We’re still trying to figure out which way things are going with the new administration . . . as are most people. What’s the answer? How about the Economic Democracy Act?
Scott
Bessent
• Why Not Live Within Your Means? Here we go into monetary Lalaland . . . again. As reported in a recent article in “Yahoo! Finance,” “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Donald Trump is not asking the Federal Reserve to lower its short-term interest rates, but what he and the president do want is to bring down longer-term borrowing costs via 10-year Treasury yields.” Yeah, make it cheaper for the government to create more counterfeit money instead of fixing the problem. Or . . . how about adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• “We Don’t Know.” The IMF has come out strong on President Trump’s Tariffs. They don’t know what’s going to happen: “The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said it is closely following developments in the U.S., including moves by the Trump administration to halt foreign aid and impose tariffs on China, but it was too soon to offer clear assessments of the impact.” Why not stop trying to engage in making deals, act like a statesman, and the Economic Democracy Act?
• The False Keynesian Tradeoff. One of the most surreal things John Maynard Keynes accomplished was to convince people there is a necessary tradeoff between inflation and unemployment . . . and then insist true inflation is impossible until full employment has been reached! No, really, it’s right there in his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936). The idea, then, that to have economic growth and employment you need inflation, while an essential part of Keynesian theory, is directly contrary to Keynesian theory! So, the current debate on balancing inflation and employment is completely insane. As for manipulating the interest rate to induce or control inflation . . . that’s based on another Keynesian fantasy that assumes “money” can only be created by government and the state owns everything, including the people. No, really. Look it up. What’s the answer? How about adopting the Economic Democracy Act?
• Eggsactly! The price of eggs has gotten so high that a shipment of 100,000 eggs worth an estimated $40,000 was hijacked in Pennsylvania. We always knew that some people would steal anything, but this seems to be getting pretty low . . . or is a symptom of much deeper problems (or both). What’s the solution? Make it easier for small producers to get into the egg business, and that could be done with the Economic Democracy Act. It’s not in insisting that “the government” can order prices to come down or something equally fatuous or surreal.
• Maynooth Contact. Father Keveny reports he sent a letter about the project to his contact at Maynooth, the national seminary of Ireland, at one time the largest Catholic seminary in the world. Although he has not yet received a reply, it is a good start. Even if the seminary decides not to do anything at this point, the door has been opened to future discussion.
• Solidarismo. Lic. José Recinos and Doña Rina Sanchinelli, officials in the Solidarismo movement in Central America, are discussing the possibility of using the free .pdf of the Spanish translation to educate current membership and spread understanding and acceptance of the movement throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean Basin. Dr. María Teresa, the professor of commercial law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina in Buenos Aires, who did the translation, believes the book is key to helping educate the Hispanic community in both North and South America regarding the principles of the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism and the possibilities of a better life for every child, woman, and man in the world. This underscores the fact that the principles in the book, while framed in “Catholic language” and which are derived in part from the Catholic Church’s natural law-based social teachings, are universal in application and can be accepted by people of all faiths and philosophies and in virtually any circumstances.
• The Best in Modern Movies. From CESJ’s film studios, co-author Dawn Brohawn and her husband Rowland are producing short videos to explain the Economic Democracy Act, which — as noted above — applies the principles presented in Economic Personalism. They have completed one, “The Economic Democracy Act: A Plan for Universal Basic Ownership,” and “The EDA: Democratizing the Money System for Universal Basic Ownership” is in process. Two earlier, even shorter videos, the animated poem “People and Things,” and “The Just Third Way Cartoon,” get down to basics in very simple language. In addition, some of the videos on the Saint Philomena Channel present St. Philomena as a sort of unofficial patron saint for the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism. Finally, a series of programs from Sensus Fidelium based on Economic Personalism is also available on YouTube
• 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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