In today's Brunei Times editorial column, came across where some youths telling their peers not to rely heavily on government aid at a public gathering, was found to be refreshing according to the editor. That statement is rather simplistic view.
Where do you get the money you use to buy your stuff? And where did the guy who gave you the money get his money? Where did all this money going around the economy come from? Somebody is willing to spend to buy someone else's service. Where did that first buyer's wealth come from? If he's Bill Gates, he earned it selling software. Now where did the people who bought his software get their money from? Surely, a hundred years ago, there wasn't enough money going around the economy to pay for all the software that Bill Gates and co. have sold us, and are still selling us. Where is all this new money coming from? Who is creating this? A hundred years ago, there was just enough money going around as needed, give or take, a few million people going hungry. Now, we have billions of people, and trillions of money circulating around the world economy.
If you say from banks giving credit, you are almost there. But given that banks do not lend to anyone they don't think will pay them back, where does the bank think their borrowers will get their repayment money from? Don't they get afraid that money will eventually run out, and ALL their borrowers will default? How is it that the economy, after growing into the trillions, still hasn't melted down completely? If all this new money is debt-based, isn't it inevitable that we get back to the size of the world economy 200 years ago, or some point when most people and businesses did not have debt?
In an economy such as Brunei, our government should spend her money on people who will readily turn around and buy services from others in the economy. This means government buying services from the individuals who would have otherwise had no income because of those hoarding their income.
Cheers!
