Because the system is one of “debt monetization”. The money *is* debt. I think lol. Every transaction has two sides. For every asset there has to be a liability.
Q for you nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a if I may.
Reading your excellent book, Broken Money.
Central Banks hold their own country's debt as their assets. Why can't a government just issue more currency without the charade of a separate entity holding debt everyone know they will never repay?
Discussion
So if the gov drums up all those dollars (liabilities), someone has to have an asset to match those dollars on a balance sheet.