August1991 Posted June 6, 2011 Report Posted June 6, 2011 (edited) I was recently watching the new Barry Lyndon Blu-Ray release (excellent, btw) and I saw a scene that made me think about government debt. In the movie, Ryan O'Neill plays a character involved in a casino racket that lends money to players and then cheats them at cards. As the narrator says, the racket never bothered to collect the debt from important people. --- So here's the question: if a casino lends you money, and you lose it in the casino, what has changed? Answer: Nothing real has changed hands. All that has happened is that the casino has changed a claim on wealth. [but what if you had won? My first answer is that you won't. It's a casino! My second (far better) answer is that casinos move money between people.] --- If you lose money in a casino, what did you lose? Is that like losing your house in a fire? Edited June 6, 2011 by August1991 Quote
Bonam Posted June 6, 2011 Report Posted June 6, 2011 So here's the question: if a casino lends you money, and you lose it in the casino, what has changed? Umm, you still owe the casino the money you borrowed. Quote
August1991 Posted June 6, 2011 Author Report Posted June 6, 2011 (edited) Umm, you still owe the casino the money you borrowed.But what if the casino forgives the debt?---- I mean, it's not like a house burning down. In a casino, nothing is really lost. Edited June 6, 2011 by August1991 Quote
SF/PF Posted June 6, 2011 Report Posted June 6, 2011 But what if the casino forgives the debt? What if the casino manager, who happens to be a pink polar bear from Mars, doesn't forgive the debt? This has very severe implications on government debt. Quote Your political compass Economic Left/Right: -4.88 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.15
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.