The traditional point made for #2 isn't about the fact you could die but more that $1 today could be invested in some profit-making enterprise (directly or thro

The traditional point made for #2 isn't about the fact you could die but more that $1 today could be invested in some profit-making enterprise (directly or through a bank account paying interest). For a concrete non-financial-system example, $1000 today could let you re-insulate your home, saving you $250 over the course of the next winter. Every year you put off that $1000 then costs you around $250 (modulo any depreciation and the variability of heating costs). The thing that's a little different with the banking system is that you're not just getting paid for the time value of your deposited money and the returns it could get in the economy writ large, you're losing a little bit for the sake of safety (deposit insurance) and liquidity (you can withdraw money from a bank account any time, unlike if you had issued a mortgage loan directly yourself).