• The Economy is Booming . . .Again. Despite what you might think from your personal situation and the fact that your financial and economic position, in common with most people, is deteriorating rapidly, you are clearly delusional, because the economy grew in the fourth quarter! . . .for whom, we’re not entirely certain. This “blockbuster growth” is fueling . . . something we’re not entirely clear about, but, what the heck, it’s growth and that’s all that matters . . . right? Well . . . no. What matters in social justice is that every actual person has the opportunity and access to the means to participate fully in economic (and other) life, not that the “average” does. A millionaire and I together have an average of a million dollars . . . which tells you how much I have. What both I and the millionaire need, however, is the Economic Democracy Act to equalize opportunity and access to the means without harming either of us and benefit both.
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| Who needs reality? |
• Don’t Worry, Be Happy. According to the experts, Americans don’t have to worry about high interest rates. Well . . . that depends on what you mean by “worry.” They were correct that the Federal Reserve didn’t raise interest rates . . . but everyone should be worrying about the fact that the Federal Reserve fools around with interest rates in the first place. The Federal Reserve should not be trying to control the economy but should be concerned with providing adequate liquidity and a stable currency for the private sector. That’s about it, plus some administrative functions, such as overseeing clearinghouse operations. To restrict the Federal Reserve to its proper functions, we need the Economic Democracy Act.
• Pity the Rich. According to a hedge fund operator, President Biden made the economy much worse than otherwise. Of course, he doesn’t explain how anybody else is doing or would do any better. The fact is, all the experts, and thus all the politicians, are operating from the wrong paradigm and using the wrong assumptions. They all think, for example, along with Keynes, that if you control money and credit, you control the economy. No, the fact of the matter is, if things were allowed to operate naturally, as in the Economic Democracy Act, the economy would itself control money and credit. Since the experts’ entire frame of reference is backwards, it’s plain to see why they think that having trillions of dollars in unrepayable debt is such a good thing, and that ordinary people having productive capacity is so bad.
• And the Peasants Rejoice . . . Not. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell has again saved the economy . . . for the rich, who (of course) are the only ones that matter in economic life. He has announced they won’t be raising interest rates any time soon, which lets the rich and the speculators breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, the idea is that they don’t have to raise interest rates to control inflation . . . which wouldn’t be a problem if we had the Economic Democracy Act., but we don’t (yet). The fact is, the Federal Reserve can’t really control the economy as they think, as this is a fantasy of Keynesian economics, which is based on false premises anyway.
• A Resilient Economy? The experts are amazed that “the economy” (meaning the stock market) is so resilient in spite of the fact that things are so lousy for most people. Of course, the real reason is that the stock market has nothing to do with real life; it’s a secondhand shop for used debt and equity. What’s keeping the stock market “resilient” is the same thing that keeps people packing into casinos — the hope of making the big score by rolling the dice the right way. If we really wanted a resilient economy, we should adopt the Economic Democracy Act. and let real economic activity, not gambling, run the economy.
• Mixed Signals. According to the past president of the Dallas Federal Reserve, too much government borrowing is forcing interest rates higher. Well, yes, but the solution is not for government to borrow less and simply not meet its obligations but shift economic activity and control over money and credit to the private sector. That can be done by adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• Greater Reset “Book Trailers”. We have produced two ninety-second “Book Trailers” for distribution (by whoever wants to distribute them), essentially minute and a half commercials for The Greater Reset. There are two versions of the videos, one for “general audiences” and the other for “Catholic audiences”. Take your pick.
• The Greater Reset. CESJ’s new book by members of CESJ’s core group, The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law is, of course, available from the publisher, TAN Books, an imprint of Saint Benedict Press, and has already gotten a top review on that website. It can also be obtained from Barnes and Noble, as well as Amazon, or by special order from your local “bricks and mortar” bookstore. The Greater Reset is the only book of which we’re aware on “the Great Reset” that presents an alternative instead of simply warning of the dangers inherent in a proposal that is contrary to natural law. It describes reality, rather than a Keynesian fantasy world. Please note that The Greater Reset is NOT a CESJ publication as such, and enquiries about quantity discounts and wholesale orders for resale must be sent to the publisher, Saint Benedict Press, NOT to CESJ.
• Economic Personalism Landing Page. A landing page for CESJ’s latest publication, Economic Personalism: Property, Power and Justice for Every Person, has been created and can be accessed by clicking on this link. Everyone is encouraged to visit the page and send the link out to their networks.
• Economic Personalism. When you purchase a copy of Economic Personalism: Property, Power and Justice for Every Person, be sure you post a review after you’ve read it. It is available on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble at the cover price of $10 per copy. You can also download the free copy in .pdf available from the CESJ website. If you’d like to order in bulk (i.e., ten or more copies) at the wholesale price, send an email to publications@cesj.org for details. CESJ members get a $2 rebate per copy on submission of proof of purchase. Wholesale case lots of 52 copies are available at $350, plus shipping (whole case lots ONLY). Prices are in U.S. dollars.
• Sensus Fidelium Videos, Update. CESJ’s series of videos for Sensus Fidelium are doing very well, with over 155,000 total views. The latest Sensus Fidelium video is “The Five Levers of Change.” The video is part of the series on the book, Economic Personalism. The latest completed series on “the Great Reset” can be found on the “Playlist” for the series. The previous series of sixteen videos on socialism is available by clicking on the link: “Socialism, Modernism, and the New Age,” along with some book reviews and other selected topics. For “interfaith” presentations to a Catholic audience they’ve proved to be popular, edging up to 150,000 views to date. They aren’t really “Just Third Way videos,” but they do incorporate a Just Third Way perspective. You can access the playlist for the entire series. The point of the videos is to explain how socialism and socialist assumptions got such a stranglehold on the understanding of the role of the State and thus the interpretation of Catholic social teaching, and even the way non-Catholics and even non-Christians understand the roles of Church, State, and Family, and the human persons place in society.
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 well see that it gets into the next “issue.” Due to imprudent and intemperate language on the part of some commentators, we removed temptation and disabled comments.
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