Turkish Earthquake Relief Effort Refutes Austerity Scam

For the N thousandth time, a natural disaster has not only brought out the best in people but has refuted one of the biggest scams in politics, the claim that everything is in such short supply that we (us little people) will have to lower our standards of living in order to service the national debt else the sky will fall.

In case you didn’t know, there are three exceptions to the laws of economics: wars, public order, and natural disasters. 

The big one is war. No nation ever lost a war because it ran out of money. Wars are ended when one side surrenders, (the bombing of Japan is the most extreme example of this); there is a mutual settlement; or when one side runs out of real resources and throws in the towel.

The first of the small exceptions is public order. During the so-called English riots of August 2011, magistrates sat through the night, and rioters received summary justice. If the police cells are full or the prison cells, no matter, there will always be room for one more and money to pay the gaolers.

The third exception is emergency relief, be it a local flood or something truly terrible like the current horror in Türkiye and Syria. There are relief efforts from all over the place, both government and private, pulling people out of the rubble and delivering everything from warm clothing to medical services. The charities involved include Islamic Relief and Médecins Sans Frontières.

These workers are on the ground and will stay there until all who can be rescued have been, and until some albeit limited semblance of normality is restored, money no obstacle.

Of course, the world has real problems at the moment with the war in Ukraine, the sabotage of a certain Russian pipeline (thanks Joe) and the insane policies of the World Economic Forum being imposed by bureaucrats on farmers from Sri Lanka to Holland. Eggs are also in short supply due to an avian flu pandemic and possibly other factors, but our technology is already sufficiently advanced to house, feed and clothe every person on this planet. The only thing missing is the will to do it, starting with the abolition of the debt-based financial system.