Lantern Journal 
By J. Maxwell Montgomery
The world is on edge. From Greece to Guyana to Gotham, people are wondering about their future–if it is secure, if they will even have one. And there are many ideas as to why the global economy has sputtered, stalled, shrunk, or whatever. But the prominent theory is that, somehow, we spent too much money; we borrowed against the devil, and now he has come for his dues. But, why did we do that? And are the right people paying the debt? The heart of the matter is that we have been on a long financial roller coaster that has been tumbling over and over since the invention of credit. Inside, this essay explores a few ideas as to why we have been tumbling, lately, downward. Inside, is an attempt to understand what started this mess, and what it has turned into; and in the process we are able to marry Isaac Newton to Kim Kardashian–a marriage that has lasted considerably longer than her most recent affair.
J. Maxwell Montgomery was born in a coal-digging town in central Pennsylvania, he has since traveled much of the world, and has finally settled in a rural community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. He earned a Masters degree in Ancient and Medieval History, and has taught students at every level from college to elementary. He currently teaches History and Technology Arts.