• Too Many Vacant Houses. Japan has a problem, and the government thinks it’s too many empty houses, but then puts the real problem on too few people . . . and that is a different problem. As Japan grew in affluence within the wage-welfare system, the idea became fixed in people’s minds that fewer, or no children meant more moolah for them. This makes a kind of weird sense in Keynesian economics, for if you decrease the number of human workers, then wages rise . . . for a time, anyway, until producers realize they can replace expensive human workers with robots and AI, at which the Japanese excel. And the result? Too much production (e.g., 9 million empty houses) and too few people to consume. The solution? Make people productive again by turning them into capital owners, which allows people to have the children they want, not avoid having the ones they think they don’t need. And how to do that? Adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Problems of Rising Debt. The experts have weighed in on the problems associated with having a massive increase in government debt. They quite accurately (if shortsightedly) point out that “too much” debt means 1) higher interest rates to lure more people to buy potentially worthless government debt, 2) fewer jobs as production becomes more expensive, 3) Cuts to key programs as floating more debt becomes more difficult, and 4) rising taxes as the government seeks alternative sources of funding as floating more debt becomes difficult. Rather than go into the weird thinking that leads to these problems, we will simply note that no one is mentioning the single largest problem in having a gigantic debt: WHO IS GOING TO REPAY IT? Doesn’t anyone realize that a “debt” is an obligation to deliver the goods when due, and if you don’t pay your debts, you’re a deadbeat . . . and if you don’t ever intend to pay your debts, you’re a thief? The solution? Return economic and financial power to people by adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• Interest Firestorm? The U.S. government is paying interest on its debt at the rate of $2 million per minute. Frightening, isn’t it? Yes, but not as frightening as the idea that you don’t have to repay the underlying debt (see above). And, frankly, it’s not quite the problem it seems to be. Any interest on U.S. debt held by the Federal Reserve is returned to the U.S. government, less admin fees, so a lot of that money comes right back . . . but that doesn’t mean it’s not something to worry about. What’s the solution? Adopt the monetary reforms of the Economic Democracy Act, and — while you’re at it, adopt the rest of the program, too.
• Strengthen the Economy for ZERO Inflation. The experts are saying that the U.S. needs to weaken the economy to reach the target inflation rate of 2%. Uh . . . we knew Keynesian economics was backwards, but not THAT backwards. Inflation is the sign of a weak economy, not a strong one. If you have high inflation, that means you’ve got a shaky currency and a weak economy. You don’t want to weaken the economy further to bring inflation down. That will only increase inflation. If you want to bring down inflation, you must strengthen the economy, and step one is reforming the money and credit system. Stop backing the reserve currency with government debt and start backing it with private sector hard assets. Shift economic power from the government back to actual people, who can then become productive and meet their own needs through their own efforts, not by standing in line for government handouts. And how to do that? Adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• The U.S. Dollar and Economy are Strong! If that is true, then why are so many people in financial and economic trouble and facing disaster? We have reports that the U.S. dollar is “strong” against the Chinese yuan, and that the U.S. dollar is “flexing its muscles” against other major currencies (so buy now!!). And what does this all mean when ordinary people are finding themselves crushed under the weight of debt and inadequate income? Absolutely nothing . . . unless you are a capitalist or socialist and think “the economy” consists of a few people or the government getting rich at everyone else’s expense. And the rest of us? Too bad. Of course, if you want an economy that works for most, if not all people, then adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Underwater Mortgages Rising. No, that’s not a joke and we hope it’s not some headline writer’s idea of trying to be funny. The housing/interest rate/Keynesian weirdness situation has resulted in housing again becoming unaffordable to many people, and many of those who purchased houses are finding they now owe more than the house is worth. Ordinarily or in a normal, non-Keynesian economy this would not be a problem. If you think of a house as a consumption item and not as an investment (although, yes, you do have to consider what it will be worth when or if you choose to downsize), you will purchase what you can afford now, not on what you think the house will be worth so you can sell it at a profit. The former is purchasing shelter. The latter is gambling. The overall solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, and consider the Homeowners Equity Corporation as part of the program.
• 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 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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