When Did Scrooge Become a Role Model? Why Criticism of America's National Debt is Misplaced

Abstract

As the world debates the economic crisis, it does so without considering two historically important ideas: the stigmatization of miserliness and the prohibition of usury. Although these ideas were once keystones of society, they are missing from the current discourse. This paper seeks to reintroduce those ideas. It starts by exploring the reason why cheapness was stigmatized, and why usury was illegal for hundreds of years. The paper then applies this historic lens to two frequently debated topics: the United States national debt and U.S.-China economic relations.

Keywords: government debt, national debt, trade deficit, trade imbalance, China, spenders, savers, equity, debt slavery, interest, misers, usurers, sovereign debt, currency manipulation, recession, financial crisis, global imbalance, sovereign debt

JEL Classification: A13, B20, B22, B30, C70, D11, D63, E21, E40, E42, E50, E60, F00, F10, F30, F31, F34, F40, G28, I30