No parking
A terrible parable
Once upon a time, a man named Steve decided to open a video game studio. After looking around town for a suitable location, he found a great property for sale. The lot had a large warehouse, parking for 10 cars, and an open field. Steve hired a half dozen programmers and got to work. Their first game was a huge success, and before long he had hired three more programmers.
The ten of them worked diligently every day and the company continued to thrive. Although there was plenty of room in the building to expand, their 10-space parking lot was constantly full. It was risky to leave your spot and run out for lunch, employees quickly learned, because if a visitor dropped by and took it, you’d have no place to park.
One of his employees suggested that they “borrow” some parking from the business next door, so Steve went to talk to them. Nicky’s store had 18 parking spaces, but the majority of her business was on the weekends, and she often needed more. She proposed a deal; Steve’s company could “borrow” parking spaces on weekdays as he needed them, and he could pay them back to her on the weekends while his office was closed. Steve quickly agreed; this was win-win.
At first, this worked out well. Steve only borrowed what he needed and paid back the number of parking spaces each weekend. But business was picking up, and his growing company needed parking for more programmers. Steve calculated that borrowing four parking spaces, five days a week, could still be paid back with 20 spaces over a two-day weekend - as long as everything went perfectly.
And it did! But his business was still expanding, and as the number of employees grew, so did the need for parking. The tally of borrowed parking spaces turned into a growing debt. It bothered Steve a little, but he stayed focused on ensuring that his business continued to prosper, and it did. His employees were happy and productive.
Steve also hired an office manager, named H Ross Parrot. Parrot appreciated that the business was running smoothly, but that parking space debt really bothered him. “This is unsustainable,” he told Steve. “How will we ever pay it back? It’s got to be balanced. Successful businesses live within their means; I’m going to introduce some austerity policies.”
Parrot started by offering free bus passes to the employees to encourage the use of public transportation. Then he organized a car pool system, and offered special perks to workers who agreed to commute in together. He even offered free e-bikes to anyone who committed to riding it to work 60% of the time.
Still, there were more employees needing parking spots than they actually had. Programmers fell into a mindset of scarcity; if they got a space, they hoarded it rather than risk not being able to find another. Productivity fell; the employees were spending their time trying to coordinate bus schedules and car pools instead of focusing on their work.
Steve called the manager into his office. “Parrot, you’re focusing on the wrong metric. The well-being of the people who work here is far more important, because that’s what leads to success for the company as a whole.”
Parrot shook his head. “Parking spaces are a scarce resource; we can’t borrow what we can’t repay. It’s really that simple.” The men looked out the front window at the parking lot, jammed full of cars with no room to expand. “I’m afraid there’s only one solution; we’re going to have to start letting some people go.”
Steve nodded. “If you insist. You’re fired!” Afterward, Steve considered Parrot’s perspective. The argument was compelling and there was some truth to it; if they borrowed enough parking spots to ensure they circulated freely, the debt would never be able to be repaid. And parking spaces were a scarce resource… so how could he continue to grow his company? He looked back outside at the row of cars in front of the building.
Suddenly, Steve realized that the number of parking spaces was an artificial constraint. Just because the guy who had built the warehouse years ago had decided 10 parking spaces was the correct number didn’t mean it had to be true forever! Instead of borrowing the parking spaces needed to make his business successful, he could simply create more. It was the size of the company that should determine how much parking there was, not the other way around.
There was an open field on his property, and a few weeks later Steve had 40 additional parking spaces. There was plenty for everyone. While he maintained the programs Parrot started—public transportation, car pooling, and e-bikes were still good things to incentivize—they were completely optional. Morale rose, and productivity quickly followed. Within another month he started hiring again.
Now, when Steve looked out his front window, he saw a parking lot that was half full, with plenty of room to grow. He canceled his deal with Nicky; instead of unproductive calculations about whose parking spaces were being used, he told her to help herself to whatever she needed, and they all lived happily ever after.
The moral of the story? Artificial constraints on our economy can trap people in a mindset of scarcity.
In 1835, America was made up of 24 states with a population of about 15 million. The fastest form of communication available was the same as it had been for Alexander the Great—a messenger on horseback. And President Andrew Jackson paid off every last dime of the national debt.
In the nearly two hundred years since, our population and our economy have exploded, which requires additional money in circulation to buy the expanded selection of goods and services. Congress, who has the Constitutional duty to regulate the money supply, made a policy decision: they would “borrow” it into existence. The consequences of that policy is a national “debt” which must never be repaid; sucking $31 trillion out of circulation would destroy our economy. Continuing this policy means upwards of $800 billion annually must be “borrowed” just to cover the interest.
Our first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, figured out a better way, just as Steve figured out that he could expand his parking lot. Using Congress’ Constitutional authority under Article 1, Section 8, Lincoln had the US Treasury issue legal tender directly. Commonly known as Greenbacks, this 0% interest, sovereign currency made it possible for the United States to win the war and free the slaves.
(This leads to a second policy decision. Whenever and however additional money is put into circulation, it must be wedged into the existing economy. That wedge lifts those above it upward, and forces those below it downward. Since the necessity to add to the money supply comes from the growth in our collective productive capacity, the natural and moral spot to place that wedge is at the very bottom of the economy, so that every citizen is lifted up and none are crushed… but that’s another parable to be told.)
In 2024, we can do this very thing; the US Treasury has the ability to issue legal tender as digital assets; a 0% interest sovereign digital dollar directly to all citizens as unconditional basic income (UBI). The American Union of swing voters has a crowdsourced legislative proposal that will do just that, shifting our country from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance, where we’ll all be happier and better off.
Ready to collectively bargain for a better social contract? UBI is an essential part of a larger package to end poverty, mass incarceration, and the endless wars. You can help generate the political power to make this a reality by becoming a member of the American Union for a $7/month donation and a good faith pledge to vote together on November 5, 2024.