[tmnvix]

Edit: Apologies for being slightly off topic here - this was meant more as a response to a comment elsewhere on money creation.

I've been keenly interested in the subject of banks, debt, and money creation ever since I picked up a book on the subject of debt around 2006. I really appreciated having a (very faulty but nonetheless useful) mental model to apply when trying to make sense of subsequent events. I sometimes like to think that I saw the GFC coming, but was probably just primed to see how precarious our debt based financial system had become.

With my local (NZ) housing market once again appearing to be on the brink of big changes (many are suggesting a crash), my interest has been piqued again. Looking about at what is out there that can help me make sense of what's going on I rediscovered a nice little interview (from our friends at RT no doubt) that I'd recommend to anyone trying to create their own mental model to help them understand the fascinating, frustrating, and confusing reality of banking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC0G7pY4wRE

One of the interviewees is Richard Werner - the man who introduced the concept of quantitative easing during the Japanese Financial crisis in the 90s.

[contingencies]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years perhaps? Happy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day ... miss the biscuits!

[tmnvix]

No, I haven't read Graeber's book. This was The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery, and Destructive Economics by Michael Rowbotham. From memory, the title is derived from the literal meaning of the term 'mortgage'.

It wasn't a book that I sought out. I just happened to be traveling at the time and was asked to return it to it's owner, so read it on the plane. I can't remember enough of the specific substance of the book to make a definitive recommendation but I can say that I remember it being very engrossing and will always appreciate that it broadened my interest in economics at the time (coincidentally I had just finished my studies in economics that year).

[unmole]

It couldn't have been Graeber's screed because OP read it before 2008 and it gave him a mental model of how the financial system unravelled.

[contingencies]

Both excellent points.

[harshreality]

The book you read in 2006 couldn't have been Graeber's _Debt_ (which is more informal and opinionated), and it wasn't Ryan-Collins's and Werner's _Where Does Money Come From_...

So what book was it?

[utunga]

I have no idea who you are but the fact you're interested in debt and in NZ makes me wonder if you'd be interested in a project we're working on https://cashless.social

[tmnvix]

Thanks, I'll take a look!