IT SHALL BE

In the realm of human relationships, we all partake in some form of denial or ignorance toward the elements of truth and nature. It’s probably no surprise to you that the human ego has a harmful way of suppressing aspects of reality that it doesn’t want to accept, such as losing a family member or taking accountability for something embarrassing.

Most of us know someone who struggles with alcohol use and can identify the trap they fall into when trading long-term satisfaction for a quick fix of relief from their distressing life problems. According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 29.5 million people ages 12 and older (10.6% in this age group) had Alcohol Use Disorder in the previous year. This data was derived from the National Institute of Health, so it only reflects the data reported in this survey. You might imagine how much higher the numbers truly are for those who haven't taken a survey. So, based on this information, at least 1 or 2 people out of 10 in our communities are using alcohol to cope with distress.

When psycho-educating clients about substance use, therapists often agree with our clients that its use serves the purpose of relieving immediate stress in the moment or for a short while; however, alcohol consequently causes anxiety and depression in the long run. And, when falling under the spectrum of continued abuse, alcohol locks the user into a spiraling addiction they eventually lose complete control of.

After fifteen years into a career selling medical devices, I began wondering why it was so difficult to generate enough income to survive—not to mention trying to generate enough income to save. Trying to keep my money was like collecting sand in a sieve. Multiple company accounts, subscriptions, and utilities were trying to finagle as much money from my pockets as possible. It became a relentless battle of generating money and fending off expense accounts that wanted me on autopay indefinitely. I measured how often I thought of making money and keeping money and, unfortunately, it turned out to be close to 80% of my daily energy. I began to wonder what was fundamentally wrong with this cultural lifestyle and maintenance of money management.

Curiously, I started a dialogue with my friends and some family members about their experience with managing finances. It turns out that just about everyone in my circle was having the same challenge but wasn’t sharing or talking about it. A few colleagues of mine described the experience as “walking on a treadmill that speeds up gradually without any potential to rest.” They described periods of intense uphill inclines and occasional declines in attempts to slow down but not being able to shut the treadmill off to rest. I learned that most people shared the same entrapped feeling but were too afraid to openly talk about it for fear of appearing financially inadequate or incapable of handling money. This is when I realized my problem had little to do with my character or work ethic, but instead proved to indicate a corrupt economic system that most of us were in denial of accepting.

Perplexed by the conditioning I received growing up that one’s success is determined by how hard one works, I became suspicious of our economic system and how it was designed. While diving deeper into the fundamentals, I realized our economic system is not based on a true democracy of rule by the people but more of a legalized form of counterfeiting controlled by a few oligarchies or one-tenth of a percent of Americans. The numbers specifically drilled down to about 500 billionairess that influence the management of our nation’s economy. By lobbying, these elites could influence others to direct money into the companies and political campaigns that would benefit them. The idea is to produce as many products as you can and have the decisions made by those who will support your agenda. I wonder how many Americans are aware of this, and if so, why they choose to bury their heads in the sand and ignore it. After some research, I felt like our economy enslaves citizens psychologically by promoting the lending of money for just about everything: mortgages, auto loans, education, personal loans for healthcare bills, credit cards for various expenses, and more.

Interestingly, I began noticing how similar our fast and furious fiat system was more like alcoholism than other comparisons. I chose to discuss it here because it has an accepted social element to it that is ingrained in our culture. When I learned that Central Banks could print an endless supply of money and trade digital dollars that are vapor, I realized how comparable inflation was to alcoholism.

If the basis of inflation is taking loans out backed by nothing, then it satisfies the immediate short-term need to spend money on something to provide consumers relief from their everyday needs. We experience pain and discomfort when we can’t meet our needs and expectations, so taking out a loan works in the short run. It alleviates the need to buy a new car when your old one is a money-pit draining your savings that you've worked so hard to build and keep. It pays huge medical and dental expenses that are out of pocket even though you have insurance and hundreds of dollars are coming out of your paycheck and going to your insurance premium. Immediately, it makes sense to alleviate that financial pain and take out a loan, but it comes back to bite you later when your interest rate plunges you underwater.

Alcoholism, much the same, numbs the immediate pain from anxiety for a few hours—or a day or two—until the pangs of withdrawal visit you and make your anxiety worse than it was before. You must borrow more from your bank account and buy more alcohol to get that short-term fix even though there’s the risk of becoming addicted. Many people describe feeling worse and more anxious about a particular problem days after they drink.

The fiat economic system fosters the need of consumers to borrow money from the bank and for Central Banks to lend out millions and millions of loans to Americans. The financial system encourages borrowing to all Americans like a drug peddler pushes a quick fix to illicit drug users to relieve them of the pain in their lives. All it does is cause more pain in the long run and creates a dependency on the substance or loan. Paradoxically, Central banks without interest wouldn’t make money or be able to operate just like drug peddlers without drugs or addiction.

An Experian study done in 2021 reported that less than 25% of American households are debt-free. The results of this survey reveal that 75% of Americans struggle with paying back loans and hold an Average Consumer Debt Balance of $96,371. If seven to eight out of ten households are struggling to pay back significant debt, how is it that this is a personal money management issue and not a system failure? As consumers, we have been receiving mixed messages for years: “Be disciplined and save money, be frugal and live like a peasant,” etc. Meanwhile, anything of any significant value like cars, houses, education, and childcare, cost huge amounts of money that take years to save for. Inflation is generally keeping 75% of us Americans underwater.

The Fed and Central Banks are like bartenders serving up drinks to kill the pain and misery knowing all too well that we will be treading water for the rest of our lives. The Experian study proves this is not a character flaw or personal money management issue. This is a corrupt system that must be changed to better all Americans. If the current fiat system was working, most Americans would have their heads above water, and maybe numbers like 25% of Americans would be in debt instead of 75%.

Federal banks are loaning money to other banks without having it backed by assets. This is not too different from bartenders pouring out glasses of elixir to patrons seeking the short-term effects of happiness and bliss to escape their financial stress. Similarly, quick lending washes away the denial of responsibility and accountability that most of us end up struggling with for the rest of our lives.

The long-term effects of alcoholism and inflation have common factors: a sense of dread, anxiety, depression, as well as trouble in relationships, and—in extreme cases—death. Paradoxically, these negative effects undermine trust—the exact emotion both perpetrators want you to believe. The Fiat system banks on us trusting the Fed and our government-backed financial entities to manage money effectively, while alcohol use deceives us into believing we are feeling better about a problem.

Let’s consider the perception of the public. Now that we know how we are supposed to act, why don't we see what we should eat? According to the Urban Institute, an Experian study uncovered that 77% of American households carry some form of debt. Based on surveys taken last April 2022, The US News & World Report reports that close to 60 percent of student loan borrowers can’t afford to pay their loans back. Furthermore, paying student loans is usually low on a household's priority list because of more critical living expenses like gas, food, and utilities. So, one can assume that these borrowers are struggling with much higher priorities in their daily grind. If this is such a widespread problem, how is it that we blame the borrower or individual American for not working hard enough and making bad decisions to take out loans for education? Do you see the paradox here? Or are we just sleepwalking through the system?

At what point in our lives are we supposed to realize that the US financial system is based on one giant Ponzi scheme that traps the average American in the restrictive shackles of massive debt? It took me 50 years to realize that popular society has money management pegged to an individual’s character and that middle-aged debt is the real engine that drives the US economy. Smart people save their money and don't spend it; they behave like Green Springs and eat cheese sandwiches without mayonnaise. They jump around, compressing the proverbial spring, hoping to spit out an excess of money they can spend on themselves after paying the magnanimous cost of living expenses. Intelligent people live frugal lives, conservatively shelving interesting experiences they secretly desire until after age 65 when every appendage hurts them. “Work hard and you will be successful.” Of course, there are aspects of truth to these statements, but overall, with today's inflation and complex financial system, most Americans get caught in paradoxical rip currents tugging them in many confusing directions.

How is it that so-called leaders, bankers, and analysts measure individual character based on how well we manage money when the system is irreversibly flawed and corrupt? Furthermore, how we do have faith in an economic system that touts, “It Shall Be,” as we are expected to deny the truth that the hourglass is spending rapidly and will eventually run out of sand.

Case in point: the federal government is over $700 billion in debt but expects average Americans to chase the dream and get out of debt us. Or do they? I highly doubt that they believe we will ever get out of debt when the fiat system is designed to feed on interest rates and perpetual lending. Have you ever wondered why the government requires us to file income taxes, but they fail to disclose the allocation of federal funds to the public themselves? Believing in the fiat money system and the illusion that it fosters financial freedom requires one to drink the Kool-Aid at the company party. Ironically, to subscribe to this corrupt system, one must reduce themselves to the role of an ass so they can play carrot and donkey with their employers, banks, and establishments.

The common advice given to borrowers (who are simply humans trying to experience life) is: work harder, get another job, moonlight by night, etc. According to this worldly financial advice, we will simply be running on a treadmill to nowhere spitting out endless money for a system that requires interest rates and emotional shackles for the economy to operate.

So, how do we unshackle our debts and grievances?

When considering a sober life, addicts must not go to bars or hang out with those who drink, so they essentially change their environment and replace negative triggering activities with more positive and adaptive activities. The Fiat economic system, as well as inflation, must be treated similarly: change the environment and foundation of the superfluous problem. As Americans, we should push for a change or adjustment to provide more backing and real assets to the US financial system. Greed and entitlement are leading to a culture of “give it to me now” and excessive hyper-competitive behaviors that hurt us in the long run.

What America needs is a big financial toxic rehabilitation to rid itself of this addictive behavior and consider building trust again. Rather than declaring, "It Shall Be,” work on building trust and experiment with positive adjustments that will help us change the dismal number of those in debt and invest in emotional trust and stability in how America was founded in the first place.

When an alcoholic enters treatment and musters some motivation to change, he or she must learn to take the old patterns of negative thoughts that led to drinking and challenge harmful thoughts. Alternatives are: “I can be patient and save for the car. I can trade with a neighbor. I can collaborate with others to accomplish goals I might not be able to be myself.” For change to occur, we must tolerate some of the chaos from new ways introduced into the system.

The Fed’s rationale is more superfluous than the toxic drinks they serve to the public. “Give it to me now and have faith in our Ponzi Scheme.” If emotional intelligence is considered at all, one must realize that trust is built over time and quick fixes don’t work in relationships. Our relationship with our government and our financial faith should be an important topic. The government is the worst alcoholic of them all because it knows that nothing is backing it. The printing of money and the long-term effects of inflation are devastating to individuals, and the Fed keeps debasing the economy; similarly, the alcoholic keeps drinking alcohol to relinquish a short-term effect while pretending not to face huge denial. The long-term effects are harmful. What America really needs is a big therapeutic rehab and change done to the economic fiat system.

Federal banks loan money to other banks without having it backed by assets, which is not too different from bars pouring out glasses of fear to patrons to feel the short-term effects of happiness and bliss, followed by long-term effects of dread, anxiety, and depression. This is not too different from owing huge amounts of money to pay back in the system of loaning and lending.

In conclusion, after a 52-year drinking binge, it’s time to sober up and change the fiat slogan, “It Shall Be,” and tease out layer upon layer of denial that has buried this country in empty bottles of elixir that promised hopeful vapors of faith in a system that has failed to earn our trust. We might consider identifying our old triggers, avoid quick fixes, and replace desperate chants to make money appear like a proverbial genie in a lamp.

We can change our relationship with money by developing the virtues that require trust like patience, flexibility, collaboration, and creativity.

It’s time for us to use our ass-backward donkey legs and kick the carrot dangler. We must disrupt the spring compression and put meat, lettuce, and mayonnaise on our sandwiches. We can propose change and adaptation to our current environment. We must push for complete student loan cancellation, ask our bosses for friends and family days, and build alliances of hope with change agents like therapists, educators, and sensible business leaders.

Based on this system of assigning value to the vapor of monetary faith, who will hold hope for those struggling emotionally and financially? What about the children at home who require emotional nurturing and support to grow up healthy and happy? How are we supposed to find the time to be with our friends and family and raise children? How about fostering healthy social networks and happy family relationships? Who will hold hope for them while both parents are out working 2-3 jobs? I challenge you to consider how important it is that somebody holds hope for these children who are left alone wondering who will love them and stick it out with them. It should be no surprise because so many adults suffer from attachment disorders and emotional challenges.

I am often surprised at how money managers oversimplify the concept of investing and making wise financial decisions. It sounds like common sense if you are an expert in the field and enjoy the topic, but what about those that must spend valuable time caring for others and tending to other priorities? So, it sounds like the assumption is that we should all become expert players at the money game, sort of like playing Monopoly only in life. What about all the other games like Charades or Twister and natural interests and organic activities in life? It appears that to be successful in this system, one must dedicate most of their breathing hours to it to see any rewards. It is difficult enough for couples to survive by working one day job each to pay their loans and living expenses, so how is it that we advise them to work harder and get another job? Who will hold the hope for struggling couples and families, marginalized groups, disabled individuals, and children? It is time for us to wake up, disrupt the system, and put meat and mayonnaise on our cheese sandwiches. I invite you to join me and any other change makers in taming the inflammation caused by the cytokine storm that began in 1971 under Nixon’s “let it be done” motto. Let us work together on a healthier more adaptive mantra of, “Let us trust again”!

Anthony P Martello is an author like no other who works as a family therapist by day and writes short stories by night. He is the author of Flat Spell Tales, Under The Curtain, and Of Song & Stitches, all of which have audiobooks made with Audible. His short works can also be found in October Hill Magazine, New English Review, Atherton Review, and Short Edition. He currently lives in San Luis Obispo, CA with his wife and daughters.