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In 2008, the system collapsed because politicians and global institutions hadn’t yet fully embraced debt-fueled illusions as the only path forward. Back then, P

In 2008, the system collapsed because politicians and global institutions hadn’t yet fully embraced debt-fueled illusions as the only path forward. Back then, Ponzi-like schemes still carried stigma, they weren’t openly endorsed as policy. Today? When every government and leader treats infinite debt as inevitable, and growth itself hinges on ever-expanding financial mirages, there’s no brake left on the system. To be clear: I’m not calling AI a Ponzi scheme. I genuinely value this technology. But nearly everything else is: the markets, the policies, the promises.

surgical_fire 1y ago
> To be clear: I’m not calling AI a Ponzi scheme. I genuinely value this technology. But nearly everything else is: the markets, the policies, the promises. Both things can be true. The technology may be valuable, and the investment in the technology may make zero sense from a financial perspective.
pas 1y ago
... also sometimes a bubble is just a brutal unnecessary wealth transfer between generations everyone was crying how unsustainable these real estate prices are ... and then they kept going up still. because supply fucking stagnates, yet demand in cities rises with the force of an angry god (cross-financed by the whole economy, of course) https://www.fullstackeconomics.com/p/the-2000s-housing-bubble-was-greatly-exaggerated https://www.fullstackeconomics.com/p/the-2000s-housing-bubbl...
rightbyte 1y ago
Using some sort of circular investment scheme to take on debt seem like some sort of Ponzi scheme to me.
Workaccount2 1y ago
It's already been decided that the debt will be inflated away. At this point it's just been who has been paying attention. Look at gold's breakout this year, it's not happening in a vacuum.
- ViewTrick1002 1y ago
  Inflating the debt away doesn’t work unless the budget is also balanced. Otherwise what is inflated away will be recouped by the interest rates when forced to keep borrowing.
Terr_ 1y ago
> To be clear: I’m not calling AI a Ponzi scheme. Very tangential rant and not an accusation: Popular misuse of the term pretty rampant these days, it's just like if everybody started saying "Buffer Overflow" for every kind of security risk. To be specific, "Ponzi Scheme" is getting treated like a pejorative term for any kind of unsustainable profit, but it's a specific situation where an agent is lying to you about how much stuff exists and how much of it is yours.

surgical_fire 1y ago

> To be clear: I’m not calling AI a Ponzi scheme. I genuinely value this technology. But nearly everything else is: the markets, the policies, the promises. Both things can be true. The technology may be valuable, and the investment in the technology may make zero sense from a financial perspective.

pas 1y ago

... also sometimes a bubble is just a brutal unnecessary wealth transfer between generations everyone was crying how unsustainable these real estate prices are ... and then they kept going up still. because supply fucking stagnates, yet demand in cities rises with the force of an angry god (cross-financed by the whole economy, of course) https://www.fullstackeconomics.com/p/the-2000s-housing-bubble-was-greatly-exaggerated https://www.fullstackeconomics.com/p/the-2000s-housing-bubbl...

rightbyte 1y ago

Using some sort of circular investment scheme to take on debt seem like some sort of Ponzi scheme to me.

Workaccount2 1y ago

It's already been decided that the debt will be inflated away. At this point it's just been who has been paying attention. Look at gold's breakout this year, it's not happening in a vacuum.

ViewTrick1002 1y ago
Inflating the debt away doesn’t work unless the budget is also balanced. Otherwise what is inflated away will be recouped by the interest rates when forced to keep borrowing.

Terr_ 1y ago

> To be clear: I’m not calling AI a Ponzi scheme. Very tangential rant and not an accusation: Popular misuse of the term pretty rampant these days, it's just like if everybody started saying "Buffer Overflow" for every kind of security risk. To be specific, "Ponzi Scheme" is getting treated like a pejorative term for any kind of unsustainable profit, but it's a specific situation where an agent is lying to you about how much stuff exists and how much of it is yours.