Ecological Sustainability

351Complex Economic Systems and Sustainability

advertising—“keeping up with the Joneses,” variable-rate mortgages, “no

cash down payment plans,” and so forth—encourages buyers to accrue debt.

At some point, some individuals no longer can meet their combined tax,

interest, health care, and cost-of-living obligations and have to declare bank-

ruptcy and/or default on their mortgages. Few have been willing to “live

within their means”; after all, the government does not.

Another symptom of economic pathology is ination. Ination is seen as

a rapid rise in the level of prices for goods and services, as well as a decline

in the real value of money (i.e., a loss in its purchasing power). The adverse

effects on the economy from ination ...