Money as Debt Analysis

To say in the least, this video was an incredible eye opener. It shocked me for a few reasons. First off, I actually was engaged in the video and cared about what the narrator had to say. This is only shocking to myself because normally money is the last thing I want to talk and/or hear about. I am certainly not financially astute and my work with numbers pretty much cuts off at basic statistics, adding, and subtracting. This being said, I really enjoyed Money as Debt not only for its hard hitting message but also its simplicity in its explanation and presentation. It breaks down America's currently failing monetary system with ease, appealing to those that are financially learned as well as those (like myself) who are not as fortunate. The simple animations may seem trivial and corny but when looked at from a deeper perspective, the animations often are symbolic; representing larger ideals or adding to a bigger meaning. One of the symbols that stands out to me is the repetition of the hooded animation figure pounding the word DEBT over and over again with something that resembles a hammer or gavel. It simply, for lack of a better word, "pounds" the idea of money as a debt into the viewer's head. I liked this because it brought the movie back to its central point often, allowing the viewer to keep scope of the message.

Its presentation and simplicity were not the only aspects of this movie I enjoyed; I also agreed strongly with the message and the fact that it made me reflect on our current economic situation. Obviously, we are in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and with the current Presidential election being the most important one of our time, it is without doubt that our nation is at a crossroads; a decision must be made. Lobbyists and greedy politicians have been running this country for the past eight years; people thinking of themselves and the large corporations that run this country rather than the well being of the country as a whole. The middle class (the largest in the country) has been all but forgotten and now they are struggling. We live and die for the money that feeds our children, that fuels our vehicles, that clothes our backs and puts a roof over our head. This money is handled by banks that we as a nation assume are trustworthy, but they are an entity that we do not think of and analyze often. This film assumes that position and lays out the facts for us as a nation to digest. As simple as the problem may seem, even to the point of absurdity, it is obviously a problem that can only get worse.

As our economy plummets, so does the hope for reform for the current banking system that America and Canada currently use. The solutions that Grignon suggest may seem radical but anything that is going to cause a financial shift for the country is going to be. Obviously, going back to gold coins or silver bars is not going to work. We cannot, as a nation, continue to hoard money as individuals and trust the banks with physical money. As has been demonstrated by the video, the banks only create more money and therefore, more debt. The digital age that we have entered must be taken advantage of. The card solution may very well work, although it will take time. Money for labor may also be another solution that has some validity to it. But if we as a nation accept the fate of a plummeting monetary system, we are in for far worse times that we are currently experiencing. In order to prevent a fall to the Dark Ages, we must be smart and swift about the changes that need to be made in order to steer this country's economy and way of doing banking business in a new direction.