I agree with the sentiment expressed in this article (as I explain at the end of this Response). Unfortunately, there are some serious errors of fact in it.

For one thing, government does not "print money" to pay for spending. It creates debt to pay for spending that exceeds what is collected in taxes. That debt is bought by various entities. The central bank is bound by law to assure that all such debt is purchased. It will always purchase some portion of that new debt. Money can be created for that purpose.

The 'fiat' in "fiat money" refers to 'by decree'. It refers to legal tender, that is, whatever any government says must be used to pay taxes (and, in modern times, what banks can require for repayment of loans). Legal tender has been around for as long as taxes have been around: for the entirety of the history of civilization.

Banks have lent more money than they had on hand for as long as banking has existed--again, for the entirety of the history of civilization. Individual banks used to be allowed to issue their own money, in the form of 'bank notes'. They would sell those notes, which were supposed to be redeemable on demand (after some specified period of time had elapsed) for a specified amount of legal tender, but often banks sold way more than they could ever redeem. They sold the notes at a discount, for example, a $10 note for $9. Honest bankers were, well, banking on making enough money in the meantime with the money from selling notes to be able to redeem them and still have a profit; the most dishonest bankers sold notes with no intention of ever redeeming them.

In short, banking has been improved over time.

Still, this author is correct: debt is a yoke the financial system has on society. All creation of money--except money created in 'quantitative easing' (QE)--involves the creation of new debt. Interest payments are a payoff to the banking system for the existence of money, which is necessary to people for their very survival.

QE was invented to create money (without creating new debt) for the central bank to give to financial institutions in exchange for debt they could not collect. I propose a kind of permanent 'quantitative easing' for people: the money created would be used to establish, without involving new debt, a bulletproof minimum income (at least $15/hr.; $600/wk. in the U.S.) for citizens of the nation. For that matter, the same process could be used to fund government (all government, from central to local), eliminating the need for taxes/public debt.