Jeff Russell

Thanks for your thoughts! This reminds me of the story about how to recognize an honest insurer. You can tell by insuring something and its opposite. For example, ask for a policy that pays out when your house burns down, and a policy for when your house does not burn down. An honest insurer will offer both policies. Insurance really is betting.

So the central bank tells us money is created out of thin air. You will have trouble reproducing that recipe. The substance money is made of is trust, and it is in finite supply. Banks that run out of trust can no longer create money. You can create money yourself: ask a friend for a tool and promise to pay him later. Your promise is a claim on future payment, your friend can trade the promise to someone else, and other people can bet on the value of your promise. That sounds like hard work, and so is banking.

The future is always uncertain. Banks do not turn livelihoods into gambling chips. Livelihoods already are gambling chips. Banks are pools of trust that start enterprises (= bets.) Farmers that accept those bets do better. Market knowledge is valuable, the local government more forthcoming, and interest payments a great motivator.

There are always people who start enterprises without banks, and some of them are very successful. If you don't like bankers you can go to a rich family for a proposal. I doubt they will be able to offer you better terms.