Here is a first example of something we do not often discuss:
The economy of the United States (and increasingly, the rest of the world) is tanking because we have an economic system that confuses money with wealth. This shows up in a number of ways. One of the most obvious is the idea that money “makes” money. It does not.
Of course, to understand this we first need first to understand that money is not wealth. Money is a tool that we use to control wealth. Wealth is the stuff that has inherent value to us: clean air, clean water, wholesome and nutritious food, clothing, safe shelter, companionship, good health, meaningful occupation.
Many of these items can be made available or enhanced by stuff, and hence, by having money. But money does not make any of these things, it merely helps or encourages some of us to provide these through a combination of natural resources and human effort.
People who “invest” their money in financial instruments (stocks, bonds, etc.) are doing so based on the erroneous belief that money makes money. That is the basis of all pyramid and Ponzi schemes. Eventually, the “investments” collapse of their own over-extension.
That is what happened in 1929, and a number of times since then. That is what is happening now.
What do you think?
