Friday, January 19, 2024

News from the Network, Vol. 17, No. 03

Once again, we have a depressingly similar roundup of news items.  Of course, that makes our commentary very simple: adopt the Economic Democracy Act . . . so if people want to see something new in this report, get Congress to act . . .


• Keep Inflation Burning!
 Consistent with the bizarre Keynesian theory that high prices mean economic growth and general prosperity, the experts are predicting a great inflow of cash that will bring wealth to everyone!!  Of course, they never seem to realize that the more cash floating around, the less it is worth.  Printing money does not create wealth, although you can’t seem to convince politicians and economists of that.  What is the real answer to establishing and maintaining prosperity?  Adopt the Economic Democracy Act.


• Consumer Debt Defaults
.  The economy is booming, driven by greater than ever consumer spending!  Huzzah!  The world is saved!!  But wait, there’s more!  The flip side to Americans spending more than ever before is that more Americans are missing credit card payments.  Oops.  It seems that the consumer credit on which Keynesian economics relies to keep things going may soon be tapped out.  Does that mean the end is near?  No, not if Congress adopts the Economic Democracy Act.  Ordinary people could then purchase assets on credit that pay for themselves out of their own future earnings and thereafter provide a stream of income that can be used for consumption . . . eliminating in many cases the need for consumer credit on such a vast scale.


• The Great Wealth and Debt Transfer.
 Heirs of the Boomer generation are licking their lips anticipating the greatest wealth transfer in history as their parents and grandparents start to die off.  Along with that, however, also comes the greatest debt transfer in history.  A lot of people don’t realize that what matters is not the amount of stuff somebody has, but whether they actually own it free and clear . . . which many people don’t.  Even if the parents and grandparents do own their wealth unencumbered, their prospect heirs have been wracking up debt at an incredible rate and can look forward to realizing little, if any, net gain from any inheritance they might get . . . if they don’t fritter that away, too, and end up worse than before.  The solution?  Stop people from trying to walk around on dead men’s legs and pass the Economic Democracy Act so people can generate their own income instead of relying on what other people earned and might not have, anyway.

• 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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