The stock market has been so volatile that even the experts
are starting to get worried. The
increasingly wild swings are not “normal,” even within a Keynesian
framework. Nor is it the case that this
has never happened before. The same
thing was going on right before the Crash of 1929.
Of course, one solution is to redirect attention away from
the secondary market for debt and equity, and back to the primary market for
the production of marketable goods and services. This can be done by implementing the reforms recommended
in Capital Homesteading, e.g.,
tax reforms, monetary reforms, and reforms in how new capital formation is
financed. To get to the point where the
powers-that-be not only recognize that a problem exists, but that there is a
potential solution, here’s what we’ve been doing for the past week:
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| Jean-Marie Bukuru and Norman Kurland |
• On Wednesday of this week, Dr. Norman
Kurland and Jean-Marie Bukuru attended a farewell gathering of the Hubert
Humphrey Fellowship participants.
Jean-Marie is clearly well-thought of by both staff and participants,
and took advantage of the opportunity to explain key features of the Just Third
Way and introduce Norm around. A significant
number of staff and participants took business cards (and offered theirs in
exchange), and expressed interest in the potential of the Just Third Way to
establish economic justice for the family, as well as every child, woman, and
man affected by poverty, the lack of which is a growing problem throughout the
world, not merely the United States.
• This is not to say that the wealth
and income gap in the U.S. is not a problem, or that nothing need be done. It is essential that people be maintained in some
semblance of human dignity during the search for a solution as well as in the
early stages of its implementation.
Meeting the needs of the hungry, the homeless, and the unemployed
is a matter of the highest priority. As Brian Corbin, senior vice president
for social policy at Catholic Charities USA, stated
earlier this year, “There are millions of people at stake in these
decisions. They all have a name and a
face and based on our principle of human dignity, that name and that face and
that family, those really are important to making issues of poverty real.” An unsustainable
program of redistribution is not a solution, however, which is why CESJ has
joined with other organizations to present a framework for a possible solution
at the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this September.
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| Pope St. John Paul II and Norman Kurland |
• Also on Wednesday Dr. Norman Kurland
and Jean-Marie Bukuru met with Brian Corbin of Catholic Charities and discussed
Jean-Marie’s situation. The meeting was
very positive, and Brian made a number of insightful comments and gave some
very helpful suggestions. Norm and Brian
also discussed Norm’s early work during the War on Poverty, during which Norm
prepared guidelines for maximum feasible participation of the poor.
• Dr. Norman G.
Kurland has discussed the Just Third Way, especially the Citizens
Land Bank/Cooperative concept and its application with Chris K. of Lincoln
Park, Michigan, near Detroit. Chris
would like Norm to have telephone conferences one-on-one to explain the concept
to members of the city council for possible application in a model pilot
project. Once a CLB/CLC is implemented,
it could be possible to implement the Homeowners
Equity Corporation as a second step.
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| Bill McNamee |
• Dr. Norman G.
Kurland has also discussed Catholic education and CESJ's Justice University program with Mr. William McNamee, host of
the weekly radio “Catholic School
Spirit Show” in Chicago and available as a podcast as well. Bill seemed particularly interested in the
fact that Norm, who is not a Christian, as his first job out of law school was
given the task of making the case against
government aid to Catholic schools. As
every good advocate should, Norm investigated the opposition’s case (that is,
the case of those in favor of government aid to religious schools) . . . and
reversed himself. Norm is today a
staunch advocate of vouchers for education and healthcare, which can take up
the slack and ensure genuine choice until Capital Homesteading can optimize the
possibility of an adequate and secure income for all.
• As of this morning, we have had
visitors from 46 different countries and 46 states and provinces in the United
States and Canada to this blog over the past two months. Most visitors are from
the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland. The
most popular postings this past week were “Halloween Horror Special XIII: Mean
Green Mother from Outer Space,” “Thomas Hobbes on Private Property,” “Yet More
on Property, II: Hudock’s Alleged Errors,” “Crisis of Reason, III: Symptoms of
Irrationality,” and “Crisis of Reason, II: The Source of the Problem.”
Those are the happenings for this week, at least those that
we know about. If you have an
accomplishment that you think should be listed, send us a note about it at
mgreaney [at] cesj [dot] org, and we’ll see that it gets into the next
“issue.” If you have a short (250-400
word) comment on a specific posting, please enter your comments in the blog —
do not send them to us to post for you.
All comments are moderated, so we’ll see it before it goes up.
#30#