If anyone can make sense of what is happening in the economy . . . let us know. Otherwise, work for the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act as soon as possible to bring a halt to this sort of thing:
• Eliminate Taxes on Social Security? Finally, something on which we can agree with President Trump . . . just not the way he might think, or for the same reasons. He wants to eliminate income taxes on Social Security benefits. That’s nice, but it doesn’t get to the root of the problem — which is that far too many people rely on Social Security for the bulk, sometimes the whole of their retirement income, and there are far too few people paying into the system. Frankly, the only real reform would merge the Social Security tax into general revenues, make it need-based (thereby removing its taxability automatically), and adopt the Economic Democracy Act to provide people’s core retirement income directly, rather than through redistribution through government.
• Trump on Social Security. Back in 2024, Trump made the following statement: “I said to people we’re not touching Social Security, other than we make it more efficient. But the people are going to get what they’re getting.” That sounds reassuring . . . except that in Trumpspeak, it doesn’t actually mean anything. In the new lexicon written by Elon Musk, “efficiency” seems to be defined as firing people wholesale based on flimsy or non-existent data for savings that have not and cannot materialize, and eliminating anyone whom a non-expert has deemed unworthy of receiving benefits. As for “people are going to get what they’re getting” . . . what else would they get except what they get? It sounds as if he’s saying people’s benefits would not be cut, but it can also mean they’ll get what they get, and that’s that. Besides, Trump has on more than one occasion simply ignored a promise he has made, so his reassurances are not all that reassuring. It would be far better to adopt the Economic Democracy Act , which was intended to “save” Social Security, and which includes the proviso that all current promises will be kept — and provides a means to keep them.
• Unbending on Disaster. President Trump is “vowing” to remain “unbending” in his determination to slap gigantic tariffs, evidently laboring under the delusion that it is foreign governments rather than U.S. consumers who pay tariffs. One of the latest moves is one which sounds almost surreal on the surface: a 200% tariff on French wines, including champagne. News flash: tariffs only work when foreign goods are in direct competition with domestic goods. Plus, foreign governments do not pay tariffs. The citizens of the country which imposes the tariffs pay tariffs. The solution? If you hadn’t guessed, it’s to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• A Command Free Market Economy. There are five risks facing the U.S. economy given President Trump’s . . . we’ll say esoteric and Gnostic economic policies. These are 1) Inflation risks, 2) Americans are tightening their belts, 3) Tariffs and whipsaw trade policy, 4) Markets keep falling, and 5) The Federal Reserve’s response. In other words, there is one risk: the lack of a coherent economic policy and the effort to run the U.S. economy by fiat and executive order. In other words, the allegedly U.S. free market is a de facto command economy . . . at the mercy of someone who isn’t too clear on how an economy functions. It would be much better to adopt the Economic Democracy Act and put control of the economy back in the hands of the people actually acting economically.
• Stock Market Follies. Although the Dow shot up today — probably due to the bargain hunters grabbing what they can at low(er) prices while hoping for a recovery next week — the stock market has been taking a beating in response to Trump’s somewhat incomprehensible economic policies: “After a brutal sell-off on Monday, which saw the worst session for the Nasdaq since 2022, the markets plunged deeper into the red yesterday. This week has been nothing short of jaw-dropping, and it’s not over yet. The markets have been responding to President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and his commitment to pushing forward with a trade war against some of America’s biggest partners, including Canada and Mexico.” The gamblers and speculators are no doubt reveling in the instability of the stock market, but the rest of us would be far better off with a little stability and a lot of ownership. This would be the case with 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 (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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