Gang 8

includes some first class brains, including Professor Michael Hudson, often quoted here; an ex IMF economist, Gunnar Tomasson; Dr Richard Werner, an economist with particular understanding of Japan; and IMHO the guy who knows more about banking than anyone - the formidable Geoffrey Gardiner.

This exchange is salutary.

Arno: One could also ask a question regarding inflationary effects of (government) printing that much fresh money..

Geoffrey: No, this comment is silly. The credit creation (new) is to compensate for the money being destroyed by bad debts. The manoeuvre is not pro-inflationary but anti-deflationary.

My highlights, and indeed what I have been saying for some time.

...shades of Captain Mainwaring and Corporal Pike of

Dad's Army

in the exchange....

I agree with much of Gang 8's "Creditary Economics" analysis, but I question their assumption that Money actually is Credit.

In my view, while it is possible to monetise credit - and indeed the monetisation of interest bearing debt is at the heart of our problems - credit is, rather, only a necessary part of a monetary system.

In particular, Gang 8 assumes that "Equity" - in the form of shares in a Joint Stock limited Liability Corporation - may also be defined as "Credit" because in accounting terms it is on the same (Credit) side of the balance sheet.

My view of this assumption is that Equity and Debt are qualitatively different, since Equity is not time limited - ie does not incorporate an obligation to repay - and Debt/Credit is.

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson