Again, much of this week’s news items wouldn’t be news items if the Economic Democracy Act: had been adopted. Keep that in mind as you read:
Sen. Bernie Sanders
• The Disappearing “Job”. There does seem to be a growing split in the academic and political communities. On the one hand, people are being told there is nothing to worry about. On the other hand, people are being told there is everything to worry about. Perhaps paradoxically, both are probably right. As reported in The Hill, “A Senate report released Monday says AI and automation could replace nearly 100 million jobs across various industries over the next decade. The report, conducted by Democratic staffers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), outlines how AI and automation will impact the American economy and workforce. Sanders, the ranking member on the HELP Committee, has warned of the consequences widespread use of AI and automation can have for workers.” If that was not enough, Jamie Dimon keeps warning people that AI is definitely going to affect jobs, and it won’t go away. “JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says corporate leaders can’t ignore the tidal wave of artificial intelligence reshaping their industries. ‘I think people shouldn’t put their head in the sand,’ he said Tuesday in a Bloomberg TV interview. ‘It is going to affect jobs.’ Dimon, who has long touted AI as one of the bank’s most powerful tools, said the technology is already reshaping nearly every corner of JPMorgan’s operations, from risk and fraud detection to marketing, customer service, and research. ‘It affects everything,” he said. “It’s kind of the tip of the iceberg. We’re getting better and better at it.’” And the solution? Adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Beating High Food Costs . . . Up to a Point. With the rising cost of food (although there’s no inflation), many people are turning to places like Costco to try and make ends meet. Is it worth it? “Your potential savings depend on how the club model works. The average household would spend $993.80 on groceries in April, 2025 on a "thrifty food plan," according to the USDA, so modest percentage savings month-over-month can add up over the course of the year. Clubs like Costco keep the kinds of goods they carry in a tight range to price bulk packs and their private-label brands aggressively. If you are buying nonperishables in bulk, you stand to save quite a bit.” Of course, the long term solution is to enhance income instead of just cutting costs, and that can be done by adopting the Economic Democracy Act.
• Yours, Mine, and Ours. The transition to the wage system that began with the Industrial Revolution had enormous effects throughout civil society, many of which have been chronicled on this blog. What we have also mentioned, although not as often as possibly we should have, is the effect on the family of first removing many men, and today many women as human labor becomes economically less valuable in competition with advancing technology. The fact is, while the saying is that while a woman’s place is in the home, it is also the man’s place as well. Still, the practice of having one partner bringing in the cash money while the other takes care of the home and children has embedded this idea into western culture. This creates tension when people view “unpaid” work as somehow less valuable than “paid” work: “For many parents, this discomfort stems from the way our culture still ties worth to income. Stepping away from paid work often means navigating systems that undervalue caregiving, even though it sustains every household and community. Jessie, a Melbourne mother, went viral on TikTok with over 76,000 views, after opening up about this transition. Hundreds of parents commented that they felt the same way, showing how common this experience is for families trying to balance caregiving and financial partnership.” See? So, what is the solution? You guessed it: adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Stock-Owning Americans. Ownership of equity shares is often touted as the road to wealth, but there is a hidden assumption that belies this belief. That is, the people making money in the market are not those owning shares, but those buying and selling shares; they are making money through speculation instead of true investment. Currently, more Americans are owning shares than ever before . . . which creates a problem. It means that more Americans are engaging in speculation than ever before! As noted in an article in Moneywise, “Rob Anderson, U.S. sector strategist at Ned Davis Research, points out that record levels of stock ownership have historically coincided with increased risk of a downturn. ‘Investors shouldn’t expect the same magnitude of returns that we’ve seen during the last decade to repeat. Going forward, over the next 10 years, there’s probably going to be a downshift in returns,’ Anderson cautioned.” Of course, other investment professionals are insisting the best is yet to come, and the market will continue to perform well . . . meaning will continue to make them money. Obviously, what is needed is a shift to investment and away from speculation, and this is the goal of the Economic Democracy Act.
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| Robert Kiyosaki |
• End of the Dollar. Is it the end of the dollar? Although we sort of think that Milord Keynes might have had something to do with the decay of the dollar, Robert Kiyosaki has begun urging people to put their money into crypto. As the article states, “As the push for de-dollarization intensifies, Robert Kiyosaki, the author of ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad,’ encouraged his followers on X to push their funds into the purchase of Bitcoin and Ethereum instead. In his opinion, holding these cryptocurrencies and traditional assets like gold and silver would help investors better withstand the US dollar.” Of course, the real solution is the monetary reforms of the Economic Democracy Act, but nobody seems to be paying any attention.
• 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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