At the top of the news this week, at least from the perspective of the Just Third Way, is Norman G. Kurland being honored as an Ambassador of Peace by the Universal Peace Federation:
Norman G. Kurland
• Norman Kurland Named Ambassador of Peace. On Thursday, February 29, 2024, at the fourth anniversary luncheon for the Universal Peace Federation, at the Washington Times, Dr. Norman G. Kurland, president of the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice in Arlington, Virginia, was named “Ambassador of Peace” for his many accomplishments and years of service promoting the cause of economic and social justice, particularly with the Economic Democracy Act. The luncheon was followed by a tour of the Times offices, which showed how presentation of the news has changed over the years in response to rapidly advancing technology.
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| Warren Buffett |
• Warren Buffett Says Stock Market a Casino. Do you suppose Warren Buffett has secretly been listening to Dr. Norman Kurland’s talks? Demonstrating why we need both the Economic Democracy Act and Justice University, Buffett said, “For whatever reasons, markets now exhibit far more casino-like behavior than they did when I was young,” Buffett wrote, adding that “though the stock market is massively larger than it was in our early years, today’s active participants are neither more emotionally stable nor better taught than when I was in school.” Buffett doesn’t come right and say it, but people need to shift their investment strategy from the current speculative model to one more in tune with true investment, that is, going for assets that generate income, and not speculative gains by buying and selling the asset itself. This is the whole idea behind the Economic Democracy Act.
• News Flash: Money is Losing Value! In a surprise finding, a study by Wells Fargo shows that people need more money than they have as prices continue to rise in response to government manipulation of the money supply and the currency. “Amid high prices, rising interest rates, and ongoing recession fears, three out of five Americans are worried about their financial future, a new report finds. That has translated into many cutting back on spending, some to the point where making their money work in today's economy leaves little room to consider significant life decisions down the road.” What’s the answer? As you might expect it’s to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
Not even fun while it lasts
• The Forty-Year-Old Baby. And then there are those who figure they’ve latched onto the good life and why be stupid and work . . . until Mommy and Daddy die, and you discover that money has to come from somewhere? Inheritances don’t last very long if you spend the principal and there is nothing more coming in. Of course, there are also people who can’t work even when they desperately want to, and those whose labor simply can’t seem to generate sufficient income. What is to be done? Fortunately, there is a way to take care of both types. It’s called the Economic Democracy Act and it should be enacted at the earliest possible date.
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• Starting a Business “Dumb and Selfish”? Real estate mogul Grant Cardone says that starting a business to produce a marketable good or service is “dumb” and “selfish.” It’s much better to own real estate and let dumb and stupid people pay you for the privilege of using your property to fail at being productive. Of course, if those (other) people aren’t productive (i.e., are dumb and selfish), then they won’t be able to pay rent for the use of your property, and you’ll end up paying the taxes and maintenance, losing a ton of money in the process. What’s the solution? Become an owner of an existing business, or a co-owner with others whose skills and knowledge complement yours, or even provide financing for a business that will pay dividends for your investment. This can be done with the Economic Democracy Act.
• Fight of the Century: Gen Z v. the Millennials. Millennials: Gen Z is lazy and stupid; Gen Z: Millennials are greedy and stupid. “‘Gen Z spends all their money on avocado toast and coffee. All they do is sit on social media and they don’t wanna work.’” “‘Not true. We wanna be able to afford a decent living but can’t even move out of our parent’s house. You had the opportunity to afford a house because things cost less, and you had way less debt than we do now.’” Well . . . they’re both a little right and a lot wrong. The fact is that many things cost far out of proportion to any economic benefit, largely due to misconceptions about what education is all about, how goods and services are produced, and how people should be gaining income. This again illustrates the need for both Justice University and of the Economic Democracy Act.
You're looking in a mirror . . .
• America’s Miserable Attitude. Evidently, according to Larry Summers and other top economists, the (other) experts have been remarkably unsuccessful in persuading Americans that the economy is really doing just great. This is due to the Federal Reserve continuing to mess around with interest rates and other artificial manipulation of the money supply. Of course, this is inherent in the wrong view of money and credit that pervades academic and political thinking today, viz., the “Currency Principle.” In contrast, binary economics and the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism are based on the “Banking Principle.” The fundamental difference is that in the Currency Principle, the quantity of money determines the level of economic activity, while in the Banking Principle the level of economic activity determines the quantity of money.
• 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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