This is the last new news report for the year as next week we plan on posting the first half of our annual news roundup . . . which some people actually read! If you don’t, we can sum up the message for the year as the powers-that-be should the Economic Democracy Act:
• Imprimatur. The important news this week (at least from a Just Third Way perspective) is the granting of a Nihil obstat and imprimatur to CESJ’s 2020 book, Economic Personalism: Property, Power and Justice for Every Person. The notice has not yet been added to the book file, e-book or print version, but will be, soon. We will post a notice as soon as it has been added. Note that the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations a book or pamphlet is (at least so far as the Catholic Church is concerned) free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the Nihil obstat or Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed. It is NOT an endorsement, and cannot be taken as such, although that is the meaning to many people. In any event, the book can be used by anybody of any faith or philosophy with the assurance that, while they may not agree with what is said, it does not contradict the official position of the Catholic Church. This is useful, since even many non-Christians accept the Catholic Church’s position as a moral authority, without believing a single one of the Catholic Church’s purely religious teachings. So, we are now assured the Economic Democracy Act doesn’t contradict the Catholic Church’s moral teachings, even if the pope himself did not agree with the specific economic program proposed (and Pope John Paul II personally encouraged the work of CESJ, as did President Ronald Reagan).
• Another Unworkable Social Security Fix. While many people agree the Social Security system is in big trouble, no one seems to know what to do about it. For example, simply increasing the tax rate, as the writer of this letter to the editor proposes, is not going to do it. The plain fact is there are not enough people paying in to the system and more taking out than the system as structured can support. It’s simple math and diverting more tax monies to the system means less money for a government that’s been operating in the red for far too long as it is. You can raise taxes in any form all you like, but when you try to collect more than 20% of GDP for more than a short period of time (no matter how you manipulate the currency or monetize the deficit to impose the “hidden tax” of inflation), it is unsustainable. Money, even government money created by floating new debt, comes from production. Production doesn’t come from money. When government creates money, it doesn’t create wealth; it creates more demand on existing wealth and drives up prices. That is why, as part of the Economic Democracy Act, we propose merging the Social Security tax into general revenues, make it need-based, and make it possible for more people to meet their consumption needs out of their own resources without relying on redistribution or welfare.
• Trumponomics, Redux. President-elect Trump’s picks for his cabinet and other appointments are making a few people a little uneasy, although whether this is due to their naiveté or craftiness is difficult to say. One thing is becoming clear, however. The billionaires being put into positions of power are not likely to do anything that goes contrary to their own interests and are being exempted from rules that apply to the rest of us. They seem to be intent upon implementing a sort of Keynesian mercantilism, thereby getting the worst of two worlds. We don’t say “the worst of two possible worlds,” because, frankly, neither Keynesianism nor mercantilism is ultimately workable, and are thus (in a final sense) impossible. That is why we keep insisting that virtually the only way out of the current mess is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, and shift from a lose-lose scenario to win-win.
• Why Not Make American Investors Great Again? President-elect Trump is proposing that rich foreigners who bring $1 billion of investment capital into the U.S. can essentially buy their way into America. Oh, and this is very democratic, as the proposal includes any poor immigrants who can come up with $1 billion, too, possibly illegals as well. This, of course, is predicated on the disproved assumption that the only way to finance new capital formation is to use accumulated savings, which effectively cuts most people off from ownership of new as well as existing capital. As Dr. Harold G. Moulton and others have proved time and again, this “slavery of past savings” is not only unnecessary, but also actually harmful to economic growth! So, what’s the alternative? How about a way for every American, every person in the world, in fact, to become an owner of capital without having to save first? This is possible because “savings” can (and does) consist of both past reductions in consumption but also future increases in production. This is the basis of the Economic Democracy Act. which has the potential to turn everyone into a capital owner and removes any reason to grant special privileges to the rich.
• The Culture of Death. If you thought the so-called “healthcare industry” in the United States was anti-life, it’s nothing to the animus of its opponents. Instead of reforming the system with acts of social justice, they are cheering the murder of Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione. Evidently, they feel two wrongs make a right and are sending in money to help in Mangione’s defense. We think it’s highly probable not even one of Mangione’s fans has considered any realistic way to reform the healthcare system, such as recommended in the Economic Democracy Act.
• Motley Fool Speaks Out on Trumponomics. The “Motley Fool” investment advice group is not enthusiastic about President-elect Trump’s economic proposals. They consider them in so many words to be double-plus-ungood, and that the stock market could very easily take a nosedive if they are allowed to take effect. Of course, our position is the same as it has always been: Trump could go from . . . whatever it is he is now to a hero by getting behind the Economic Democracy Act.
• Promises, Prices, and Reality. President-elect Trump made have been given a dose of reality medicine and is now backpedaling on his promise to bring down prices . . . possibly having realized the paradox of insisting on measures intended to raise prices (tariffs, deporting cheap if illegal foreign labor, infusing billions of dollars of foreign investment capital to compete with domestic capital, maintaining the current Social Security system, etc.) and demanding lower prices. It doesn’t work that way. If Trump would really like to see lower prices as well as keep all his other promises, he might want to consider adopting 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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