Fiscal & institutions
Five nodes on government finance and the supra-national plumbing — the debt-sustainability math, central banks compared, Bretton Woods, reserve currencies, sanctions.
Why this track existsFiscal arithmetic and institutional power are the two halves of how states act on the economy. Track E covers both.
The 5-node arc
§ Nodes · in order- E1★
Fiscal basics
Debt/GDP follows one equation: it grows by r − g, plus the primary deficit. When growth beats interest, debt erodes; when interest beats growth, debt compounds. Three knobs, thirty years, the whole drama of public finance.
● ready7 min - E2
Central banks compared
The Fed, ECB, BoE, BoJ, PBoC have very different mandates, governance, tools, and audiences. Treating them as equivalent is the most common error in commentary.
● ready7 min - E3
The Bretton Woods siblings
IMF (lender of last resort), World Bank (development finance), BIS (central bankers' central bank), WTO (rules). Built in 1944 for a world that no longer exists; still running it anyway.
● ready6 min - E4
Reserve currencies — what makes one
Liquidity, rule of law, deep capital markets, and the willingness of the issuer to run external deficits. Few currencies meet all four. The dollar is the only one that meets all four overwhelmingly.
● ready6 min - E5
Sanctions architecture
Modern sanctions are a feature of dollar-clearing infrastructure. Every cross-border dollar transaction touches a US bank, which makes US sanctions globally enforceable in a way no other country's are.
● ready6 min