Some interesting events this week, but also a lot of more of the same . . . much of which could be resolved or at least ameliorated by adopting the Economic Democracy Act:
• “The Power of the Pension.” According to a recent article in Yahoo! Finance, “A pension is a golden ticket to guaranteed retirement income until the day you die, no matter when that happens. Pensions have become nearly extinct to the general population, typically reserved for government and public service workers.” The fact that such “golden tickets” are “reserved for government and public service workers” is one of the effects of the decline of the private sector and loss of individual sovereignty over the past couple of centuries or so in favor of government control. Ultimately, of course, the result is to make as many as possible of the people totally dependent on government, or (since a condition of dependency is a euphemism for slavery) a slave of the state. What is the solution? Restore individual sovereignty by returning economic power to people by adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
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| Louis Tracy |
• Louis Tracy. Back in the 1890s Louis Tracy, a journalist who wrote novels (or a novelist who wrote journals) published An American Emperor, which today would probably be considered a science fiction novel, but which he may have intended as a thinly veiled practical proposal disguised as an international thriller framed in a romance (it’s complicated). A rich American falls in love with a French princess and to restore the French monarchy, strengthen the country against further Prussian aggression, and impress the heck out of the princess, devises a plan to turn the Sahara into fertile farmland, irrigated by desalinated seawater distilled using giant mirrors to concentrate solar power. Tracy clearly consulted scientists and engineers to test the concept, and it was perfectly feasible and even profitable in the 1890s . . . given sufficient startup financing, supplied by the richest man in the world, who happens to be the hero of the novel. It could be done today with the financing and expanded ownership techniques as well as nuclear power using the Economic Democracy Act, and as this article suggests, an unusual weather shift has already shown the Sahara can become green as it was 10,000 years ago with a little ingenuity. It might be time to dust off the idea and implement it. After all, what is there to lose except poverty and a lot of CO2 in the atmosphere?
• Russian Central Bank Raises Rates. Having lost megatons of equipment and now munitions in its ongoing war against Ukraine (the explosion in Tver, Russia, destroyed between 30-40,000 tons of high explosives in a series of blasts more forceful than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined and registered on the Richter Scale), and having suffered estimated casualties of upwards of 600,000, the Russian central bank is getting a mite worried the economy might be in trouble. To dampen the inflation caused by diverting everything to the war, the central bank is raising the price level further and putting a damper on productive activity by increasing the interest rate to 19%. Even in Keynesian terms this is moronic: in Keynesian financial fantasyland, there is a tradeoff between inflation and employment. Russia has “full employment” due to so many people leaving and others getting ground up in “meat wave” assaults. In Keynes-land, the high rate of inflation, therefore, argues something is wrong with the system itself, and to stop doing whatever it is you’re doing . . . like waging a senseless war and increasing interest rates. Instead, Russia should end the war immediately and make it easy for companies to produce goods and services, not harder. Just a suggestion, but getting rid of Putin and adopting the Economic Democracy Act, might be just the thing to restore a little sanity to the situation.
• Some IMPORTANT News. After years of research, scientists
have discovered a new blood group.
This might sound a little esoteric and having little to do with the Just
Third Way, but it will save lives and enhance the quality of life overall for
everyone. This is the sort of thing that
will conceivably happen when we adopt the
Economic Democracy Act, finance economic growth with future savings, and
free more resources for this and other kinds of research.
• Some MORE Important News. This is a banner week for truly important news . . . such as the best way to reheat leftover pasta . . . although that is often a moot point in “some” families . . . This, too, is the sort of thing that can enhance the quality of life when people have the time and resources to devote to it, when their subsistence needs can be more than adequately met with the Economic Democracy Act.
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| Christine Benz |
• Retirement Not a Math Problem. Christine Benz, who writes a regular column as director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar, has written a book about retirement which focuses on a lot that is not financial. There is that, of course, but also a lot that is not strictly speaking about finance, e.g., “‘You need to get in front of some of the changes, and that includes pondering some not-so-happy considerations — like if you won’t be able to do stairs, maybe don’t stay in your big house,’ said Benz. . . . With flipping the switch from saving to spending, Benz urged people to consider whether you can address that pre-emptively, too. She and her husband are starting to think about that piece of the puzzle right now.” That’s all very well, of course, and even necessary, but it begs the question: to think about something other than money for retirement, you had better have some money so you can take the time to think about something other than money. That is the beauty of adopting the Economic Democracy Act. It would allow people to move on from mere money to the meaning and purpose of life.
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| Not a good basis for economic growth |
• The Federal Reserve Has Learned Its Lesson. Yes, but what lesson has it learned? As the volatile swings in the stock market suggest, Federal Reserve artificial control of interest rates influences share prices . . . by making it easier or harder for gamblers to obtain the wherewithal to carry out their activities. When, as is the case today, people and policymakers confuse stock market prices with economic growth, the urge is to do whatever the gamblers want you to do, i.e., make it easy for them to make money . . . or, rather, to take money, as “making money” suggests productive activity, and Wall Street produces nothing. Stock market speculation only shifts money around, as does inflation, making the rich richer and the poor more dependent on government. Economics is supposed to be the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of marketable goods and services. Stock market gambling is not truly any of these things. Federal Reserve policy should therefore be directed to encouraging production, distribution, and consumption, not gambling. The best way to do this is to adopt 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 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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