Positive Money NZ/Marc Joseph: The National Debt

Positive Money New Zealand Blog

The National Debt

By Marc Joseph

There is a daunting array of challenges facing humanity. From homelessness to health care to pollution and much more, we all look towards our elected governments to show leadership in resolving these issues. Unfortunately, the government seems increasingly unwilling to address our most pressing concerns. And the government's most frequent excuse for inaction is, you guessed it, we don’t have the money. So let's have a look.

We've all heard the government's litany: we don't have the resources,  we'll have to raise taxes, we have to pay down the debt, we don't want to go into deficit, we must be fiscally responsible, on and on. Money reformers know that these excuses are nonsense.

With the introduction of electronic banking, money cannot be shown to be anything other than numbers on a screen and it's impossible to have a shortage of numbers. However, these money numbers are recorded and produced in a private bank's database. They are produced by tapping a computer keyboard so it's not surprising how endless this source of money is. Just look at the money being injected into the housing market. Too bad it's also recorded as a debt owed to those private banks. They didn't earn it, but still.

Of course, the authority to create money comes from government. Since that's true, why is the goverment in debt? How absurd is it that a government gives away it's power to create money to private banks, then goes into debt to those banks, and then uses the debt excuse to abrogate its responsiblity to do what the people demand? And if more people understood the system they would demand action. Is there anyone who enjoys witnessing someone living on the street because of a housing shortage that is worsening by the day?

The government has no excuse. We are told we live in a democracy yet the government fails its most important obligation to the people: to regulate credit and currency in the best interests of the economic life of the nation. We must end private money creation. Tell your friends.

Change money, change the world!

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