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- It is partisan
Money as we know it is not a neutral service provided by the government. Our money supply is created by private financial institutions on a for-profit basis. This money system is designed to benefit those who provide it, not those who use it.
- It is based on debt
Money is created when banks grant loans. Thus for every unit created there is one unit of debt.
- We are encouraged to think of it as a 'thing'
Money is essentially information and has no physical existence yet banks encourage us to think of it as a 'thing' so that they can 'lend' it to us and thereby make a profit by charging interest. 'Thing' money also has to be created, distributed and controlled so that there is not too much of it. It can also be stolen, lost, bought, sold and counterfeited, with serious consequences for everyone.
- It is permanently scarce
The money to pay the interest on debt-money is never created. There is therefore a permanent shortfall of money to pay back both the principal and the interest.
- It causes cancerous growth
Banks continuously need to create more money than is required to pay back their
loans so that borrowers can pay back the interest on those loans.
This is the source of the growth imperative of our economies. There must be a
continual expansion
of
bank credit or else the economy goes into recession.
Systemic growth leads to the environmental problems we now all face.
- Its value is based on its shortage
The shortfall of money keeps it valuable. There only needs to be enough of it to buy
back the goods and services available. This has nothing to do with the monetary
requirements
of people. Those who have none are not seen by the market and so are marginalised.
- It is expensive
Every unit of conventional money is based on a unit of debt. This debt has
to be paid back with interest, and the interest on the interest is compounding.
Interest is built into the prices of everything we buy, resulting in higher consumer
prices.
- It redistributes wealth from the poor to the wealthy
Usury is the tool used by the wealthy to suck wealth from the poor and middle
classes to the moneyed class. Parasitism and class antagonisms are the result of this.
- It promotes dishonesty and corruption
You can get it without delivering anything of value (e.g. speculation, interest,
gambling etc.) so people concentrate on 'making money' rather than producing/delivering
anything of real value. It is usually far easier to get money through
dishonest means than by honest work. When you have no money you have no choice
but to try and get it dishonestly
- It leaks away from where it is created
Conventional money knows no bounds and loyalty. It always leaks away to the
'money centres' (financial centres, big businesses, etc.)
- It destroys local economies
Goods produced cheaper elsewhere replace locally produced goods. This creates
a local shortage of money and reduces the market for local sellers. This
also results in the irrational transportation of goods all over the world,
consuming precious fossil fuels and creating pollution.
- It destroys community
Dependence on money means we no longer need our neighbours. We can get everything from anonymous strangers
in return for money. We have no obligation to anyone when the bills are paid. Every trade is a complete and closed action: you provide me with something and I give you money. End of story. No one does us any favours and we need do no favours for anyone.
- It fosters competitiveness
The shortage of money means we all have to fight for a share of an amount that is too small to go around.
The need to repay interest means that we have to eat others to
prevent ourselves from going under.
- It creates poverty
While it makes some super rich, it makes most people poor. Poverty is caused
by a lack of money (not by a lack of jobs). Usury and the need to
keep money scarce ensure that money constantly moves to those who
already have money.
- It causes social and cultural degradation
The elimination of local opportunities to exchange and relate to one another
focuses attention on ways of getting money outside the
community. Communities fall apart as they become indebted to entities outside
their communities.
- And so many more ...!
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