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Just curious how you think the US economy could expand without increasing debt. My understanding is that the amount of transactions occurring is dependent on t
by jsprogrammer 12y ago
Just curious how you think the US economy could expand without increasing debt.
My understanding is that the amount of transactions occurring is dependent on the amount of money in circulation. The amount of money in circulation is directly dependent on debt through the fractional reserve banking system.
Under the current system, the only way to 'grow the economy' is to increase the volume of transactions or use money creating transactions (bank loan).
- NoPiece 12y agoMoney is created via debt, but the economy expands when people create things of value.
- crdoconnor 12y agoFalse. The economy expands when the volume of transactions increases. The GDP hero is a chain-smoking terminal cancer patient going through an expensive divorce whose car is totaled in a 20-car pileup, while munching on fast-take-out-food and chatting on a cell phone. All add to GDP growth. The GDP villain is non-smoking, eats home-cooked wholesome meals and cycles to work.
- jsprogrammer 12y agoWell, this really depends on what it means for an economy to expand. The metric that most people seem to use is the sum of all transactions occurring in that economy, denominated in a currency. In the philosophical sense of economy, where transactions are not necessarily tied to physical units of currency, expanding can mean pretty much anything, from more participants and transactions to goodwill gained through personal relationships. In the physical reality of the US economy, expanding economy really only means more money or more transaction volume.