Since the neo liberal mandate begun in the 80's with Reagan,Thatcher and Douglas here in NZ, the world has been enthralled with financial chicanery at the expense of real productivity.
By offshoring manufacturing to China and with the repeal of the Glass Steagal Act by Clinton in 1999,Banks were de regulated and unleashed an orgy of financial instruments,derivatives ,CDO's,swaps,futures etc.
By 2008 it all imploded with the GFC.
The GFC was basically a stalemate where financial institutions had no trust,no faith in counter party dealings.
Cue the entry of the U.S Govt/taxpayer to save these titan's of business acumen with what became know as Quantitative Easing.
What was supposed to be a temporary measure until stability was restored became the lynchpin of federal reserve strategy.
Where once millions were significant,it became billions and now trillions.
A magic show of unpayable debt.
'If you spent $40 per second, around the clock, it would take you 289 days to exhaust a billion dollars. If you did the same thing with a trillion dollars, it would take you 792.5 years to go broke'
When debt is Govt debt,it is really 'money' the Govt owes itself.
The $U.S is the reserve currency for international commerce.So long as it retains this status there is little danger of any default,as the B.I.S,IMF,Swift system and World Bank are under their control to all intents and purposes.
In NZ the Govt issues Treasury bills to the Reserve Bank who can buy or sell bonds to the big banks.They have been buying bonds/assets from the banks ,which increases liquidity in the financial markets.
Unlike private debt which can be fatal,Govt debt is gilt edged as the Govt has the ability to tax and implement fiscal policy.
It is a fascinating topic.One which not surprisingly is not deemed necessary to be part of basic education.
Most people think banks act as an intermediary,taking deposits/paying investors interest and arranging loans to borrowers.
The reality is that when someone receives a mortgage sum,the numbers are just digitally printed into an account.i.e the 'money' is created by loans.
Physical Fiat currency is only about 3% of money supply.
You can see why the economy is now totally reliant on the property ponzi scheme.
Unearned,non productive passive income profiteering has superceded real ,honest goods and services.
One day...the music will stop....but when!!