Forget the Fed: The FIRE Economy Rules

[necron99]

I totally agree with the worry about splitting our paycheck in half between loan repayment and taxes, just to live... call me prescient, or maybe not (no more than your average iTulip member), but in 1996, under the previous administration, I thought this was all pretty obvious. That year I wrote a fiction piece, under an alias, which I think might lend a first-person perspective to living under a runaway FIRE economy... (Adobe PDF file)

http://www.processedworld.com/Issues...y_a_Winner.pdf

Speak of the devil; here was his credit card bill. As usual, he signed over his RatScan paycheck to ViMaCard and sealed the envelope. As usual, he purchased another four weeks of freedom, while adding another handful of pebbles to the landslide of debt waiting to devour him in the future.

[...snip...]

He uplinked to Leebay's website, ignoring the obligatory random advertisement virus:

"STARVING?? AMERICORP-BANK wants to help YOU!! You'll love our great rates on food and clothing loans."

That would probably be more appropriate under Part II of this article, but I've been too lazy to purchase iTulip Select, so I can't comment there...

[c1ue]

Pretty good story.

I would like to have seen some historical/economic background though - just a couple of sentences a la Piper.

The Negative Checkoff thing - classic!

[Lukester]

Necron99 -

Great read. Reminds me very much of the satirical writing of the British Sci Fi author John Brunner (The Jagged Orbit, Stand on Zanzibar, The Sheep Look Up) from the early 1970's. Not well known but very competent, humorous yet acerbic, tautly woven and masterful within that genre. His character sketches are extremely rich and carefully drawn, verging on kaleidoscopic casts of characters (heavily ironic and very funny) within a Sci Fi genre where genuine caustic humor is a great rarity.

Your style is a close match for his. Needless to say his writing from 35+ years ago is not dated in the least - it perfectly anticipates the dystopia you also describe. Unfortunately much of his work is out of print but you can still pick easily up the above novels on Amazon used. If you still write or read this genre, he's the best of the lot.

http://www.sfreviews.net/jaggedorbit.html

http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/reviews/...798-836-1.html


Your own vision of our near future is tautly written and very entertertaining! Needless to say it is also profoundly depressing, which you'll doubtless accept as a great compliment!

[necron99]

Lukester, I am very grateful for the reply, as I like to read this stuff -- and you're right, I take that as a compliment! I have an as-yet-unpublished 'thematic sequel' -- doesn't involve the same characters, but is set in the same milleu -- so if anyone can promise me a lucrative book deal with movie options, PM me for the sequel!

[jk]

Necron99 -

Great read. Reminds me very much of the satirical writing of the British Sci Fi author John Brunner (The Jagged Orbit, Stand on Zanzibar, The Sheep Look Up) from the early 1970's. Not well known but very competent, humorous yet acerbic, tautly woven and masterful within that genre. His character sketches are extremely rich and carefully drawn, verging on kaleidoscopic casts of characters (heavily ironic and very funny) within a Sci Fi genre where genuine caustic humor is a great rarity.

Your style is a close match for his. Needless to say his writing from 35+ years ago is not dated in the least - it perfectly anticipates the dystopia you also describe. Unfortunately much of his work is out of print but you can still pick easily up the above novels on Amazon used. If you still write or read this genre, he's the best of the lot.

http://www.sfreviews.net/jaggedorbit.html

http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/reviews/books/1-85798-836-1.html

shockwave rider