Tuesday 30 September 2014

10 quick steps to destroy an economy

One: begin spending more than the revenue department takes in.
Two: begin printing money (or debasing the currency as it used to be called) to pay debt off with less valuable money.
Three: note how this distributes money from productive to non-productive sectors with varying degrees of corruption - more lobbyists in the court wanting more more more.
Four: begin bitching about rising prices and poor people losing their jobs and blame everyone else.
Five: instigate new policies to freeze rising prices to keep the poor happy and continue to blame everyone else.
Five: moan about rising interest payments on debt payments; begin blaming banks and the monied countries and refuse to recognise your declining credit rating (blame credit rating agencies).
Six: observe rising unemployment and get the flags and parades out to provide a patriotic focus - spend more money to keep the poor from throwing you out of office - roll out more welfare programmes.
Seven: print more money to pay for new expenditures keeping the poor from revolting (back to point 2 but now feel acceleration taking place ... downhill)
Eight: spend more money on police, since you feel the wind of change coming - lots on tear gas, riot shields, tazers and toys for the boys (and girls) in blue.
Nine: brain wave! distract the discontented with a justifiable war against quiet neighbour or distant country. Encourage much singing and patriotic music and nationalism or macho films involving superheroes and big muscly guys saving the world.
Ten: print money to pay for war.

Simple.

Now, where's your country on this scale? ...