News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:The Fed has made a historic mistake on inflation by User23 on Monday June 13, 2022 @05:09PM (#31731794)
The natural rate of interest is zero. Any positive interest rate results, in aggregate, in unserviceable household debts[1]. This is elementary for anyone with even a simple and accurate understanding of the US monetary system.

Usury is bad and there are other ways to finance underwriting and the other socially useful activities banks perform.

[1] Currency issuers can always service debts in the currency they issue of course. Those liabilities are so operationally different from household debts though that they probably ought to be called by a different name altogether.

Re:The Fed has made a historic mistake on inflation by aeternum on Monday June 13, 2022 @10:29PM (#31734120)
Are you also proposing to get rid of rents of all kinds? If I buy a house/ship/combine with my $100k and rent it out rather than lend the cash to someone is that somehow better and now allowed?

If tangible assets have rental fees, then why doesn't money?

Re:The Fed has made a historic mistake on inflation by User23 on Monday June 13, 2022 @11:02PM (#31734286)
See Aquinas for details[1]. But in short usury is selling the same thing twice, which is immoral.

As an example, rent to own is a reasonable and moral way to structure a real estate transaction without interest. It’s all about sustainability. Lending at interest requires borrowers, in aggregate, to acquire more funds than the monetary system can provide. It’s clearly immoral to impose conditions that are impossible to meet.

[1] https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3078.htm