Arliss Bunny - The Smart Bunny’s Guide to Debt, Deficit and Austerity

As a Rabbit American I generally opt to remain apart from human affairs because, well, watching you people carry on your lives is like one enormous episode of Real Housewives of Stupid-fornia. Honestly, there are days when I am equally torn between staging a rabbit revolt and just going down a rabbit hole and staying there. This is never more true then when I hear politicians and pundits talk about money, debt, deficits and austerity. It is hard to imagine anything which is more important yet as badly or purposefully misunderstood.

I heard that cringe. (Whatyou think these ears are just decorative?) I know that most of you dont really follow economic theory and dont understand why you should. Hey! You need to believe me when I tell you that given where our country is today, there is nothing that is more essential to our collective life, liberty and the pursuit of carrots/ happiness/whatever. My bet is that those of you who dont currently follow economics fall into one of three categories.

The Frightened Bunnies

I dont do math and no matter what Arliss says Ill never understand it. Im going to quit before I am forced to admit that the wildly inaccurate phrase dumb bunny applies to me. - Hear me when I say, This just isnt that hard! Oh, its completely different then what you have probably been taught. Still, once you take that old stuff and flush it out of your mind you will be ready to discover something that is simple and is going to make a whole lot of sense to you. The only problem is that you will no longer be able to hear a story about the economy without finding yourself yelling at the television. You see, while you can easily learn how money really works, apparently, politicians, pundits, and a stunning number of economists are impervious. Yes, its true. We are being led by greedy idiots. Try to contain your shock.

The Deferential Bunnies

Hey, Im not an economist or a financial wiz so I have to trust the experts. - To this I respond with two little words, Lehman Brothers. You remember them (note the past tense.) They were the massive investment bank that went completely bankrupt, in September of 2008, right along with that giant popping sound which was the result of the bursting of the housing bubble. People, you need to know that vaunted financial experts have been getting it wrong and playing chicken with your economy since 1971. You need to get a grip on what is going on and take the steering wheel away from them. Seriously, get out of the backseat and take charge. They can not be trusted to drive this economy. In order, however, for you to counter all that Wrong, you are going to have to summon the strength to use your own brain. (Remember, when the going gets heavy, lift with your knees.) Stick with me, baby. Well get there together.

The Busy Bunnies

Are you kidding! Read about economics! I barely have time for another cup of coffee, let alone to absorb a whole different understanding of money. Arliss may be quick-like-a-bunny but me, not so much. - Listen up. If you care about any of the following things, you better make the time. You better make time NOW because Washington, D.C. is hopeless and we are all going to have to work together before they make it any worse.

If you care about...

achieving full employment,

maintaining and even increasing Social Security,

maintaining and improving Medicare,

improving services for veterans,

health care,

climate change,

developing clean energy,

modernizing national and state infrastructure,

improving education,

reducing or eliminating debt for college students, and

supporting developing countries without impoverishing them,

...you need to know that the things above are well within reach and none are subject to imagined limits of what we can or can not afford . In this current economy what we do, as citizens, and what Congress does is limited by politics, knowledge and will. Nothing else.

Now what could possibly be more important than finding out why Im not just pulling your paw? Get comfortable, its going to be a bumpy ride.

Carrots! Arliss

What No One Told Us About Money

I dont know you but Im going to take a guess that like about 99.99999% of the American public and about 99.99998% of economists and financial experts, you dont spend any time thinking about where money comes from and how it works. Why would we? We all think know what we need to know about how money works.

Fiat Money - What is Money?

For the sake of simplification, Im going to lump the following into what I call Us:

individuals and families,

all of private domestically owned business both large and small,

and state governments.

I am lumping all of these very different groups in bed together because we all have one thing in common, none of Us are the federal government. All of Us, known as the private sector, behave in the same way in terms of money. In order to spend it we have to bring it in. Those of us who are individuals, families and small businesses we usually earn it. If we are big business we either earn it or steal it. If we are a state government we tax for it. Regardless, with money, it is all the same, everyone in the private sector has to have money in order to spend it and (here is the important part) if we do not have enough to cover our expenses then we must either earn more, borrow some or cut back on our expenses . Individuals, families, business and states are certainly strange bedfellows but we are all the same because we all are at the mercy of our checkbooks and those checkbooks teach us that debt is bad and balance is good. For Us that is all absolutely true.