Over the past couple of weeks, it has become obvious that few if anybody in power has any idea what is going on or what to do about it. Might we suggest the Economic Democracy Act?
Jerome Powell
• Will Mortgages Be Impossible to Obtain? According to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, “The growing crisis in the insurance industry may make it hard to get a mortgage in parts of the country in the coming decades.” This he blames on “banks and insurance companies have been pulling out of coastal and fire-prone areas they deem too high risk.” Why not allow people to build houses that are more suited to the area in which they live, which would be easier to finance and insure? That is the sort of solution suggested by the Economic Democracy Act.
• Tariffs or Interest Rates? President Trump’s plans for making America great again may come face to face with the harsh fantasy of Keynesian economics and the alleged trade-off between inflation and employment, "the Phillips Curve." Trump wants lower interest rates, while the Federal Reserve says that the inflation rate takes it off the table. In response, Trump dismisses inflation reports, possibly as “fake news” (which suggests he hasn’t been shopping lately), and is insisting on cutting interest rates, which experts insist ain’t gonna happen. Obviously, the solution is to get off the Keynesian Carousel and adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Trump’s Tax Cuts. According to reports, Congressional Republicans are falling into line regarding proposed tax cuts and raising the debt ceiling, which suggests they might not understand even the prevalent Keynesian economic fantasy very well. Adopting the Economic Democracy Act would do all they want and more, but they aren’t considering it.
• Keynesian Wage-Price Spiral Nightmare. China is facing an economic nightmare in a Keynesian sense with rising costs and falling prices. In the Keynesian universe, irrational as it is, inflation is essential if businesses are to gain sufficient profits. In China for the past three years, prices for consumers are falling, but costs for businesses are rising. The solution? Adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• The Economic Personalism Powerhouse. Rina Sanchinelli in Italy has joined the “Economic Personalism team.” Doña Rina is very enthusiastic about the potential of the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism to bring about real and positive change in everyone’s lives without harming anyone’s legitimate interests or rights. Obviously, this would be by adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• More on Solidarism. Geoff Gneuhs has given us leads to people involved in the Solidarity movement in the United States. We will see if there are grounds for collaboration. Geoff, a founding member of CESJ, has been associated with the Catholic Worker Movement since 1974. His thesis at Yale was “Peter Maurin: The Life and Thought of the Founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.” From 1979 to 1986, he was associate editor of The Catholic Worker newspaper. He has taught philosophy and ethics at Seton Hall and Fordham universities. His writings have appeared in many important publications.
• 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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