If you and I ran our businesses the way the giant banks do today, we'd be in jail - and justifiably so. But banks have a business partner that we don't: government.
And governments have printing presses or rather, today computers that magically generate extra ones and zeroes on asset ledgers that otherwise would be as barren as a feminist's womb.
And all of that magical money finds its way into leveraged investments via primary dealers and keeps the whole Ponzi going until... the next batch of bad debt comes due and must be paid. But current revenue cannot cover such debts, especially when there are year-end performance bonuses to be paid and sweaty political palms to be greased.
"Hello, Ben? I need some more Benjamins. "When? Why, yesterday, of course."