Negative interest rates

I you have been following the news lately you will likely have heard chatter about negative interest rates.

Have you ever thought about why we charge interest on capital?

Two reasons come to mind.

Risk - Because we cannot be certain of the future or the success of an investment savers/owners of capital charge interest to offset the potential loss of capital.

Mortality - We have preference for consumption today vs later. We do not live forever so savers/owners of capital expect to be compensated with interest for the use of their capital.

Because we cannot eliminate risk or mortality the markets real interest rate can never be negative.

Enacting a "Policy" of negative interest rates has un-intended consequences. Negative rates encourages borrowers to invest/speculate and consume without regards to long return on investment. We know how this ends...