The other day me/myself/I were discussing our debt monkey – that Gorilla of Foolishness swollen to $225K – and we all came to the unilateral decision that it is not real.
Nope. Not a thing.
Because if it were real then we would care. Instead, debt is just numbers on a screen or paper rectangles … BUT! the obligation represented by the debt is real (money = magic), so might be a distinction without a difference, might be important to note, tho’ …
See, the American financial system, from start to finish, top to bottom, all along the spectrum … is insane.
Our financial system is based on consumption not production … using stuff rather than making stuff … and totally supported by consumers spending “money,” “money” which is … invented? created? manufactured? … by the Gub’mnt, and that “money” is … transferred? sold? conveyed? … to consumers so consumers can spend “money” to consume …. stuff.
Free market capitalism is great ‘n all …
… buuut aren’t humans kind of important too? Like, for instance, human need food, at least once a day, or once about, say, every two days or so, at the outside …
BUT!
… there is the Rule of Threes …
3 mins w/o air … 3 hours w/o shade … 3 days w/o water … 3 weeks w/o food
(… can delay that gratification for only so long …)
We’re not quite in SHTF mode … not yet—It’s coming! Ohyes. {Matt. 24:39} But not yet.
At least, not for everyone. Right now, some humans get their dinner from garbage cans – use used food – because these humans still need food but have not money.
SO! Food. Humans need this, aaannnddd growing / harvesting / culling / butchering / fishing as part of the whole food experience has generally become a very remote process for the typical human in America. Maybe in sport, perhaps as hobby, rarely by necessity …
I need a garden. And some chickens. HALF! WERK!
I kid, I bleat and baaa … AH! some goats might be in order.
SO! Food. Costs related thereto herewith. Hmmm.
Sooo … money > men?
An invention of man is master of man. This— I don’t like.
Consider:
Most folks are old enough to remember the Crash of Everything ’08, and how the Gub’mnt engaged in this … um … accounting? … strategy? … called “quantitative easing” to kinda-sorta-notreally fix the problem of the US Ponzi economic scheme and prop up BigBiz because BigBiz had gambled on the inflated / imaginary / invented price of stuff (houses and yes) by BigBiz borrowing from BigBiz based on money = magic … and then when the Precariat (heh) stopped paying its bills because EVERYBODY HADDA DEBT MON-KAAAY that got too big to control … poop started flying everywhere … and the whole world got splattered.
Annnddd because the Bug that Shut the World in 2020 – 202? just about killed the global economy the US did some more … “quantitative easing” … to prop up this system … juuust a lil’ bit more.
Anyway … “quantitative easing” … when the Gub’mnt buys up the money = magic stuff owned by BigBiz Banks (stock de-riv-ah-tive? debt ca-pi-tal? creh-dit de-fault swap? es-o-ter-ic A-B-S co-lla-ter-i-za-tion?) at magic prices with more money = magic to get money = magic into those BigBiz Banks so those BigBiz Banks will extend more … “credit” … to consumers to inspire those selfsame consumers… to spend. Wat/
But where does the “money” come from for the Gub’mnt to buy the money = magic stuff from BigBiz Banks? Taxes? But, er-uh, the US debt clock says the country only has this much (abt $3.4T) in income (reh-ven-nuuuz) … so how did it spend this much (almt $6.5T) on getting BigBiz Banks’ panties out the bunch?
aHa-HA!!! Again, money ain’t math … money = majixs.
Well, fine then.
And why would Gub’mnt give “money” to BigBiz Banks to loan to the Precariat to spend instead of direct payments to the Precariat too pay down the consumer debt – tame that monkey – that was too big to handle in the first place—
Oh right.
Adam Smith (Scottish dude wrote Wealth of Nations – pay ATTENTION) also said that the future of wealth lay not in property (e.g., silver and gold) but in people, i.e., labor, and the ability of the “masters of mankind” to control, manage, and profit from labor, i.e., people.
And debt – for most humans – is simply spending future earnings, typically from labor, in present time … aaannnddd back to the original: that debt isn’t real … but the obligation imposed by it is.
Gub’mnt can eliminate debts (market crash?) caused by BigBiz with Precariat cash (gimme taxes MFkr) but Precariat debts are … the personal responsibility of the individual. Aaahhh, nice. It’s guuud to be the Gub’mnt, even better to be the BigBiz.
If I were to dedicate 100% of my future earnings (earned from labor, thank you) to paying off my $225K in debt … not food not clothing not shelter not healthcare … just debt … I would die.
Despite all evidence to the contrary I am human, and have need of certain things – not fancy things just basic things – to continue doing the whole life thing, not to mention parental duties related to theKid, and the fact that Half would be … miffed. Already shrill, need not miff.
OKSO! If Gub’mnt can invent additional money = magic ($3.1T?) to make the money = mistakes of BigBiz disappear – i.e., buy them up at rock bottom prices – then why not do the same to the money = mistakes of the Precariat—
Ohwait—
OKSO! Now that we have established that future earnings currently burdened with present debt will not be sufficient to repay said debt (Greece did that more later) … and that part of the American financial system involves Gub’mnt throwing money = magic to make the money = mistakes of BigBiz disappear, and to deepen the debts (grow that debt monkey!) of the Precariat … then I suppose that begs the question:
Is it possible to cheat a rigged system?