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> I remember one of the political parties crowing about how they saved the auto industry in Michigan during the last major financial crisis. Funny, as I live th

> I remember one of the political parties crowing about how they saved the auto industry in Michigan during the last major financial crisis. Funny, as I live there, and I remember one of the people who lives in my sub whose business was destroyed by this "saving" thanks to many long held overdue invoices at one of the car company's being zeroed out, coming to my front door, with his son to ask for help. Food specifically. Yes, "forgiving debt" always sounds like a great idea from the debtors' perspective. Debt holds most people down for some period of their lives.. But the flip side is that for every debtor, there are lenders. Those lenders give their money with some level of confidence that they'll get it back. When they don't, it's going to be an annoyance for the top few percent of companies and people who can take the loss.. and punish the middle who (in the best case) could have lent it for other investments or (in the worst case) destroy others won't be able to pay their employees and provide for their families.

vkou 9y ago
If debts would never be forgiven/default, then lenders would not be able to charge interest. Likewise, while they don't charge interest, contractors factor not getting paid for 90 days after work completion into their rates.
- ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
  What? If you had a 100% guarantee of getting your money back next year, would you loan me all of your savings for this year? You will receive no other compensation for lending me this money. If debts were never forgiven, maybe interest rates would be lower, but lenders are still providing a service for which an interest rate must be paid.
  - vkou 9y ago
    I would, at the interest rate at which new money is being printed. It would be a better investment then keeping it in my savings account, with it's 0.05% interest, that's for sure. Unfortunately, nobody loans money at that rate. They always charge a premium.
- caseysoftware 9y ago
  There is always an opportunity cost. That's why many contractors and SaaS platforms give a discount for paying up front. They'd rather have a smaller amount now than a larger amount over time.

vkou 9y ago

If debts would never be forgiven/default, then lenders would not be able to charge interest. Likewise, while they don't charge interest, contractors factor not getting paid for 90 days after work completion into their rates.

ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
What? If you had a 100% guarantee of getting your money back next year, would you loan me all of your savings for this year? You will receive no other compensation for lending me this money. If debts were never forgiven, maybe interest rates would be lower, but lenders are still providing a service for which an interest rate must be paid.
- vkou 9y ago
  I would, at the interest rate at which new money is being printed. It would be a better investment then keeping it in my savings account, with it's 0.05% interest, that's for sure. Unfortunately, nobody loans money at that rate. They always charge a premium.
caseysoftware 9y ago
There is always an opportunity cost. That's why many contractors and SaaS platforms give a discount for paying up front. They'd rather have a smaller amount now than a larger amount over time.