Mama Economy (The Economy Explained) (feat. Lindsey Stirling)

Are you confused about the economy? Well have no fear
 I'm going to explain the American economy right now
 The dollar just think of it like
 A promise from the government
 But the value of the dollar
 Has to be there to be relevant
 The value of the dollar comes from
 China and Iran
 When they put their cash reserves
 In a U.S. dollar plan -
 They buy treasury bonds from
 The Federal Reserve
 We say "we owe you extra money
 Cause you gave us some of yours"
 That's a big part
 Of the National Debt
 All the interest that we
 Haven't paid to China quite yet -
 And a hundred other countries
 Cause we're such a good investment
 The whole world gives us money
 We say "Hey we'll pay you interest!"
 This is how money is created from air
 Bank bailouts, federal budgets
 Money isn't really there -
 It's an I.O.U., remember dollars are a promise
 When you borrow from a bank
 It's not from other depositors
 The money for your loan
 Gets created on the spot
 Then they put it in your name
 Gamble on your life and body -
 But if you lose your job
 Then you were a bad bet
 If a million lose their jobs
 Then we have a recession
 Here's the dirty secret
 Your labor's too expensive
 Wall Street wants you spending money
 But they never want to pay you -
 In your life cash and credit
 They are very different things
 But your credit's someone else's cash
 Once it leaves your name
 This is why money is debt
 And your debt is good for
 Wall Street prosperity -
 And economic growth since the 1970s
 Is consumers getting credit
 Without wages increasing
 So when they talk about the housing crisis
 They never say we need to lower housing prices -
 We need better devices
 To afford high prices
 Meaning higher debt lower interest
 Cause you're underpaid to begin with
 That's the cycle we're in
 We don't understand so
 All we can do is question
 Mama economy make me understand
 All the numbers why Daddy's on a welfare plan
 Turnin thirty forty fifty gotta move in with my parents
 And the stocks go up but the jobs disappear
 Mama economy make me understand
 All the numbers why Daddy's on a welfare plan
 Turnin thirty forty fifty gotta move in with my parents
 And the stocks go up but the jobs disappear
 Because wages barely grew for 40 years
 When you buy stuff
 They delay the cost of ownership
 You can't afford it
 So they make it to depend
 On endless small transactions
 Which is more like renting
 You pay more for printer ink
 Than you do for gold and
 More for bottled water
 Than you do for oil
 Razor blades are made to oxidate
 So you're forever in debt to them
 Just to shave
 It's a type of socialism
 Called market socialism
 The best designed product
 Meets a need and doesn't last
 We subsidize waste
 With landfills and holidays like
 Earth Day teachin' kids:
 Recycle please
 Kids don't learn in school
 We live one worldview
 Neoliberal economics
 In all of their politics
 They don't ask why corporations
 Are human citizens
 Or why grandma pays more taxes
 Cause she lacks stock dividends
 Or why private bankers
 Print the public money
 Or why democracy is broken
 Cause their leaders won't be cutting
 Loopholes or subsidies
 For constituent industries
 Putting legislative bodies
 In a deep freeze
 So the Ph.Ds and the G.E.D.s
 Cry with Ayn Rand down at the temp agency
 Sayin' "we believed in
 Meritocracy
 But there's more to the story
 Answer me!
 Mama economy make me understand
 All the numbers why Daddy's on a welfare plan
 Turnin thirty forty fifty gotta move in with my parents
 And the stocks go up but the jobs disappear
 Mama economy make me understand
 All the numbers why Daddy's on a welfare plan
 Turnin thirty forty fifty gotta move in with my parents
 And the stocks go up but the jobs disappear
 Mama economy make me understand
 All the numbers why Daddy's on a welfare plan
 Turnin thirty forty fifty gotta move in with my parents
 And the stocks go up but the jobs disappear