Debt can pump up an economy. Invariably, it also takes it down. From Charles Hugh Smith at oftwominds.com:
This is how our entire status quo maintains the illusion of normalcy: by avoiding a full accounting of the costs. The economy’s going great–but at what cost? “Normalcy” has been restored, but at what cost? Profits are soaring, but at what cost? Our pain is being reduced–but at what cost? The status quo delights in celebrating gains, but the costs required to generate those gains are ignored for one simple reason: the costs exceed the gains by a wide margin. As long as the costs can be hidden, diluted, minimized and rationalized, then phantom gains can be presented as real. Exhibit One: the US public debt. If you borrow and blow enough money, it’s not too difficult to generate a bit of “growth”–but at what cost?![](/ai/032/998/32998.png)
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