"Free" money is an illusion foisted into the weak by the predatory as a form of manipulation. We live in a capitalist society in which debt accrues according to the decisions we make. This is the "cost" of being able to make truly free decisions. I think ur looking for communism— DMZ Vet (@logicaverita) May 31, 2019
In particular, consider DMZ Vet's thought on why we have so much debt: "We live in a capitalist society in which debt accrues according to the decisions we make. This is the "cost" of being able to make truly free decisions."
I dunno. Take just household debt as an example. Is this a measure of our freedom?
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| Graph #1: Household Debt |
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| Graph #2: Household Debt per Capita |
We have this debt because of the decisions we make, DMZ Vet says. Sure, that's part of the story. But if the car breaks down and you have to fix it, and you can't afford to fix it and you put it on the credit card, is that really your decision? Or is it, in part, simply the way life is these days. The way the world is.
It's the way the economy is these days, I'd say. But the way the economy is, is partly due to the economic policies we have in place. Largely due, I'd say. Policies that encourage saving, for those of us who save. Policies that encourage credit use, for those of us who spend. Policies that increase supply and demand in the financial sector. Policies that increase the size of the financial sector. Policies that embiggen the part of our economy that facilitates everything, but produces nothing. Facilitates everything these days, because these days everything is on credit.
Economic policy made the world this way.
6 comments:
Oh no! I don't think anything good can come from reading twitter.
That's what killed John McCain, I hear, reading twitter.
The Arthurian, i am afraid that people don't want to accept that high debt is thrust upon them as a form of control. "The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns..." Billy Shakespeare
I'm "DMZ Vet". This is my response (on tweeter) =) to the original poster: Enjoyed your comment. My wife & I have ZERO credit cards. We OWN our house (not much) & 3 cars (not new). I teach & she runs the house. It's an austere life BUT we are beholden to no one. Your assertion that debt accrues because it can't HELP but accrue is one I disagree with. I agree that the freedom to purchase CAN turn into slavery, but whether we must fix the car or buy a new washer, we have the freedom to decide whether we'll buy new or used, fancy or plain. We know that we haven't much capital and THAT predicates our decision making. Choices =)
High debt IS a form of control. Look at the millions who are in economic slavery in India at this very second. HOWEVER, living within one's means can counter that high debt slavery. It's not easy, and enticements abound. BUT the ultimate decision to enter into the relm of indentured servitude rests with me and the decisions I make.
The drug pusher will entice those walking by with a "little taste". He knows that once you have succumbed, you are his. The challenge is to keep walking. =)
DMZ Vet, thanks for finding my post and thanks for responding.
Ha! I just found an old quote from Gavin Kennedy. Smith and Kennedy agree with you:
"Smith warned against arranging people as if they were wooden pieces on a chess board, moved at will by theorists (and fanatics), who forgot that every single person moved through life entirely under their own volition."
That's a good statement.
Looks like we largely agree. I respect your "the ultimate decision to enter into the realm of indentured servitude rests with me and the decisions I make." Definitely. But I have this thing about the economy, like: IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FALL OFF THE CLIFF, DON'T GO NEAR THE EDGE. If you don't want to live in a society where everyone is in debt, don't live in an economy that does everything it can to keep people in debt. But I also don't want to move.
I want to change the economy. For example, I want to change the mortgage interest deduction, which encourages people to be in debt. I want to replace it with a tax credit for people who make extra payments on their mortgages. Under the new concept, debt would be paid off more rapidly, rather than more slowly.
(The tax benefit for the new plan could be designed to be equal to the tax benefit of the old plan, so that the government does not gain revenue by making the change.)
You might say it doesn't matter to you because you don't owe anything on your house. Well that's good, but I think it might still matter to you. I think a low level of debt helps the economy to grow faster. I think a high level of debt makes economic growth slow, meaning that jobs are harder to find and raises are more difficult to get. I think that if you live in a society where policy tries to reduce people's debt instead of trying to increase it, you will find the economic conditions are somewhat less austere.
We still do have the right to vote.
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