A Grumpy Computer Scientist
1 min readDec 5, 2021

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Sorry, every single one of your points is false:

1) Low interest rates would only apply to people who need houses to live in. Bubbles happen when "capitalists" use houses as a financial commodity, which should be prohibited.

2) Anyone who knows the first thing about finance knows that of course it is possible to lend money at 0 %interest. Don't you have Google? This is commonplace in cooperatives and ethical financial groups such as community finance. Moreover, some traditional banks and governments are already lending money at NEGATIVE interest.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/21/what-would-negative-interest-rates-mean-for-mortgages-and-savings

3) No one said that banks should not pay interest. I said explicitly that citizens should not pay interest *limited* to the purchase of a house in which to live.

The idea that without being paid interest no one would save is nonsense. Once someone's basic needs are satisfied, people hold money in banks just for safekeeping and insurance, not for capital gains. I myself have a sizable part of my assets in a current account which pays negative interest (0% interests + expenses), so does my wife, so does my father, so does my business partner. So do millions of people. Lastly, if people circulate a bit more money instead of hoarding it, that is good for the economy.

4) It wouldn't nearly be enough. But it would be a good way to insure they cannot exploit all other citizens over something that is a basic need, like housing.

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A Grumpy Computer Scientist

UK-based AI professor interested in AI, mind, science, rationality, digital culture and innovation. Hobbies: incessantly fighting nonsense.