• GreenTea@lemmy.orgOP
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    1 day ago

    A government can create unlimited currency via an act of congress. Can a corporation create unlimited money when it wants to?

    • davel@lemmy.ml
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      1 day ago

      Anyone can create their own money. Consider Bitcoin. The hard part is getting people to use it.

      Corporations can print corporate shares, though the more shares they print, the less each share is worth. You can’t buy a pack of gum with corporate shares, though, so I wouldn’t call in money or currency.

      Private banks can print money, but not an an unlimited amount. They can only print as much as the government allows, and it can only be created as the principal of a loan, and the money is destroyed as the borrower pays down the principal.

    • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
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      1 day ago

      Corporations try to all the time. It’s only through an effective use of law that they don’t. And lately, it hasn’t been very effective.

      But also a government can’t print “unlimited currency”. Eventually it would be worthless. They are effectively only permitted to print currency proportional to what their creditors allow.

      • davel@lemmy.ml
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        8 hours ago

        But also a government can’t print “unlimited currency”. Eventually it would be worthless.

        Governments can do it, but you’ve explained why they don’t do it.

        They are effectively only permitted to print currency proportional to what their creditors allow.

        A government with fiat monetary sovereignty has no need to borrow its own money, because it already can create as much as it pleases. The purpose of government securities is not to fund spending but to give the rich a safe place to park their capital with interest.

        • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
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          2 hours ago

          The purpose of government securities is not to fund spending but to give the rich a safe place to park their capital with interest.

          You have a source on this? I find it difficult to believe that it is ever a good idea to just take out a loan for the sake of making the interest payments. Especially using public funds, that sounds pretty close to embezzlement.

          Rather, a country’s budget should always make use of debt, because its reputation has value and should be invested, not left sitting on the table.