As previously mentioned, when debts and spending rise faster than money and income, the process is selfreinforcing
on the upside because rising spending generates rising incomes and rising net worths, which raise
borrowers’ capacity to borrow, which allows more buying and spending, etc. However, since debts can’t rise
faster than money and income forever there are limits to debt growth. Think of debt growth that is faster than
income growth as being like air in a scuba bottle – there is a limited amount of it that you can use to get an extra
boost, but you can’t live on it forever. In the case of debt, you can take it out before you put it in (i.e., if you don’t
have any debt, you can take it out), but you are expected to return what you took out. When you are taking it out,
you can spend more than is sustainable, which will give you the appearance of being prosperous. At such times,
you and those who are lending to you might mistake you as being creditworthy and not pay enough attention to
what your paying back will look like. When debts can no longer be raised relative to incomes and the time of
paying back comes, the process works in reverse. It is that dynamic that creates long-term debt cycles. These
long-term debt cycles have existed for as long as there has been credit. Even the Old Testament described the
need to wipe out debt once every 50 years, which was called the year of Jubilee.