Yet again there is a depressing sameness about the news items this week. That means that our solution is the same, if not at all depressing: adopt the Economic Democracy Act . . . so if people want to see something new in this report, get Congress to act . . .
• Unholy Smoke! An Imprimatur! Our manuscript relating the story of how the “New Things” (rei novae) of socialism, “modernism” (probably not what you think it is), and the New Age began and spread has been granted an “imprimatur” by the Catholic bishop of Arlington, Virginia. This does NOT mean that the bishop agrees with or endorses the book, just that he has examined it (or had it examined by his resident expert(s)) and found it free of error, at least by his lights, in the area of faith and morals. Now we just need to find an agent or a publisher.
• Consumer Debt Killer. No, this is not a serial killer driven insane by being in debt . . . although that may be next week’s lead story. This is the brief saga of a woman who has nearly $130,000 in credit card debt. The size of the debt rather boggles us, as we have sometimes pushed the limit on a credit card in a month when we were putting on a conference or something and were cut off until the — timely! — payment was received. The only thing we can figure is that somebody has maybe one or two additional credit cards and, instead of paying off one when reaching the limit, simply obtains another card. As they say, you can cure ignorance but not stupidity. It would seem the thing to do in this instance is first to start exercising a little restraint in spending and start living within your means. The next step is to work on revenue enhancement, and that means adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• The New Cave Persons. While the headline declares some homeless in California are living in “furnished caves,” don’t think Flintstones here. Evidently, most of the furnishings consist of trash and drugs, at least according to the article. One would think in the alleged California paradise there would be a better solution to homelessness, but that is not the way the current powers-that-be think. Something like the Homeowners Equity Corporation (HEC) could help alleviate the immediate problem, but a long term solution would have to be something along the lines of the Economic Democracy Act so people can generate their own income and afford adequate housing instead of relying on public assistance.
• The Consumer Debt Economy. As Americans deplete savings and rack up records amount of consumer debt, experts are touting the usual line that the party is soon over, and the bailouts will have to begin. That, of course, assumes the “economic dilemma”: if people consume and spend money on food, clothing, and shelter, there is a demand for new capital to meet the demand, but no savings to finance it. If people save their money for investment, there is plenty of money for new capital, but no demand for it. What’s the answer? As Harold Moulton noted in The Formation of Capital (1935) following the American Civil War, savings were being depleted at an astounding rate to repay debt incurred during the war and to fund massive consumer spending. At the same time, the United States was experiencing a period of the greatest industrial and commercial expansion in history . . . at a time when there were no savings? Where did the money come from? From Europe? A small amount, but not enough to account for the massive expansion. On investigation, Moulton discovered the financing came from the extension of commercial bank credit. This is the basis of financing proposed in the Economic Democracy Act that has the potential to free people from debt slavery and make them able to be full participants in economic — and therefore political and social — life.
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| Or why not make it solvent? |
• Defiant America. According to the experts, America is defying expectations and the economy remains strong. Of course, that depends on how you define “economy,” “strong,” and a few other terms. The fact is, much of the growth they speak of is pure illusion, brought on by massive money creation by government and the private sector and poured into the speculative secondary market for debt and equity. It doesn’t mean anything . . . until the crash comes and the experts declare there isn’t enough money for real productive investment and consumption. The solution, of course, is to reorient the economy and finance away from speculation and to real investment in which actual people can participate, and that means 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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