Back: We Can't Afford This, That, or the Other? Utterly Untrue Top: Getting Money Right

Enough with the Lies!

Is money complicated? No. Quite simply, money is a claim on society. More particularly, a claim on the salable resources of the society that issues it. Society creates (and destroys) money and gives it worth. Money is social.

Is fiat money finite? No. Fiat money is unbounded. Money gets value from taxation, not scarcity. Lack of money, i.e. austerity, is a policy choice.

Must the government tax or borrow to spend? No. Money is created by sovereign spending. Money is destroyed when taxes are paid to the sovereign. The issuance of interest-bearing sovereign debt is a policy choice.

Is the government like a household? No. The sovereign is not a subject. Only subjects, never the sovereign, can be forced into involuntary bankruptcy and suffer the seizure of their assets. Sovereign bankruptcy is a policy choice.

Is the national debt is a problem? No. The national debt is the only component of subject financial wealth which is free of involuntary default risk. We could just as well call it the national savings.

Does full employment drive inflation? No. Full employment is a policy choice. Only genuine scarcity makes real inflation. Absent scarcity, inflation is a policy choice to fail to adequately raise taxes. Distribution of income between profits and wages is a policy choice. Inflation, as policy, redistributes wealth from creditor to debtor. Deflation, as policy, redistributes wealth form debtor to creditor.

Do banks intermediate between savers and borrowers? No. Bankers are unelected sovereigns who create money by issuing loans at their own discretion with only the slightest oversight by the rest of society.

Can we afford the things we want as a society? Yes! Artificial scarcity due to lack of funds is purely a policy choice. If society has the resources in labor, material, and willpower, lack of money is never an obstacle.