Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail

by Ray Dalio

Compared to the others, printing money is the most expedient, least well-understood, and most common big way of restructuring debts. In fact, it seems good rather than bad to most people because: It helps to relieve debt squeezes. It’s tough to identify any harmed parties that the wealth was taken away from to provide this financial wealth (though they are the holders of money and debt assets). In most cases it causes assets to go up in the depreciating currency that people measure their wealth in, so it appears that people are getting richer. This is what has been happening during the coronavirus crisis as central governments and banks send out large amounts of money and credit. Note that you don’t hear anyone complaining about the money and credit creation; in fact, people say that governments would be cheap and cruel if they didn’t provide a lot more of it. Hardly anyone acknowledges that governments don’t actually have this money to give out.