One of the ongoing problems with trying to report news items of the Just Third Way is that under the current administration the term “developing story” has ceased to have any real meaning. Chaos, both political and economic, seems to be the order of the day. We do have to wonder when the powers that be are going to wake up and adopt the Economic Democracy Act:
Not quite . . .
• And All Reduces Consumption. There is more than one thing wrong with the so-called “Trump Accounts” President Trump introduced with his mega-legislation of the One Big Beautiful Bill (something somewhat questionable in itself) by means of which qualified infants will be allowed to accumulate wealth. As described by Fortune magazine, “The federal government will make a one-time contribution of $1,000. Families can also contribute up to $5,000 a year, with employers allowed to chip in up to $2,500 of that amount. The money must sit in low-cost stock mutual funds or ETFs tracking a U.S. stock index, such as the S&P 500. Key details have yet to be spelled out as federal agencies must begin the rule-writing process to implement the program. But the investment community is already touting the potential benefits.” Benefits? Hardly. First, this is a program based on diverting money from consumption to investment, thereby undermining the consumer demand which drives the economy. Second, while $1,000 sounds like a lot of money (although less each year), it is a one-time deal. Additional contributions must come from other sources . . . which doesn’t address the underlying problem that ordinary people simply don’t have the wherewithal to make additional contributions to the accounts. To be successful, such accounts must be financed in a way that does not reduce consumption demand and in a way that is self-liquidating. There is no need for special token accounts for infants when we could have the Economic Democracy Act for everyone.
• King of Khaos. If there is one thing the current administration in Washington excels at, it’s spreading chaos and confusion. Although tariffs are astonishingly counterproductive and a few other things, President Trump is insisting on using them as one of his chief foreign policy tools — or perhaps weapons is a better word. As a result, the stock market is in a turmoil, and even those experts who were dismissing the idea that they would have any material effect on the economy are backpedaling frantically. Ironically, the tax and monetary reforms of the Economic Democracy Act. would put the economy on a sound basis without raising prices and in fact would probably lower prices to the benefit of everyone, for consumption income would at the same time rise and all new investment capital could conceivably come out of future savings.
• Walking a Tightrope. In theory, the Federal Reserve is independent of the government. The idea is to prevent the government (or those who control the government) from controlling money and credit for their own benefit . . . which is what happened when Keynesian economics dictated the purported reforms of the New Deal, and the Federal Reserve came under control of the government. While there are a couple of volumes that could be written about the problems of having the central bank under government control (not the least of which is it gives the government the ability to monetize deficits virtually at will), the immediate issue is that in the current chaotic, not to say surreal political atmosphere any head of the Federal Reserve has to maintain the official illusion of independence and at the same time “pleasing” the somewhat mercurial temper of President Trump . . . which may be impossible. Again (you know what we’re going to say), all this would be moot if Congress would adopt the Economic Democracy Act, and allow the Federal Reserve to function as designed and intended.
• Job Search 2025. Despite the glowing reports and enthusiasm of the experts and the rich, things are pretty bad for people who are hunting for the jobs that per Keynesian economics are the only way for anyone to earn an income. (There is of course redistribution, direct and otherwise, but “having a job” is “the” way to gain income, not ownership of capital.) As technology continues to advance, however, there is going to have to be some serious rethinking of how people gain a living income, and it’s not going to be solved by the Universal Basic Income or any of the variations on that theme. The only real answer is to make it possible for ordinary people to become capital owners without requiring redistribution or government debt. The only way to do this is to 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 (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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