A lot of news items this week and consequently a lot of arguments to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, so we’ll get right into it:
• Truth Be Told Newsletter is Back. After a six-year hiatus, the “Truth Be Told” newsletter is back. This is both significant and useful for the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism. The newsletter is put out for a “Dominican Province” and is very religious in tone, but also publishes a great deal of material relating to economic and social justice. Keep in mind that Thomas Aquinas, whose philosophy is integrated into the Just Third Way and is the foundation of Catholic social teaching, was a Dominican. Read if for the philosophy (at least that is consistent with the Just Third Way), not the faith-based material (unless that is what you’re after), and add it to the momentum for adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• Russian Economic Analysis. One thing we can count on nowadays is that at least once a week an economic expert will declare that Russia cannot afford either to continue its war against Ukraine or stop it. Nonsense. Russia could get rid of Putin, adopt the Economic Democracy Act, and go forward with a sound economy and a sane leader.
• Another Argument for Glass-Steagall. One of the problems with today’s bloated and effectively unregulated “financial services industry” (unregulated in the sense of the absence of internal controls) is the scope of potential disaster and the geometric increase in the possibilities for the same. A case in point is the “hidden” collapse of a fintech firm called Synapse, which has the potential to make millions of dollars of small savers’ money disappear like magic. That is one reason the Economic Democracy Act includes stringent monetary and financial reforms.
• Investment Regrets. A survey of two-hundred baby boomers asked what they regretted about investing for retirement. The responses? Not investing enough and picking the wrong investments. Both issues would easily be resolved by adopting the Economic Democracy Act., as would the idea of investing for retirement. Why not invest for how you live right now, and rethink the whole idea of retirement?
• Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be. Not only are most (if not all) crypto currencies backed by absolutely nothing, but the Bitcoin is also “rocketing” toward $100,000, with some predicting it will reach $500,000 by 2027. Uh, huh. And where do you take your Bitcoins to redeem them from the issuer? That’s right . . . you can’t. It would be better to adopt the Economic Democracy Act. and invest in something that is backed by actual assets and is intended to produce marketable goods and services.
• Debt and Death. Russian manpower for its war of conquest is so short (with an eye-popping 2,030 casualties in the past day), Putin is doing the unthinkable: allowing recruits to get a huge amount of debt forgiveness — up to $100,000 — if they sign up to die for him in Ukraine. This is significant, because money and power are what drive Putin. This is far more serious than paying death benefits, for Putin has typically reneged on payments for death and disability, but this is money that doesn’t even exist except on someone else’s books, and could easily bankrupt more businesses, further undermining the Russian economy. Yet another argument for adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• Cheap Chateaux . . . Maybe. French chateaux are going for bargain prices . . . until people realize just how much work they need and why they are being sold in the first place. They are "money pits." They might want to consider something along the lines of the Homeowners Equity Corporation, which can go hand in glove with the Economic Democracy Act.
• Another HEC of an Argument. According to “the Property Brothers,” a housing shortage is driving up prices, not illegal immigrants or other factors. Not to get redundant, but the Homeowners Equity Corporation, which can go along with the Economic Democracy Act, could solve the problem quite easily.
• Trump’s Trade War. He may have good intentions (as might everyone else), but President-elect Trump’s economic policies might not be what the doctor ordered. He would do much better to get himself out of the weird 18th century mercantilist/20th century Keynesian soft socialism in which he and so many others are trapped and adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Ukrainian Defense Industry. According to the Wall Street Journal, an increasing number of European governments are financing Ukrainian government contracts with Ukrainian weapons manufacturers to make up the shortfall of material aid from domestic sources. This process could be made much more efficient (both financially and otherwise) by adopting the Economic Democracy Act in Ukraine, which would also lay the financial foundation for rebuilding the country.
• Russia on Its Last Legs? Another periodic announcement to which we’re growing accustomed is that the Russian economy is about to fall apart . . . which doesn’t mean it isn’t correct. Again, the solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Good News on Inflation. Not really, but it’s what the so-called experts think. The cost of Thanksgiving Dinner was slightly down over past years, but that wouldn’t even be a blip on the radar if the powers-that-be could jettison failed Keynesian economic policy and adopt the Economic Democracy Act. Why worry about inflation or deflation when we could have a monetary system with neither?
• Spoils System Redux. To the victor go the spoils. Prior to the Civil Service, it was customary in all federal jobs to ensure they went to people who supported you and your party. This was known as “the Spoils System.” Elon Musk appears to be planning to reinstitute the Spoils System and civil servants are a bit worried. Obviously, people wouldn’t be as worried about their jobs if we had the Economic Democracy Act, and ordinary people would have the economic — and thus political — power to stop people like Musk.
• U.S. Not Inflation Immune. According to a recent report this week on CNN, inflation rose slightly in October, taking away some hope for a “soft landing” of the economy. Soft landing, hard landing, it would all be a moot point if the powers-that-be would abandon failed Keynesian economic policy and adopt the economics of reality embodied in the Economic Democracy Act.
• Bitcoin Billionaire Bites Banana. After spending bookoo (beaucoup) bucks on a banana taped to a wall, crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun ate the banana. Yeah, big news, but it illustrates the insanity of the crypto phenomenon as well as what passes for art and culture these days. It’s not entirely clear how this relates to adopting the Economic Democracy Act, put if people were producing and consuming in a manner consistent with Say’s Law of Markets, which would be possible with the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism, we would probably see a lot less of this sort of nonsense.
• Inflation Induced Famine in Russia? The visual props in this video at minute 1 or thereabouts are particularly interesting, but the horrifying part is that the price of potatoes has almost doubled in Russia, even though the overall food inflation is “only” 8%. Most people in Russia eat potatoes every single day, ranking in the top ten countries in per capita potato consumption, and number one in the world in total consumption. And the Russian Ruble is plummeting in value, all thanks to Putin and his Glorious Special Military Operation. The solution? Get rid of Putin and 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 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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