Ninja economics

So they say the economy is bad. All the relevant measurements are down, and it seems like even the die-hards that resist labeling a recession have been forced to agree.

But what does that actually mean, a bad economy? I know it means less new jobs, lower tax revenues for government, lower sales for retailers, and a harder time borrowing money for consumers.

But why does it happen? I know it happened because of securitizing bad mortgage debt, and everyone on the stock market overleveraging their assets, and commoditizing goods like oil that we need for national infrastructure. And then politically, we could blame the President, or Congress, or rich people, or white people, or whatever.

But what does it mean if one person can't get work, and so they don't have money to buy things, so their neighbor loses his job too? Isn't that just two guys who both want to work, and want work from the other, staring at each other complaining about the economy?

The complexity of the system is what gets us stuck. The money comes from the Department of the Treasury, ultimately, and they don't hand it out on street corners, so the regular guy has to go work for somebody. That person has to get their money from a ton of consumers, who in turn get their money in return for providing a variety of specialized services. So I can't work for my neighbor and have my neighbor work for me, because my neighbor doesn't know how to make snowboarding goggles (which is what I want), and I don't need any spreadsheets managed (which is what he does), and he doesn't want martial arts training (which is what I do), and I don't know how to make lawn fertilizer (which is what we wants). So, the whole complex economy and money was created to make all that easier.

But still... if we're both bright capable guys, and we're both willing to do more, and we want more... then the "bad economy" is just a matter of poor organization, not an actual lack of labor, willingness, or even goods. America (and Earth in general) already has all the factories, people, education, and energy needed... it's just poorly organized and the complexity of the system creates times of irrational exuberance (1999-2004) and times of irrational depression (now).

Get off the bipolar train! The bad economy is a purely mental construct! It's real because we say it is, and we act like it is, but it has no basis in physical circumstance.

So how do we fix it? We find motivation to provide goods and services outside the paradigm of the given system. We help our neighbors, as one example, or volunteer with our excessive free time after being laid off.

But how does that pay the bills? That's where Propits comes in. Without Propits, good feelings from your neighbors are nice, but they don't mean anything that can buy you food, so instead of volunteering, we sit on the porch and complain. With Propits, those neighbors give you Props, and real money comes to you. That real money comes the usual places - the credit cards of those for whom the current economy is still working. And in return, those who receive it happily spend it back into the real economy... but the point is, when the economy partially paralyzes itself due to mass organizational stupidity, Propits can keep things moving, can keep people doing good work in the world and being rewarded for it. It is the cure for that which ails us.