When Ponzi Schemes Fail

The current US government has become “a form of fraud that … pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors” – in other words, a Ponzi scheme. No doubt the social security, Medicare/Medicaid and government retirement systems meet this definition of fraud directly. But we may also apply it to other sectors of the federal government, including how the government funds defense, conducts a vast system of student loans, or pays the interest on the federal debt.

Consider the cost of the Pentagon, and the related cost of the CIA and the federal intelligence apparatus. These agencies spend. . .