Heavy sigh. One of the problems with reporting on what is going on economically and how it affects the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism is that the basic situation doesn’t seem to be changing because too many people keep making the wrong assumptions about the way the world really works economically — and only adopting the Economic Democracy Act will resolve the issue:
• The Burger Balance. Evidently, the people coming up with the new immigration policies and reinterpretation of the U.S. Constitution don’t really understand the interconnectedness of modern economic life. In an article in Rolling Stone, “This Burger Brought to You by Immigrants,” Elly Fishman breaks down the supply chain that goes into making a cheeseburger. “Americans consume an estimated 50 billion burgers each year. Together, those billions of burgers represent a vast system that spans thousands of miles and millions of immigrant workers, most of whom never appear in the advertising. To understand just how dependent American agriculture is on immigrant labor, one need only trace the anatomy of a cheeseburger: onions from Idaho, lettuce from Arizona, beef from Kansas feedlots, cheese from Wisconsin dairies. Each ingredient offers a glimpse into the people who grow, process, and deliver it — and the immigration policies that threaten to upend the system.” The article details a picture of what really goes into making something relatively simply in the modern age, and incidentally gives a good reason to support a truly free economy — one to which everyone has free access — and the Economic Democracy Act.
• Socialism, American Style. Socialism gets defined in so many different ways that we often lose sight of the underlying reality. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels summed it up very well in The Communist Manifesto (1848) — “communism” being the term they chose for their “scientific” (i.e., non-religious) version of socialism because they decided the followers of Robert Owen had preempted the term “socialism” — when they declared the theory of the communists could be summed up in the single sentence: the abolition of private property in the means of production. Everything else may be socialistic but really ends up being mere window dressing. That is why the announcement the U.S. government is taking an equity stake in Intel is . . . troubling is a good way of putting it. Government subsidies are bad enough but can be justified on the grounds of necessity, national security, and so on. Ownership, however, is something significantly different. It means the government is taking control of the means of production (ownership and control are legally the same thing, regardless of who holds title), and that the effective abolition of private property, whatever you may choose to call it. What is the solution? Adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Market Manipulation Attempts? While a government ownership stake might sound good to the socialist capitalists or the capitalist socialists or whatever it is they call themselves, sometimes it might not pan out as intended. While President Trump prides himself on the “art” of what he calls “deals,” things might not always go his way. Although Mr. Trump declared that he loves to see Intel’s share price rise on the secondary market for used debt and equity, Intel’s price was little changed after his announcement. Perhaps it’s a good sign that even the president of the United States can’t turn the country socialist if it doesn’t really want to go in that direction. Of course, the best thing to do would be to get the government completely out of the private sector by adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• Yet Again More AI and Fewer Jobs. Bank of America has declared it has solved the productivity paradox . . . whatever that really means. Apparently, they think by cutting more human beings out of the production process, they can make production per labor hour soar to new heights . . . although who is going to buy the goods and services produced remains a mystery if machines and AI are doing all the work and former workers are receiving no pay. “[I]f you’re productive, you are doing things more efficiently, you need less labor. And this is more labor efficiency than anything else.” Really? It sounds as if the machines and AI are becoming more productive, not human beings. What’s the solution? How about adopting the Economic Democracy Act, so actual human beings can have an income that doesn’t rely on a wage system job that doesn’t exist so they can buy all the goods and services being produced without their labor.
• (More) Food Inflation Coming. This one is from the United Kingdom, but it probably applies across the board. According to an article in The Sun, “As destructive weather patterns such as floods and droughts challenge farming yields, produce prices are on the rise. A recent report by the Autonomy Institute projects that a worst-case scenario for the United Kingdom could include a 34% rise in food prices by 2050. In a best-case scenario, food inflation would reach 25% in the same time frame. Such projections aren't entirely new. The World Bank, the European Central Bank, and World Vision have also predicted mounting food costs due to extreme weather in the future.” While adopting the Economic Democracy Act probably wouldn’t solve this problem directly, chances are it would spark creativity and someone would quickly find a solution.
• How the Rich Avoid (Not Evade) Taxes. According to an article in The Atlantic, “According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the richest of rich Americans pay an average tax rate of 34 percent, higher than any other cohort’s. In reality, as everyone has long known, they pay less than that. A new study by some of the country’s most preeminent economists has finally put concrete numbers to the disparity. The average rate that the richest Americans pay, they find, sits at just 24 percent. That number has fallen markedly in recent years and will remain low for the foreseeable future, thanks to Donald Trump.” One of the pillars of the Economic Democracy Act. is a far more equitable tax system designed and intended to be just, not conform to some weird Keynesian ideology.
• Economic Red Flags. According to an article in the Investopedia, President Trump’s economic policies are so bad that many economists see no escape from a coming economic disaster: “Economists see increasing risks to the economy, many of which may be caused by President Donald Trump's economic policies.” These range from tariffs, immigration, the Federal Reserve . . . among others. Of course, some of this analysis assumes that Trump actually has a policy on anything. The solution to an out-of-control POTUS, of course, is to get power back to ordinary people and adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• What the Federal Reserve Does. As an article in Yahoo! Finance relates, “Since returning to the White House, Trump has exerted broad influence across the federal government, reshaping federal agencies around his own political agenda. His effort to do the same thing to the Federal Reserve carries high stakes. While it doesn’t often make news outside of the financial press, the Federal Reserve has enormous influence on the lives of every single American.” . . . . ““[Trump’s actions] could endanger the Trump economy, throw markets into a tailspin, and leave Trump’s economic legacy in the basement,” Yahoo Finance columnist Rick Newman wrote.” Mayer Anselm Rothschild purportedly said, “Give me control over money and credit and I care not who makes the laws.” Evidently Trump may have been paying attention. What we need instead of the vagaries and chaos of Trump’s non-policies is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Trump’s Obsession His Downfall? According to an article in The Huffington Post, “Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich warned in a new essay published on Substack Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s growing control over the U.S. economy could ultimately cause his downfall. Trump’s bid to run the Federal Reserve, influence and gain stakes in key industries and reward loyal businesses ― among other moves ― means ‘an increasing part of our economy is no longer being determined by supply and demand but by the deals Trump is striking,’ said Reich.” In other words, a “command economy” (regardless of who might be doing the commanding), is not a good thing, if only because it focuses on short term gains or objectives for the advantage of a tiny elite and not the common good of all. A command economy is the direct antithesis of the Just Third Way as applied in 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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