CORONAVIRUS AND ECONOMICS
Humans, us, we, are at a crossroads, a critical juncture in our evolution on a lonely planet, voyaging through the Universe. A mindless, moral-less, belief-less, dangerous, microscopic virus is bringing us great clarity if we allow ourselves to see. It cares not what we “believe,” cares not our “economic” ideology, cares not our ethnicity or location on the globe, cares not who thinks themselves a “chosen,” a “special” people. A mindless virus is telling us – – – we, the people of Planet Earth, travel together. We succeed together – we fail together. No one is coming to save us. It matters not what we think we “know.”
It may seem ridiculous to speak of economics at a time when the coronavirus threat is quickly growing. But it is at the heart of what is happening, and rethinking all of our “economic” assumptions is critical to what sort of future humanity will have once this crisis is over.
The Universe speaks only in truth, operates solely by the only eternal Laws – the laws of physics. At a moment in time when a simple, mindless virus is a threat all humans, to say we cannot “afford” to provide healthcare for all when all of the physical and intellectual resources needed to do so are waiting to be employed, is proof that our “economic” thinking is far from Universal truth. When global warming is an even greater threat to all of us than the mindless virus, to say that we cannot “afford” to convert our energy systems to green, renewable, non-polluting sources to save ourselves and our planet when all of the resources and knowledge exist to do so, is an economic insanity far from Universal truth.
If the physical resources and technical know how exist (and they do) to repair or replace failing roads, lead water pipes and other infrastructure, we can afford to do so. If our man-made “economic” system says we cannot, it is time get rid of the flaws in that system. If we can “afford” to wage endless wars around the globe and continue producing ever more dangerous nuclear arms to blow ourselves into extinction without a single politician saying – “how are you going to pay for it?” – we can afford to do the things necessary to eliminate the need for war, the things necessary to provide for all.
Congress and the president just passed a $2 trillion stimulus/relief package to rescue the U.S economy. Not a soul in our government asked “how are you going to pay for it?” We critically need to understand what just happened here. The U.S. Government didn’t “borrow” $2 trillion, it didn’t “tax” $2 trillion, It created $2 trillion – out of nowhere. Supplying the nation’s money is the constitutionally authorized duty of the Federal (not state or local) Government. We are seeing glaring proof that the Federal Government, not private business (that now is on the government, “socialist” dole to survive the crisis), is the ultimate source of the nation’s money. It doesn’t need to tax, it doesn’t need to borrow. The function of “taxing” and “borrowing” by the Federal Government isn’t to “pay” for spending. These are simply tools to (among other things) control the amount of money in circulation.
Of course, the inflation alarmists will scream: “The dollar will become worthless!” This is false. As long as there are physical resources to be purchased – healthcare for all, infrastructure repair, green energy systems, housing for the homeless, repairs to aging public schools – new money is not inflationary. There are many things that need to be done to improve the life of average Americans and people around the globe that we have the physical and intellectual resources to do. Whether or not we do them is a political decision, not a financial or economic one. The $2 trillion relief package proves this.
We must free ourselves from our self-imposed capitalism/socialism either/or economic prison and begin using economic thinking based on physical and intellectual reality (the laws of physics), on truth, and on a deep concern for our fellow man. If anything good can come out of this terrible pandemic, let it be a growing knowledge that we can “afford” to do whatever is necessary to care for all humans and our planet. Indeed, we are clearly being shown, we cannot afford not to.
And perhaps there is another eternal law which we humans must obey: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” A simple virus is telling us there is really only one question facing humanity: “How do we make the world work for everyone?” Nothing else matters, no less a goal will do.