This week we have a plethora of news items that sound remarkably like the previous week and the week before that and the week before that and the week before that . . . but you get the idea. Not to get repetitive, but most if not all of these issues could be solved by adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• Sucker Bet. According to the talk on “the Street” (Wall Street, that is), “the Markets” (meaning people with money to gamble or throw away, depending) are betting that the Federal Reserve is going to make a mistake with interest rate cuts. Given that the whole approach of the Federal Reserve to interest rates has been a mistake from the very beginning, this is a no-brainer bet. Whatever they do, it is almost guaranteed to be a mistake for one reason or another. If they do the wrong thing, it will be obvious, but if by chance (and it can only be by chance) they do the right thing, it will be for the wrong reasons and the good effect will only be temporary, but they will do it again to try and make it permanent. The only way to make economic reform permanent, however, and for the good, would be to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• “Pig Butchering” on the Rise. No, we’re not talking about hog slaughtering for feed, we’re talking about an internet operation scamming money for greed. They call it “pig butchering” because the victim is “fattened” with all kinds of promises — usually a combination of easy sex and easier money — and then bilked out of as much money as possible before disappearing and going on to the next victim. The crypto craze has provided a great deal of opportunity for this, a virtual commodity with nothing behind it is a perfect match for a virtual relationship, also with nothing behind it. In both cases, romance or riches, it’s a good idea to find out if there is anything there before you put a dime into it. Of course, if you want financial security (we can’t do anything about the romance department, even this close to St. Valentine’s Day), the best thing to do is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Trump Trumps Bidenomics. At least according to some pundits, people’s disappointment with Biden’s economic policies (which he claims are beginning to work) are leading them to give Trump a lead in the upcoming presidential contest. Of course, a great deal of this could be due to the fact that “the economy” means different things to different people. If you’re in the money or tied to government programs, the economy could be doing pretty well, and you’ll be more open to Biden. If you’re dependent on a job or a business for your income, you might not be doing so well and more open to the kind of promises Trump likes to make. What’s the solution? How about a return to the real world and adoption of the Economic Democracy Act?
• U.S. on an Unsustainable Financial Path. No kidding. According to Jerome Powell, it is a great revelation that the “financial path” the United States economy has been on since the New Deal is unsustainable! Gasp. You mean that programs and policies that have never worked are still not working? Amazing! Of course, if Powell — or anyone else — wants to put the U.S. economy or any other economy on the right path, he or she should push for the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act.
• The U.S. Economy is Doing Great! At least, according to President Biden . . . and he’s wondering why Americans are still “feeling bad.” The explanation, of course, is that the experts reporting on how great the economy is doing are relying on misleading indicators and Keynesian analysis, which ignore most people and concentrate on aggregate figures and impersonal data. For example, if one person in a group of ten has a million-dollar income, and the other nine have nothing, the average is $100,000! That looks good when reporting to the president but does nothing for the nine people with nothing. What’s the solution? An economic program that benefits all individuals, not groups, and that means the Economic Democracy Act.
• Not “The Farmers at the Fed,” But . . . Dissatisfied with the agricultural economy and government policies, Italian farmers are en route to Rome as a protest. The problem with this sort of protest, however, is that rarely do they demand the right things . . . such as monetary reform and something like the Economic Democracy Act.
• Don’t Quit Your Day Job. According to real estate mogul Grant Cardone, despite dissatisfaction with the nine-to-five rat race, you shouldn’t start a new business today — it’s the “dumbest, most selfish thing a person could do.” Well . . . yes. Most people don’t have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Of course, Cardone isn’t considering that there is an alternative to being a wage slave and going it alone. That’s being a co-owner with others and hiring professionals as your partners to handle the entrepreneurship aspect of the business. That’s the whole idea behind Louis Kelso’s vision, applied in the Economic Democracy Act.
• The U.S. Economy is Better Than EVER! According to Fundstrat Global Advisors managing partner Tom Lee, the U.S. economy is in terrific shape and it couldn’t be better. The problem here is deciding whether this is an instance of wishful thinking or total delusion. Why not get out of Lalaland altogether and adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Dave Ramsey Says Stop Spending. According to Dave Ramsey, the way to restore a sound financial position is to stop spending like a drunken sailor on leave. This is good advice, but it’s only half the answer, and really only applies to people who have what would otherwise be an adequate income if they weren’t spending like idiots. It’s important to keep spending within bounds, but when income starts out inadequate, simply cutting spending isn’t going to help much. What is needed for most people in today’s economy is not a simple program of austerity, but revenue enhancement, and realistically that means adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• U.S. Economy on Steroids. According to billionaire investor Paul Tudor
Jones, the U.S. economy
is on artificial and very deceptive life support caused by massive
government spending, and it’s very soon going to hit the stock market. As he says, the US economy looks like it's “on
steroids” as high government spending powers growth, and the consequences of
massive borrowing will show up in markets sooner or later. Again, however, all of this could be avoided
(if the powers-that-be really wanted to) by the
Economic Democracy Act.
• Worse Than a Collapse. According to the political experts, the European Union is on the verge of something worse than a collapse. It’s poised to turn conservative. Of course, how bad that is depends on how one defines “conservative.” In this context, it appears to be understood as a turn to fascism . . . which is a form of radical liberalism. Traditionally (at least for the past two centuries), “conservative” has meant anything from individualist (moderate) liberalism to reaction. At no time has it or the radical liberalism forms even approached the personalist form of liberalism in which the human person is sovereign. No, it’s always been assumed to be a struggle between collectivism and individualism (elitism). To restore the position of the human person would require adopting something like of 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.
#30#
