In the vast game of Darwinian musical chairs, whenever the music stopped there were large numbers of people without a seat — and some smartass had so… - Daniel Suarez

When the survival strategy of a civilization is invalidated, in all of human history none have ever turned back from the brink.

We basically used oil and aquifer water to temporarily boost the carrying capacity of the land, all for economic growth demanded by Wall Street investors. It’s a crazy system that only makes sense when you foist all the costs onto taxpayers in the form of crop subsidies that benefit agribusiness, and defense spending to secure fossil fuels. We’re basically paying for corporations to seize control of the food supply and dictate to us the terms under which we live.

Banks lend only the principal. However, loans must be repaid plus interest — and with long-term loans like mortgages, the total interest payments far exceed the principal itself. Unless the overall money supply keeps growing, there will never be enough money to pay back all the loans plus interest.