“We’re not a bank,” he said. “We take a loan from you with the promise of repayment, and then we lend it to an institution, charge them interest, give you most of that interest.” “It sounds very similar to a bank,” I said. Mashinsky tried to explain with a metaphor. “Let’s say we’re neighbors, and I came to you and I borrowed sugar because I’m out of sugar,” he said. “And then I came back later, and I gave it back to you. And I said, ‘You know, you were so nice to lend me your sugar, here is your original sugar, plus here’s a little bucket of sugar that I got you as a present.’ Sugar is a
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