Friday, September 22, 2023

News from the Network, Vol. 16, No. 38


It’s astonishing how much the news items seem to be the same week after week . . . what with the same old people doing the same old things.  Many of these, if not all, could be resolved by adopting the Economic Democracy Act — so it might not matter all that much, except that the degree of the problem is increasing, although not the essence thereof:


 

• FIVE DOLLAR SALE!  It’s opportunity of a lifetime time again!  The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law, is currently available from the publisher, TAN Books, an imprint of Saint Benedict Press, and for $5.00 per copy in any quantity, while supplies last.  The heart of the book is, of course, the Economic Democracy Act?, but there is much more there in what the “Censor Librorum” of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, called a “real page turner.”  Don’t worry — although published by a Catholic publisher, the book is written from a natural law, interfaith perspective, and applies across the board to all human beings.


 

• Surge in Corporate Debt Defaults.  To bring down inflation, the Federal Reserve is looking at raising interest rates again.  The idea is to cut down on the amount of money chasing marketable goods and services by cutting businesses off from money needed to carry on or expand operations.  Not addressed, of course, is the fact that the government continues to create and spend money like a drunken sailor on leave, which is completely unproductive.  Business credit expansion results in an increase in marketable goods and services and thus matches the increase in money with what money is spent on.  This is non-inflationary in nature, and it is inherently suicidal economically speaking to force businesses to cut production and at the same time retain or increase the level of non-productive spending.  This is demonstrated by the fact that U.S. corporate debt defaults are on the rise.  The real way to control inflation is to encourage productive money creation and inhibit or halt non-productive money creation.  A program to do this is the Economic Democracy Act.


 

• Federal Reserve Wants to Slow Government Spending.  It’s a game that gets played with increasing frequency nowadays.  The government wants to keep on spending and is encouraged to do so by the prevailing Keynesian economic paradigm.  The Federal Reserve feels qualms about massive indiscriminate money creation and mindless and productive spending and wants to slow down a bit.  They go back and forth for a while and eventually agree to create the money they always knew they were going to in the first.  Nothing is changed.  What is needed to change the underlying problem, however, is to change the underlying principles — which is what the Economic Democracy Act, does.

 

Kevin O’Leary

 Downgraded U.S. Credit Rating is Not Good.  In a brilliant analysis, Kevin O’Leary has announced that the recent downgraded U.S. credit rating is not a good thing.  As has been pointed out for centuries, a sound monetary and credit system is essential for a sound economy.  Unfortunately, Keynesian economics is based solidly on ensuring that money and credit remain permanently unstable and in a state of flux.  This ensures that government will always be able to control people’s lives.  In the Just Third Way, however, the whole idea is to enhance and strengthen the sovereignty of the human person under God.  A possible program for doing so can be found in the Economic Democracy Act.

 


 

• Expecting a Different Economy.  The Federal Reserve is complaining that even though it has been doing the same things that haven’t worked for nearly a hundred years, the economy still isn’t working the way Keynes said it would!  Astonishing, we call it, that something that has never worked and cannot work doesn’t work!  Of course, if the politicians and the economists could get together and take a look at something that does work and has worked, spectacularly well in some cases, then maybe — maybe — it might be worth trying it, at least as an experiment.  One possibility is the Economic Democracy Act.


 

• Government Interest Rates Hit 10-Year Peak.  In an amazing coincidence, but although the U.S. credit rating has been downgraded, the government spending is out of control, and the Federal Reserve is applying inflation control techniques that have never worked, the cost of credit has started to rise!  Of course, if money creation was carried out in a rational manner, these problems would either not be as bad, or would go away entirely.  This is the program in the Economic Democracy Act.

• Contradictory Interest Policies.  Federal Reserve signals on what they’re going to do about interest rates and inflation change by the hour.  According to this news story the Federal Reserve is “putting the brakes on” in its “war” against inflation . . . although it also keeps saying that it needs to raise interest rates.  One crazy thought is why try to meddle with interest rates when they should be set by the market?  Why not adopt 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 new 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, 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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