We were rather hoping to have something to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence . . . which wasn’t completed on July 4, 1776, by the way . . . but the Economic Democracy Act hasn’t been adopted yet. That being the case, we’ll have to be satisfied with some of the usual:
William Winslow Crosskey
• The Bizarre Birthright Brouhaha. Since the Supreme Court earlier this week upheld the “Birthright Citizenship” provision in the Fourteenth Amendment, we’ve seen some extremely . . . strange expressions of outrage, many of them predicting the destruction of the United States in apocalyptic terms . . . which is a little late, since the United States has recognized birthright citizenship since its founding, and more than thirty other countries also have unconditional birthright citizenship, and another three dozen or so have conditional birthright citizenship, and they haven’t gone down to destruction. At least, not for that reason. In fact, for several countries with unconditional (ius soli) birthright citizenship, immigration — and birthright citizenship — is the only thing keeping the population up. Several ius soli countries in the Caribbean are experiencing declining population, to the point that their economic viability is becoming endangered. Plus, the purpose of the 14th Amendment was not to create a right for newly freed slaves, but to secure an existing right to them; it was not a restriction but an expansion and a guarantee. As the great constitutional scholar William Winslow Crosskey pointed out in his monumental study, Politics and the Constitution in the History of the United States (University of Chicago Press, 1953), the 14th Amendment is, in a sense, redundant, as it specifies rights already in the Constitution. It was considered necessary to overturn the notorious Dred Scott decision which conflated and confused state granted statutory rights with God-granted natural rights . . . and then was itself nullified by the abominable decision in the Slaughterhouse Cases of 1873. In any event, it is a lot of noise about something that wouldn’t even be a blip on the radar if Congress would adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
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| We need a Department of Citizen Ownership |
• Why Not a Division of CITIZEN Ownership? Or why not a Department of Ownership? Okay, it’s at least a start. In its latest Report to Congress, the Department of Labor formalized employee ownership as a core component of federal workforce and retirement policy. This institutionalized a new Division of Employee Ownership. There’s just one tiny problem. What is it, exactly, that the federal workforce is supposed to own? The government is not — as we have seen for quite some time — a profit-making enterprise . . . to say the least. Further, the assets of the government are not private property. So, the $64 trillion question is, what are the employees owning? This would not be a question under the Economic Democracy Act (EDA), but we’re not there, yet.
• Regulatory Shift. This is one of those news items that can go either way. By that we mean it can be good or bad . . . depending on which way it goes. Yes, that is saying nothing, but at least we’re saying something. In this instance, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has established a new, principles-based oversight approach for ESOPs, that is, for Employee Stock Ownership Plans. They are replacing “aggressive” audits as have characterized enforcement in the past with reviews presumably ensuring greater predictability for plan sponsors and trustees. First of all, we never noticed that audits in the past were particularly aggressive . . . or existent, for that matter. True, they get a LOT of complaints from plan participants who simply don’t understand their rights, even if they bothered to read the Summary Plan Description or the Plan Document. Then there are the vast multitude of lawyers who don’t have a clue about retirement law but are more than willing to take cases on the off chance they might be able to soak somebody for a huge fee. That being said, this “principles-based” oversight approach still makes us nervous, for it’s not clear whose principles are going to provide the basis for the audits. A good audit should be based as much as possible on objective facts, not on subjective interpretation of principles . . . especially when no one knows, precisely, what those principles might be. This is the sort of thing that had better be resolved before we finally get Congress to adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• Regional ESOP Initiative. In a laudable push to expand access to capital ownership through the vast number of small corporations wherein most corporate production takes place, the Rutgers University Center for Employee Ownership and the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership have entered into a partnership to accelerate the transition of small- and medium-sized businesses into Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. This is a major development in expanded capital ownership and is backed by a $1 million grant from . . . somebody; we didn’t get all the details. In any event, it helps raise public awareness of expanded capital ownership, which is all to the good when the goal is to gain adoption of the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
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| Weird Al ... as if you didn't know |
• Let’s Hear It for Weird Al! With all the uproar about the intrusion and dangers of AI — Artificial Intelligence — it’s refreshing to see a celebrity . . . sort of . . . putting his money where his mouth is. When Weird Al Yankovic found out a very lucrative deal involved his touting for AI, he backed out of it; Weird Al is not the guy for Weird AI. He was quite gracious about it, not naming the principal making the offer for a commercial, but he also made it clear he does not support AI. Period. No muss, no fuss. Of course, our favorite living parodist (the late great Alan Sherman having left the scene too soon) probably doesn’t know about the possibilities of capital ownership in bringing AI under human control, so if you happen to get in touch with our Close Personal Friend™ Weird Al, you might let him know, and get his endorsement (and possibly a terrific parody) for the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
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| Natural Gas Components |
• Getting Gassed . . . Naturally. The good news is that the United States has immense stores of natural gas, and by 2030 it could be the country’s single largest energy source. More good news: mileage is about the same as for gasoline. Yet more good news: natural gas runs about $1 per gallon cheaper than gasoline. The bad news: There are few personal natural gas-powered vehicles available in the United States, the range is limited because natural gas is bulkier than gasoline, and the infrastructure for fueling stations is sparse, and it costs a small bundle to add a natural gas facility for fast refueling. Still, these are problems that could be overcome, and it’s the sort of thing the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) could facilitate.
• 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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