.

A typical 400 mL bowl weighs approximately 50 grams and represents approximately 180 calories.

Generic public-domain illustrations:

Bowl of corn flakes — Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Close-up of corn flakes — Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Wheat

Wheat currency is the official governmental currency and forms the commodity basis of the Whaaatloo.

A standard Wheat bowl consists approximately of:

• 200 Wheaties flakes; or
• 2 full-size Shredded Wheat biscuits.

A typical 400 mL bowl weighs approximately 60 grams and represents approximately 200 calories.

Wheat currency is used for official government payments including:

• taxes;
• postage and stamps;
• utilities;
• permits;
• government fees; and
• Cereal Aptitude Test fees.

The Government may require exchange or payment in whole full-size Shredded Wheat biscuits regardless of the calculated fractional value.

Where a fractional biscuit would otherwise be required, the amount payable may be rounded upward to the next whole biscuit.

Because two full-size biscuits constitute approximately ₩1, the whole-biscuit rule creates a practical minimum Shredded Wheat denomination of approximately ₩½.

Consequently, the rounding effect of full-size Shredded Wheat biscuits may at times exaggerate the effective value of a Whaaatloo or of a government obligation denominated in Whaaatloos.

A historical public-domain illustration of Shredded Wheat is available at:

Shredded Wheat, 1899 — Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Chocolate

Chocolate currency is principally reserved for the health-care economy, including health services, drugs, pharmaceuticals, rehabilitation, and physical therapy.

A standard Chocolate bowl consists approximately of:

• 400 Chocolate Pebbles;
• 200 Count Chocula ghost-shaped cereal pieces and marshmallows; or
• 150 Cocoa Puffs.

A typical 400 mL bowl weighs approximately 60 grams and represents approximately 250 calories.

Because of the relatively small average size of many chocolate cereal units, movements in the health-care economy may be expressed in pebbles rather than flakes.

A generic illustration of chocolate cereal is available at:

Chocolate cereal — Wikimedia Commons

Cereal Exchange Authority

The Cereal Exchange Authority (CEXA) is the governmental monetary authority responsible for establishing and adjusting exchange rates among Sweet Corn, Corn, Wheat, and Chocolate currencies.

The Wheat-based Whaaatloo serves as the principal reference currency.

Sweet Corn, Corn, and Chocolate currencies are therefore pegged to multiples or fractions of the Whaaatloo, although their relative values may fluctuate.

CEXA traders establish exchange rates according to the relative values of the recognized cereal commodities.

Market trends are normally expressed as relative positive or negative changes measured in flakes.

In discussions of the health-care economy, fluctuations may instead be expressed in pebbles.

CEXA trading floor

Persons wishing to serve as traders of the Cereal Exchange Authority must successfully complete the Cereal Aptitude Test (CAT).

A score of at least 70 percent is required before a trader may be granted a seat on the CEXA trading floor.

The Cereal Aptitude Test is intended to ensure that persons entrusted with the valuation of the national cereal reserves possess at least a minimally acceptable ability to distinguish, enumerate, evaluate, and exchange cereal commodities.

Nominal cereal values

Using ₩1 = US$0.60 as the nominal reference value of a standard Wheat bowl, representative cereal prices produce the following approximate deviations:

Cereal	Currency class	Difference from ₩1	Approximate bowl value
Corn Flakes	Corn	−$0.15	$0.45
Frosted Flakes	Sweet Corn	−$0.10	$0.50
Cocoa Pebbles	Chocolate	−$0.08	$0.52
Cocoa Puffs	Chocolate	−$0.07	$0.53
Cap'n Crunch	Sweet Corn	−$0.04	$0.56
Shredded Wheat	Wheat	≈$0.00	$0.60
Chocolate Chex	Chocolate	+$0.03	$0.63
Corn Chex	Corn	+$0.05	$0.65
Wheaties	Wheat	+$0.09	$0.69
Count Chocula	Chocolate	+$0.13	$0.73

These figures are reference valuations rather than guaranteed retail redemption rates.

Actual exchange values among cereal currencies are established by CEXA.

Exchange-rate notation

CEXA ordinarily expresses changes in value by reference to the number of cereal pieces gained or lost relative to the standard bowl.

Thus, changes in the Sweet Corn, Corn, and Wheat markets may be reported as positive or negative movements in flakes.

Because Chocolate currency may contain substantially smaller cereal pieces, changes in the Chocolate market may instead be expressed in pebbles.

All such commodity movements ultimately may be converted into Whaaatloos (₩) according to the prevailing CEXA exchange rate.

Monetary policy

The cereal-based monetary system is intended to maintain a tangible commodity basis for Whaaatian currency while permitting different sectors of the economy to operate using cereal commodities appropriate to their functions.

Accordingly:

• a citizen purchasing an ordinary private good may transact in Corn;
• the same citizen paying a tax, permit, postage, utility, or government fee may transact in Wheat;
• health services and pharmaceuticals may be purchased using Chocolate; and
• entertainment and luxury goods may be purchased using Sweet Corn.

CEXA exchange rates provide convertibility among these economic sectors.

The resulting system combines commodity money, administratively defined monetary units, floating cereal exchange rates, and government-mandated cereal settlement requirements.

Measurement and rounding

For official monetary purposes:

1 bowl = approximately 1¾ US cups = 400 mL

Individual cereal-piece counts are standardized approximations. They do not imply that every individual flake, puff, pebble, nugget, marshmallow, square, or biscuit possesses identical mass, dimensions, caloric content, or monetary value.

Where government regulations specify payment in whole Shredded Wheat biscuits, the whole-biscuit requirement takes precedence over a nominal fractional Whaaatloo calculation.

Whole Biscuit Rule

Because two full-size Shredded Wheat biscuits equal approximately ₩1, each biscuit represents approximately ₩½.

Where payment must be made in whole biscuits, the obligation is rounded upward to the next available half-Whaaatloo increment.

For example:

Calculated obligation	Required biscuit payment	Effective payment
₩0.25	1 biscuit	₩0.50
₩0.50	1 biscuit	₩0.50
₩0.51	2 biscuits	₩1.00
₩1.00	2 biscuits	₩1.00
₩1.01	3 biscuits	₩1.50

This phenomenon is officially recognized as the Whole Biscuit Rule and explains why the practical value of certain government transactions may differ from their nominal Whaaatloo value.

Illustrations and cereal specimens

The Ministry of Finance prefers generic or historical cereal illustrations rather than contemporary commercial packaging when illustrating official descriptions of the monetary system.

The following images may be used as reference illustrations:

• Generic flake cereal / Sweet Corn: Bowl of corn flakes — Wikimedia Commons, CC0 public-domain dedication.
• Corn: Close-up photograph of corn flakes — Wikimedia Commons, released into the public domain.
• Wheat: Shredded Wheat recipes and illustration, 1899 — Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
• Chocolate: Chocolate cereal — Wikimedia Commons.

These illustrations are representative specimens only. The cereal standards stated in Ministry regulations govern the actual commodity classifications.

See also

• Cereal Exchange Authority
• Cereal Aptitude Test
• Whaaatloo
• Whole Biscuit Rule
• Postage
• Government of Whaaat!?

External links

• Generic bowl of corn flakes — Wikimedia Commons
• Corn flakes close-up — Wikimedia Commons
• Shredded Wheat, 1899 — Wikimedia Commons
• Chocolate cereal — Wikimedia Commons