A silver lining

Published 11:29 am Monday, April 25, 2011

Letter to the Editor

Gregory K. Soderberg, Austin

The downgrading of America’s credit rating could be just what the doctor ordered because debt and borrowing is the problem, not spending. Spending is only a problem when it all must be borrowed before it’s spent. If we don’t borrow, there is no money and we must borrow more to pay the interest.

Email newsletter signup

We shouldn’t spend money we don’t have? Come on! Since our money was changed from an evidence of debt-free wealth to unpayable interest-bearing debt we don’t have any money unless we borrow.

To spend more than it takes in, Congress must borrow. Much of this borrowing forms the “reserve base” used to expand our money supply as more loans (if there are borrowers). When the loans are repaid the money is destroyed. Get rid of the debt and you get rid of the money. Keep the money and the interest on the debt grows the debt but it does not grow the money supply.

If Congress cannot control its borrowing then reducing its ability to borrow is OK.

But even that won’t help in the long run if we don’t provide an alternative.

We Americans must come to understand that the alternative we need to end economic servitude, financial contention and chaos and begin sustainable prosperity is debt-free money! Create and spend all new money into circulation as a debt-free payment for current production rather than lending it into circulation as an unpayable interest-bearing obligation against a promise to do future production.