The Long Memo (TLM)

I can’t take it any more… saving tax dollars is nonsense.

My point in all of this is that money is a promise. It’s not magic. It’s not something special. It works because we all believe in it. It really pays for nothing. It’s a symbol of our collective productivity.

However, the federal government is the only one that issues it. That makes them very special.

States work the way you think it work. They do have to collect coins, borrow for real, have actual bank accounts, and write checks. Your state functions like you do, just on a massive scale. States can (and have) gone effectively “bankrupt.” It’s not called that, but they can default on their debts. States technically cannot go “bankrupt,” because the federal bankruptcy code doesn’t allow for them to bankrupt themselves. However, states have defaulted on their debts to their citizens. For example: