In a small village one day, a wealthy traveler stops by an inn. He lays a $100 bill on the counter and tells the innkeeper he wants to check out the rooms first before deciding to stay. So he heads upstairs to check out the rooms.
Confident that the guest will find things to his liking, the innkeeper takes the $100 bill and heads over to the butcher to pay him the hundred dollars he owes.
The butcher takes the $100 bill and goes to the rancher to pay him the hundred dollars he owes.
The rancher takes the $100 bill to the hardware store where he owes a hundred dollars for fence materials.
The hardware store owner takes the $100 to the town prostitute, because things have been so tough even she started offering services on credit.
The prostitute takes the $100 to the inn and lays it on the counter since she owed the innkeeper for her room.
The wealthy traveler comes back downstairs, having decided he didn't like the rooms after all, picks up his $100 bill and leaves.
So, nobody did anything, no work was accomplished and no value was created. Yet a whole lot of debt ($500 worth) was cancelled and nobody had anything to show for it. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?
