The news items this week reflect the same problem we noted last week: that under the current administration the term “developing story” has ceased to have any real meaning. Chaos, both political and economic, seems to be the order of the day. We do have to wonder when the powers that be are going to wake up and adopt the Economic Democracy Act:
• Training Children for Financial Servitude. We probably shouldn’t be quite as mean-spirited about this as we are going to come across, because all the ideas are good in an article on “6 Ways To Set Your Child Up for Financial Success.” The problem is the ideas are limited and limiting. All of them assume as a matter of course that the only way to get income is to have a wage system job and that the only way to save is to cut consumption. Both assumptions are less than half right at the present time and are becoming less right with each passing day. First, as should always have been obvious, the whole idea of a job being the only way to get income is only as old as the industrial system, which is only a little over two hundred years old. Before then, the ordinary way to make income was to own capital (land or technology or both) and use it to produce marketable goods and services. Second, cutting consumption is not the best way to save. The rich learned this early on . . . which is why they are rich! The best way to save is not to cut consumption in the past, but to increase production in the future. Both of these assumptions — that a job is essential to gain income and the only way to save is to cut consumption — are turned on their heads in the Economic Democracy Act. The EDA is what children should be taught, not how to be good wage serfs in jobs that are disappearing.
• Trump Tariff Shakedown. It’s possible that a lot of countries might be coming around to President Trump’s tariff “deals” on the assumption that they will go the way of all flash once Trump is out of office. Frankly, the so-called “deals” are so slanted that they bear a strong resemblance to a shakedown or a bribe. Take, for example, the “deal” with Japan: “Trump announced the deal on Tuesday, which includes a 15% tariff on imported goods and a $550 billion Japanese investment. However, the sides do not seem aligned on profit sharing, with Japan seeking a split based on contributions, while the US says it would keep 90%.” According to classical distributive justice, outtake (“split”) must be based on pro rata input, or it violates justice. President Trump is clearly demanding more than is due in justice, which under traditional concepts of law means there is no true meeting of the minds, and the “deal” is the result of coercion on the part of one of the parties. What Trump (and the United States, and Japan, and every other country in the world) needs is the Economic Democracy Act, based on traditional concepts of justice and which embodies monetary and tax reforms that would obviate the perceived need for such “deals” which are simply thinly disguised thuggery.
• Trumponomics and the Dropping Dollar. The problem with Keynesian monetary theory is the fixed belief that governments not only can but should manipulate the value of the currency and even the meaning and definition of money for political ends. This is causing consternation among adherents of President Trump’s economic, fiscal, and monetary policies as the chaos spreads to the financial system. As noted in an article in Yahoo! Finance, “President Trump and his aides are closely watching the US dollar’s drop over the first six months of this year as they track a change that could have wide-ranging effects, from how tariffs are felt to Federal Reserve policy to America’s role in the world. The question, which notably remains somewhat open even among Trump’s aides, is whether the net effects may include at least some positive short-term consequences for the president’s agenda or whether the dollar needs to be strengthened at all costs.” Under the Economic Democracy Act, of course, this would be a rather large bundle of non-issues. Under the EDA, money would be solely a way of measuring value to facilitate exchanges — which (as Louis Kelso noted) is what money is supposed to be — not itself a tool for government policy.
• (More) Financial Chaos. President Trump signed a bill that would allow companies (including his own) to issue “crypto.” What is interesting is that with few exceptions companies and individuals have always had the power to create money, at least in the strict legal meaning of “money.” This is because “money” is legally defined as “all things transferred in commerce.” Every single time someone or something engages in an economic transaction that does not involve actual coin and currency, he, she, or it creates money. What they cannot do — and which is prohibited under the U.S. Constitution — is create currency. Baffling many (ignoring counterfeiting), all currency is money, but not all money is currency. In fact, throughout most of history, most money has not been in the form of currency, but in things which may or may not be denominated in a currency as a way of measuring its value. The difference is that all money created by individuals and businesses must be backed by something of value and in the amount specified or the issuer is guilty of fraud. Creating a currency, however (especially when you don’t understand money to begin with), means you can create something that doesn’t have to be backed with anything, at least in the current warped state of monetary theory as dictated by Lord Keynes. The only solution, of course, is 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., 52 or more copies) at the wholesale price, send an email to info@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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