Some interesting news items this week, a number of which are amusing, in a twisted sort of way. To get back on the straight and narrow, however, we should adopt the Economic Democracy Act:
• Buried Treasure. Or, Crypto that is Really in the Crypt. A man had a huge amount of cryptocurrency on his hard drive, which “accidentally” got thrown away and put into a landfill . . . and authorities aren’t letting him try to recover it. This is important (to him), because “crypto” isn’t really hidden, it’s anonymous. Technically, the fellow’s cryptocurrency isn’t lost; he knows exactly where it is. What’s lost is his proof of ownership . . . which is on his lost hard drive. And, since what is lost is the access codes or string theories or chain gang thread or whateveryoucall’em, he can’t prove he owns the crypto. Other types of money, even digital currencies (which is what most of it is nowadays, anyway), if you can prove you are the person who owns the account in which the money is kept, you can access it. This can lead to identity (and other) theft, but that’s still better than trying to prove you’re the anonymous owner when you don’t have access to the only thing that will prove it. The solution? Get away from the whole virtual commodity shtick of cryptocurrency, and go with real assets, such as would be the case with the Economic Democracy Act. Crypto, as a non-producing, speculative form of (pseudo) wealth, would not qualify as an investment; all investments in the EDA would be required to pay for themselves out of future profits, and thereafter generate consumption income for the owner.
• You Can’t Win for Losing. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the stores after spending your patrimony or matrimony (which actually means something else) on the “Holiday Season,” the Junk Food Apocalypse has just begun. The Girl Scouts, despite the fact they are still all girls, and their cookies aren’t made out of them, have announced the final year of two favorites. Note: Did you know the Girl Scouts originally made the cookies they sold? Once upon a time. Here’s the original recipe. Anyway, just in time for those who observe the Lenten Fast, “Little Debbie’s” (whom the husband of a former volunteer always referred to, appropriately, as “Little Devil’s”) is releasing a new “sinful treat”, the Nutty Buddy Creme Pies, just in time to wave it in the faces of those giving up such things for the next forty days. Ash Wednesday falls on March 5, 2025, marking the beginning of the Lenten season and, according to “the Snackolator,” the NBCPs are scheduled to be in stores by March, but might show up in late February in some cases. If that were not enough, it looks like Costco is discontinuing a customer favorite as well. What’s a junk food addict supposed to do? Well . . . learn to eat better, for starters, then push for adoption of the Economic Democracy Act, which would turn the slogan “the customer is always right” back into reality so that even if you still want junk food, you can have what you want.
• The Good Life and Good Food. It seems that both the good life and good food are “on the decline.” Although it would be far less expensive to live well and eat well, more people are living poorly, eating worse, and enjoying it much less, if at all. While this is open to debate, it might be that the decay of family life and the financial necessity of both parents having to work outside the home may be a major factor in this development. Adopting the Economic Democracy Act might not solve the problem, but it certainly wouldn’t add to it.
• More Evidence of Decay. Of family life, that is. The mind boggles. Not at the lunacy of the couple (that’s almost a given, these days), but at the idea of spending $59 million — that’s $59 followed by six zeros — on a wedding. Not the marriage, just the ceremony of getting married. The marriage itself seems to be an afterthought. Gone are the days when Marryin’ Sam the Preacher Man would get yo’ hitched with his thutty-five cent special an’ fo’ fifteen cents extry funnish th’ bride’s boo-kay. Experts — real ones — will tell you the single most important factor in marital difficulties is money. That being the case, it seems . . . surreal to spend $59 million on a short ceremony and have the marriage itself go almost instantly on the rocks or get into some rather bizarre difficulties. We’re not sure how the Economic Democracy Act. might solve this, but — again — it certainly couldn’t hurt.
• Yet Another Social Security Save. . . . that doesn’t actually save anything except, possibly, some politicians’ and bureaucrats’ careers for a while, and enhance the reputation of some academic economists. It is really no use to go to any length to describe the latest reform package, since it is always “the same, only more so.” Of course, if the politicians, bureaucrats, and academic economists wanted to promote a genuine reform that would actually meet people’s wants and needs, they would leave the Social Security system in place as a safety net based on need, merge the special tax into general revenues (where it should have been in the first place) and push for the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act.
• How Much Money Do You Need? According to Moneywise, there are three tiers of financial security. “To join the top 25% of wealth holders in America, you’ll need a net worth of approximately $659,000. This includes everything you own – homes, investments and savings.” What if you’re a bit more ambitious? “Breaking into the top 10% requires an even bigger leap: You’ll need a net worth of approximately $1.9 million. Reaching this tier often requires the steady savings of those in the 25% tier, plus significant financial moves that multiply wealth.” And if you want to join the financial elite? “The top 0.1% of Americans represent the pinnacle of wealth, and joining this exclusive club requires a net worth of approximately $62 million. For most, this level of wealth can be achieved through a combination of factors: owning or leading successful businesses, capitalizing on high-growth investments or inheriting substantial assets.” According to the article, the first tier requires saving and a good retirement plan. The second tier requires saving, entrepreneurship, and sound investment. The third tier requires, well, lucky gambling. What about the remaining 75% of us? How about 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 (now with an imprimatur), 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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