“I cannae change the laws of economics!”
I thought they were in a currencyless society
Only regarding humans on Earth. Everywhere else required latinum or bargaining.
And we know there was some kind of navy bean-to-credits exchange rate.
I think currency was still used to some extent in the TOS era since Kirk mentioned to Picard in Generations that he ‘sold the house years ago’.
It’s a bit muddled, since in The Voyage Home when the marine biologist lady says, “Don’t tell me you don’t use money in the 23rd century,” Kirk replies, “Well, we don’t.”
There’s also a line in The Doomsday Machine where Kirk tells Scotty he “Just earned his pay for the week”
Also totally possible it’s just a saying, current English is full of old phrases and words, I wouldn’t think it was odd if someone said “worth their salt” for example.
I’ll bet you credits to navy beans we can put a dent in it
Eh… We still say “dollars to donuts” even though donuts cost more than a dollar. Phrases are weird and can’t be trusted to make sense.
True, I forgot about that line even though it’s my favourite Trek movie.
In Voyager, the situation is admittedly different, but they talk specifically about replicator credits. It could be that there’s a de facto currency depending on the environment one’s in. Alternatively, they could be common sayings that have outlived their literal meanings (becoming something akin to idioms) or, if you prefer some meta, they’re translations of what the characters actually say into the parlance a 20th-/21st-century audience is more comfortable with.
Deep Space Nine also had replicator credits and employees getting paid a limited salary.
