News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 17

As the economic and financial world descends deeper into utter chaos, it becomes increasingly difficult to select news items that even make sense.  Of course, we want to see the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act, but the question is when the powers-that-be will realize its wisdom:

Egocentrism, Tariffs, and the Single Tax, Part II

Last week we looked at how a distorted idea of one’s own importance can lead to treating anyone who opposes you as an enemy to be eliminated, and supporters as tools to be discarded once their utility is over.  This week we look at the implications of the Ricardian (as opposed to the Smithian) Labor Theory of Value.

JTW Podcast: Kelso Before the Citizens’ Crusade Against Poverty

Louis Kelso made this Statement before the Forum on Economic Policy and Poverty, Citizens' Crusade Against Poverty, 2nd Annual Meeting-April 13-14 1966.

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 16

As time goes on, it becomes increasingly difficult to find news items that can be understood as anything rational, whether we’re talking economics, politics, or war, which is the failure of politics.  Naturally, we believe the solution to all of this is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, but the problem is to get the powers-that-be to realize it:

Egocentrism, Tariffs, and the Single Tax, Part I

Understanding certain of today’s trade policies, while difficult, even baffling at times, is nevertheless possible once one identifies some basic assumptions and ascertains a possible approach to life.  Although he didn’t write it, The Art of the Deal (1987) under President Trump’s name exemplifies an orientation which appears widespread today, as do some of his otherwise incomprehensible actions, possibly accounting for his popularity.

JTW Podcast: Questions on Kelso’s Second Income Plan

The full title of today’s podcast is “Questions Most Often Asked About Louis Kelso’s Second Income Plan,” a question-and-answer paper Kelso developed about his “Second Income Plan” back in the 1960s.

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 15

 As they say in the journalism biz, no news is good news . . . and none of the news items we have this week are good, and not even all that new.  It has become a depressing and endless round of trying to figure out what a certain U.S. president has done and what he is going to do next and then reverse himself completely before he throws his next ally under the bus so fast you can hear the bones crunch and then goes back to whatever he was doing in the first place.  Or second.  Would you believe third?  Why doesn’t Congress adopt the Economic Democracy Act so the rest of us can get back to real life and the rich and powerful can perform their antics for our entertainment instead of to our detriment:

Dignity, Sovereignty, Faith, and Reason

In today’s posting, we’re taking a look at some basic principles of the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism.  As we understand it, the Just Third Way begins and ends with the dignity and sovereignty of the human person. Any plan, program, activity, or thought contrary to or which undermines the dignity or sovereignty of the human person must be rejected or reformed to the point where it either enhances human dignity or at least does no material harm.

JTW Podcast: Uprooting World Poverty: A Job for Business

Today’s podcast is an essay by Louis Kelso and Patricia Hetter Kelso in which the Kelsos conclude that reimagining capital finance—not charity—can break poverty cycles while preserving democratic ideals. Their plan leverages market tools to broaden ownership, arguing that “industrial power to produce” must align with “economic power to consume” for sustainable development. The authors propose financing industrialization via future savings instead of past capital accumulation.

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 14

On July 27, 1923, during the chaos at the height of the German hyperinflation, Germania, a large Berlin newspaper, editorialized, “It is a situation for a dictator.  The conditions call for a Mussolini in bullet-proof armor with a revolver in either hand.”  Unfortunately, that’s exactly what they got, only worse.  Not that we’re saying the rise of a new Hitler is inevitable . . . if people can organize and demand the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act as soon as possible.  Otherwise, we can expect more of this sort of thing:

Personalism and Justice

Recently we got an enquiry regarding a misunderstanding about our use of the term “Economic Personalism” and some potential confusion with the virtue of justice.  Someone (Person A) had expressed disagreement with our using the term Economic Personalism to describe a type of economic democracy and then asked if we were trying to change the name of the Center for Economic and Social Justice to the Center for Economic Personalism.  Quick answer: No.

JTW Podcast: Economic Justice in the Age of the Robot

Today’s podcast is an essay by Norman G. Kurland which explores the “Just Third Way’s” philosophical and practical foundations of economic justice in an era of technological advancement. It argues for systemic reforms to democratize ownership and empower individuals. The article frames widespread property ownership as essential for political democracy and lasting economic equity and urges institutional reforms to align with these principles.

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 13

Evidently the new word to describe the current economic policy climate is “chaotic.”  We think that this is due most immediately to President Trump’s policies, although in the greater scheme of things it’s due to Keynesian economics.  In general, the solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, but a little common sense wouldn’t hurt:

With Eggroll, You Get Six

According to CNN, President Trump’s White House — or, as we are coming to know it, “the Business Administration” — is seeking corporate sponsorships for the annual Easter Egg Roll.  This is a tradition initiated by Dolley Madison in 1814 and reinstated in 1878, under the otherwise unpopular Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes.

JTW Podcast: Karl Marx, the Almost-Capitalist

Today’s podcast is an article by Louis O. Kelso, “Karl Marx: the Almost Capitalist.”  In the article Kelso identifies three critical flaws in Karl Marx’s theoretical framework, arguing that addressing these errors would necessitate rejecting collective ownership of production means in favor of widespread individual ownership. Louis Kelso’s critique identifies three fundamental errors in Karl Marx’s analysis that led him to reject capitalism and advocate socialism:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 12

One thing about the economic and monetary policies of the current transactional administration in Washington is it constitutes the best argument ever for adopting the Economic Democracy Act as soon as possible.  Of course, that would mean we don’t have as much bad news to report and could finally get around to saying one or two good things, but that’s fine with us:

Persons, Things, and Personalism

A while back we put together a short video to explain the idea of economic democracy along personalist lines.  Titled “People and Things,” it took a sort of “Dr. Suessy” approach, putting some very complex ideas in hopefully simple rhyming language to try and present them in a coherent and comprehensible way.  It was (and is) pretty good, but because it is both brief and simplified, doesn’t get into deeper meanings and implications.

JTW Podcast: Louis Kelso’s Economic Vision

Today’s podcast is an article by Norman G. Kurland and Dawn K. Brohawn which outlines Louis Kelso’s vision for addressing 21st-century economic challenges through systemic reforms that democratize capital ownership. The original article was published in Owners at Work, the Ohio Employee Ownership Center newsletter, Winter 1999-2000. This audio-visual presentation was produced using Descript and features an AI-generated voice.

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 11

If anyone can make sense of what is happening in the economy . . . let us know.  Otherwise, work for the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act as soon as possible to bring a halt to this sort of thing:

A Discourse on Tariffs

 Although tariffs are in the news today, it’s astonishing how many people don’t know what they are or how they work.  Briefly, a tariff is a tax a government levies on imports.  It is not paid by the people of the country exporting goods, but by the people of the country importing the goods.  A tariff is intended to raise — “inflate” — the prices of foreign goods for the presumed advantage of producers in the country which imposes the tariff; it “protects” domestic industry by artificially making foreign goods more expensive.

JTW Podcast: Democratizing the Money System

Today’s podcast explains how the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) would reform today's money systems, particularly the Federal Reserve and other central banks, to finance sustainable private-sector growth while creating equal capital ownership opportunities for every citizen, from birth to death. The diagrams explain the mechanics of the Economic Democracy Act — how every citizen could obtain each year new asset-backed money and interest-free, insured, self-repaying capital credit through the commercial and central banking system, to purchase newly issued, dividend-paying, full voting shares of growing companies.

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 10

Yet again this we have a virtual tsunami of reasons to adopt the Economic Democracy Act as soon as possible . . . need we say more?

• Rina Sanchinelli.  The big news this week was a meeting this past Tuesday with Rina Sanchinelli who currently resides in Italy, not too far from Rome. Doña Rina has concluded some pressing personal business and is anxious to start advancing Solidarism and the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism.  As a co-founder of Unión Solidarista Guatemalteca, she may be able to reach out to Solidarność in Poland for their help for building acceptance of Solidarism and the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism as applied in the Economic Democracy Act in Europe, especially as a way of assisting Ukraine in their struggle against Russia.

Inflation and Job Creation

Under the hegemony of Keynesian economics, the global economy must be inflationary.  Why?  Because . . . well, because, that’s why.  Which, of course, is not an answer — but it makes more sense than the actual Keynesian answer.  It all lies in how you define inflation.  You see, the different schools define inflation differently, and not entirely consistently.

JTW Podcast: Intro to Modern Philosophy, Emergence of Rationalism

Finally, we get to “modern philosophy,” which to many people equates with something else . . . but let’s see what “Professor Dave” says: “With medieval philosophy covered, it's time to dive into modern philosophy, which started with the Renaissance, and lasted until the turn of the 20th century. The beginning of this era is market by the onset of rationalism and empiricism, two contrasting schools of thought, each with many influential adherents. Let's start out by discussing rationalism, through figures like Descartes, Spinoza, Pascal, and Leibniz.”