A few years back, I had a bit of cash...so I started a bank. Thought it would be fun. I printed up a bunch of currency...it is so pretty. The paper bills had pink flowers on them...a whole bunch of pretty flowers!
I had a couple friends in government and I asked them to meet me for lunch...my treat. I showed them the pretty new pink flowered paper currency. They loved it and wanted some. We chatted about how fun it would be if everyone used my pretty currency. They each had more friends in government. They all met for lunch and my pretty currency was loved by all. So, they passed a law that said everyone in the land shall now only use this pretty pink flowered currency. So it was done.
It had been agreed by all these important government people...that....they will buy the currency from me and pay me extra for my troubles. Interest is what we called that extra.
So, that was that...everyone had to, by law, use the pink flowered currency and the government bought it by the truckload from me. It didn't cost me much to print...some artwork, some paper, some ink, and a printer. EZPZ. They paid me full price of each bill (face value)...PLUS INTEREST! Yay!! Wow...it was quite exciting. I was making BO-ku(beaucoup = a lot in French) money! More Yay!!! I had enough money to buy pretty much anything I wanted! Houses and land and cars and shoes! Lots of shoes! It was fun!
Think that was a silly, crazy story? It is exactly what the folks who created the Federal Reserve Bank did. It's not Federal. It's private.
Ooooohhhh....there IS a difference....my fantasy currency is pink and pretty ;)
IMAGE CREDIT: photo and art by me :)