To be honest, we can figure out the rationale behind much of what passes for the economic news this week, except from the perspective of the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism and its application in the Economic Democracy Act:
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| Vishal Garg |
• What Goes Around Comes Around. We don’t really believe in all that karma stuff, but sometimes it seems that justice might be a little more than poetic. This week’s nod to Thomas Rymer’s seventeenth century concept (that plays should teach morality by showing evil is punished and good rewarded) goes to Vishal Garg who, as reported in the Independent, “notoriously laid off 900 employees [from Better Homes & Finance] on a company Zoom call before Christmas in 2021.” After himself being blindsided by being fired on August 3, his reaction as reported in the article was “he feels tricked, as he was just fired and replaced.” This is small comfort to the nearly thousand people and their dependents to whom he did something similar . . . although he probably should have been aware that corporate hatchet men (or any other kind) are often the next victims of whatever they do. Is there a way to minimize this sort of thing? Perhaps — and it might be to adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) as it is sometimes harder to fire an owner than a mere hireling.
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| Adam Smith |
• Consumer Spending Fading. It sounds like the tip of the iceberg, but that is only until you understand that consumer spending is not an economic indicator, it is THE economic indicator. According to Adam Smith, the first principle of economics is “Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production.” If consumers aren’t buying it, there is no reason to produce it, even in the twisted world of Keynesian economics — if you read Keynesian theory closely, the so-called unconsumed surplus must be consumed to turn it into savings before it can be used for capital investment . . . go figure. Anyway, as reported by Yahoo! Finance, “‘We expect sluggish consumer spending growth ahead,’ [Goldman Sachs economist Jan] Hatzius wrote. ‘Although Friday’s drop in July retail sales partly reflected the negative impact of an earlier-than-usual Amazon Prime day, the revised sequential path now looks much more consistent with our view that the strength of real consumer spending in the spring was the temporary byproduct of the tax refund surge. We expect real consumer spending growth to slow to 1-1.5% in the second half as real cash flow stagnates.’” In English, that means consumer demand is falling, which in the real world of non-Keynesian economics means there is no reason to produce what is not being consumed. The only thing to do is to restore Say’s Law of Markets by adopting the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
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| Irving Fisher |
• A Lot of Bull. Following the Crash of 1929, renowned economist Irving Fisher was convinced that nothing had really happened. There was no reason they market wouldn’t keep going up forever. Even after Yale University bailed him out, he kept insisting it was only a blip on the radar, and all the government had to do was start printing money to “re-flate” the currency.” In the real world, matters are somewhat different. According to an article in the Business Insider, however, “Answering the question ‘is now a good time to invest’ has been particularly difficult this year given the volatility caused by the Iran war, periodic rotations in the AI trade, and fears of hotter inflation forcing rate hikes.” What does that mean? It means that today’s experts are as delusional as yesterday’s experts in 1929 . . . and the stock market is more than 13,000% higher now than it was at its height in 1929. What’s the answer? Reorient the economy to real people and away from the experts by adopting the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) as soon as possible.
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| Alexis de Tocqueville |
• Faith and Politics. Mixing politics and religion is always a bit iffy. That does not mean religion has no place in public life. It does mean that government might not have a place in religious life. As Alexis de Tocqueville said, “If it be of the highest importance to man, as an individual, that his religion should be true, the case of society is not the same. Society has no future life to hope for or to fear; and provided the citizens profess a religion, the peculiar tenets of that religion are of very little importance to its interests.” Plus, if a particular religion is linked to the government, it might go well for a while, but trouble soon results: “As long as a religion rests upon those sentiments which are the consolation of all affliction, it may attract the affections of mankind. But if it be mixed up with the bitter passions of the world, it may be constrained to defend allies whom its interests, and not the principle of love, have given to it; or to repel as antagonists men who are still attached to its own spirit, however opposed they may be to the powers to which it is allied. The Church cannot share the temporal power of the State without being the object of a portion of that animosity which the latter excites.” That is why, as reported in an article in GMA, “For years, Republicans have had a lock on those who base their vote on their religious preferences and values, but this year’s midterm elections have seen some Democratic candidates sharing their faith to try to connect with voters. Starting in the 1980s, in what one expert called an’“exodus,’ there was a shift of voters to the Republican Party based on moral issues. But in some of the most critical races that will help decide control of the next Congress, several Democrats are openly sharing how their faith shapes them and their politics.” Separation of Church and State — not separation of religion and society — is a key element of the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• Gen-Z, Chintzy or Greedy? Things aren’t bad enough, but people have to be worried about the future of the economy? So, what else is new? As an article in Yahoo! Life declares, “Your average humdrum office job is in short supply, let alone ones where your boss isn’t hassling you, you’re not training AI to replace you and the specter of layoffs isn’t constantly hanging over your head. Younger workers are feeling far more pessimistic about their careers than older workers; they also hold the highest level of debt among any generation, fueled by rising costs of living, stagnating wages and the crystallizing pressure to live a life that looks good enough for Instagram.” That is why the so-called “side hustle” is becoming the main thing for a lot of people, all while keeping their non-side hustle. The alternative? You guessed it, adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• Companies Are Hiring!! We’re Saved!! Or Not. American companies are hiring again, even though consumer demand and confidence are falling. Why? According to an article in The Washington Post, “The American manufacturing sector has without a doubt been rebounding this year. Factories are hiring; production is rising. In July, manufacturing activity reached its highest level since 2022. President Donald Trump credits his ‘massive tariffs’ for the good news, declaring in a recent speech in Las Vegas that ‘manufacturing is exploding at the fastest pace in many years.’ This month, the White House trumpeted ‘an economic revival across our manufacturing industry.’” It sort of reminds us of what happened after the Napoleonic Wars in England. To keep prices high to benefit the rich, they passed the Corn Laws, in effect from 1815 to 1846 when they were removed due to the potato blight and millions of people starved to death. Similarly, to benefit the rich, President McKinley imposed tariffs that undermined American society and precipitated the situation that brought Woodrow Wilson into office and likely contributed to World War I. The thing to do, of course, is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) and stop trying to manipulate the world economy. It has never worked.
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| Uh, yeah, uh, Kingish . . . |
• Inflation is Increasing, So Raise Prices. It’s standard Keynesian economics and demonstrates the essential unsoundness of the Keynesian system. As reported in an article in Yahoo! Finance, “Several members of the Federal Reserve favored raising interest rates at the central bank’s policy meeting last month, even as most supported holding rates steady, according to minutes from the meeting released Wednesday. Those who favored raising rates noted that price pressures appeared broad-based and thought rates should be higher to restrict the economy and bring down inflation.” Inflation in the real world means a rise in the price level. Even in the surreal Keynesian universe, inflation means a rise in the price level after reaching full employment. (A rise in the price level before reaching full employment is due to “other factors” . . . and we have no idea what that means.) Why not have full employment and neither inflation nor deflation? We can — if we adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• Dragging Down the Vibes. Don’t blame us for the title of this item, we took it from the article which appeared this past week in The Business Insider. As the article states, “Americans’ wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, and it’s likely dragging down how they feel about the economy. The economy is still slowly growing, consumers are still spending, and both unemployment and layoffs are low. However, consumer sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan’s monthly survey, remains worse than during the COVID period. One big factor could explain why: Inflation has exceeded wage growth for four straight months. ‘Consumers’ frustration over the erosion of their purchasing power continues to mount,’ Joanne Hsu, University of Michigan’s surveys of consumers director, said.” Despite Keynesian economics, a stable currency does matter. People like to know they dollar they earned yesterday is still worth the same when they spend it tomorrow . . . but that doesn’t suit modern political theory. It does suit the Economic Democracy Act (EDA), though.
• Forty Trillion and Counting. They might not think it is a problem, but it is — and not just for the reason a few lonely voices in the wilderness think, although that is part of the problem. As it states in an article in Yahoo! Finance, “‘The problem with $40 trillion is not the number,’ Stephen Innes, financial markets analyst and former investment bank trader, wrote in an analysis. ‘Markets have been watching the US debt clock spin higher for years and, for most of that time, the response has been little more than a shrug. Washington spends, Treasury issues, investors absorb it, and the machine keeps moving.’ . . . . Innes believes interest costs will soon begin ‘eating the budget alive,’ with the steep trajectory of the government debt making the interest expense ‘one of Washington’s largest single outlays’.” And it’s not just the interest, but the fact that eventually debts must be paid, and so far as we can tell, only by adopting the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) will that happen.
• Debt, Schmedt, Nothing to See Here. As noted above, the U.S. national debt just pushed upwards of $40 trillion, which — per the latest figure, is 123% of GDP. This is not a comfortable position to be in and, according to an article in Yahoo! Finance, was completely avoidable (although we have our doubts about the willingness of politicians to get out of debt). As the article explains, “In 2001, the federal government had been running an annual surplus for four years and the Congressional Budget Office even projected that the national debt would effectively be zero by 2009. That — suffice to say — did not happen. The national debt instead grew, reaching $10 trillion in 2008 and then quadrupling over the next 18 years to this week’s gloomy milestone of over $40 trillion in total debt. . . . Much of this increased spending was approved by members of both parties as an aging population, which spurred major Medicare expansions, spiked the cost of the social safety net to the point where Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid now consume about half of the federal budget every year. ‘Absent these tax cuts and spending increases, the debt would be fully paid off,’ the CFRB analysis notes.” That last statement is problematical, for what would they use to back the reserve currency? Well, instead of government debt, they could use private sector hard assets, as the system was set up to do, and as proposed in the Economic Democracy Act (EDA), which would also shift much of the cost of what is currently assumed by government to the private sector and repay the debt.
• 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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