A core function of money is to be the 'final extinguisher of debt.' However, fiat currency is created as debt, meaning every dollar is both an asset and a liability. This inherent contradiction makes the entire financial system fundamentally fragile.

When national debt grows too large, an economy enters "fiscal dominance." The central bank loses its ability to manage the economy, as raising rates causes hyperinflation to cover debt payments while lowering them creates massive asset bubbles, leaving no good options.

America's system of nearly 10,000 banks is not a market inefficiency but a direct result of the founding fathers' aversion to centralized, oligopolistic British banks. They deliberately architected a fractured system to prevent the concentration of financial power and to better serve local business people, a principle that still shapes the economy today.

In Russia, nominally private companies like Gazprom function as direct extensions of the state. Their international investments are designed not just for profit but to achieve geopolitical goals, creating a system where foreign policy, business interests, and the personal wealth of the ruling class are completely inseparable.

Government money printing disproportionately benefits asset owners, creating massive wealth inequality. The resulting economic insecurity fuels populism, where voters demand more spending and tax cuts, accelerating the nation's journey towards bankruptcy in a feedback loop.

Central banks evolved from gold warehouses that discovered they could issue more paper receipts (IOUs) than the gold they held, creating a fraudulent but profitable "fractional reserve." This practice was eventually co-opted by governments to fund their activities, not for economic stability.

The word "inflation" is a deliberately implanted euphemism that makes monetary debasement sound like positive growth. The reality is that money is depreciating and its purchasing power is being stolen. Reframing it as "monetary depreciation" reveals the true, negative nature of the process and shifts public perception from a necessary evil to outright theft.

The system often blamed as capitalism is distorted. True capitalism requires the risk of failure as a clearing mechanism. Today's system is closer to cronyism, where government interventions like bailouts and regulatory capture protect established players from failure.

The economic system champions individual responsibility for the middle class but provides government bailouts and shields large corporations and the wealthy from failure. This cronyism prevents creative destruction, calcifies the class structure, and stifles opportunities for new entrants.