Among the many strange subjects discussed in the Game of the Irresponsibles was one particularly fascinating topic:
Paying the individual an enormous amount of money.
At first, the individual believed that the game involved a mixture of legitimate money and dirty money.
Later, however, he reached a different conclusion.
According to him, there was no clean money in the game at all.
Which, admittedly, makes accounting much simpler.
The Printing Fee
The Plastic King repeatedly insisted that the individual would have to pay a percentage of his winnings.
At first, the request made no sense.
After all, paying a fee on money that does not yet exist is a rather creative financial concept.
Eventually, the individual concluded that he was expected to pay 20 percent of his winnings to the factory that would supposedly print the money.
A remarkable business model.
Imagine winning the lottery and being told:
“Congratulations! Your prize doesn’t exist yet, but please pay us in advance so we can create it.”
The Plastic King apparently considered this perfectly reasonable.
International Competition
When the individual refused to pay the 20 percent fee, the Plastic King allegedly found another factory.
This one was not in Mickey Mouse Land.
In fact, it was not even on the same continent.
Even better, this factory offered a discount.
It would print the money for only 9 percent.
Competition truly benefits the consumer.
The individual accepted the idea—not because he intended to take the money, but because he believed that various governments and authorities were observing the situation.
By stirring the waters, he hoped that people involved in questionable activities might start moving around, giving the authorities an opportunity to observe what was happening.
Sometimes the fastest way to spot the fish is to disturb the pond.
The Central Bank of the Plastic Kingdom
At first, the individual suspected that the money itself might be counterfeit.
Later, however, he reached another conclusion.
According to him, the money would allegedly be printed using an original printing plate.
This raised an obvious question.
How does someone obtain access to an official printing plate?
The individual reasoned that such access would require either government approval or government complicity.
Because if the printing plate had truly been stolen, one would expect the authorities to invalidate it and publicly announce that any currency produced with it was fraudulent.
According to the individual, that never happened.
From this, he arrived at a remarkable conclusion:
The Plastic King appeared to possess the freedom to print as much money as he needed, whenever he needed it—much like a central bank.
There was only one small difference.
A central bank prints money that belongs to the country’s financial system.
The Plastic King’s alleged printing press, according to the individual, would produce money that nobody knows about and that belongs only to him.
In other words, the Plastic King may have achieved every ruler’s secret dream:
Owning a private central bank without all the annoying responsibilities that usually come with one.
