As we all know, COVID-19 has had devastating effect on the physical economy. Estimates by political economist Jack Rasmus show the unemployment rate at somewhere between 25-28 percent. Consumer spending is low and estimates are that about 50% of small businesses are down for good. One solution to this problem is to put money in the hands of consumers to stimulate demand. But what stands in the way of this is finance capitalists insistence that all debts be paid. This myopic strategy ignores the success story of how the ancient state of Mesopotamia solved their debt problem – by forgiving them.
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