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Define “invest.” Banks invest. That’s literally what they do. People deposit their money rather than put it under their mattress, and the banks reward them by giving extra money to them.

Then the banks figure out a way to put that money somewhere else that rewards them more than what they are giving the depositors.

Basically that’s the foundation of civilization.



The point is, why doesn't the government just capture that revenue? Instead we are letting private companies keep those earnings, without taking on any risk.

Let's deposit at the bank of USA and cut out the middle man.

> Basically that’s the foundation of civilization

I think many of us would disagree.


Because then it’s quite easy to end up with rampant corruption. By and large, well-regulated private banks work pretty well.


I think the idea that they work pretty well went out the window in most people’s mind when they threatened to crash the world economy 15 years ago.




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