Then a squirrel financial advisor comes by and talks the squirrel into turning over his nuts for a piece of paper describing a scheme in which his nuts will be loaned out to a series of other squirrels in other forests, and how there will be extra value created because of the nut arbitrage trade, which is driven by the seasonal cycles, rainfall patterns and slight differences in squirrel body fat ratios from forest to forest.
Even if the acorn scheme worked, the already-nervous squirrel would find that all he did anymore was sit around worrying about his RONI (return on nut investment) and the risk that his leveraged nuts posed both for him as well as all the other squirrels who had grown dependent upon it for survival.
He would start to long for the days when all he had to do was collect and store acorns for his own consumption. That just felt so much more natural, the squirrel would think to himself.
Eventually, the nut schemes would create a squirrel underworld:
- Paramilitary squirrels to protect the nut trade
Squirrel mythology to give meaning to squirrel nut traders' lives
Fierce battles with predators for control of new nut markets
Mass suicides when the nut market crashes
Finally, squirrels return to sustainability and the old ways"
