Remember when the slogan was “It’s the economy, stupid.” Of course, that might be interchangeable with, “It’s the stupid economy,” but the point here is the practice of the current administration to keep insisting everything is A-OK and America is Great Again might not be what will lead people to recognize the obvious solution to a problem they appear to believe doesn’t even exist: the Economic Democracy Act:
When money actually had value
• Down But Not Out. With the discontinuance of the U.S. one-cent piece (not a “penny”), the experts — as usual — are saying it’s time for the nickel five-cent piece to bite the dust as well. By the way, it’s not merely a “nickel” as following the Civil War the silver trime (silver three-cent piece) and the silver half-dime were phased out and replaced with the nickel versions originally issued to redeem the “fractional currency” issued during the coin shortage caused by hoarding due to inflation and temporary suspension of the paper currency into gold. Inflation and the high cost of producing the one-cent piece compared to its face value seem to be the rationale for the decision. Interestingly, during the Great Depression of 1930-1940, prices fell so much that the money acquired greater value, and some areas issued half-cent tokens (5 mills or 5 thousandths of a dollar) to make change for taxes and to allow merchants to avoid pricing something at, say, 3¢ when people would (or could) only pay 2½¢ for something, and buying two for 5¢ took too much money. To us, there is no more obvious indication that inflation is out of hand than to see low-denomination coins and currency disappear. The real solution, however, is not to discontinue low-denomination coin and currency, but to make them have value again — and that can be done by implementing the monetary reforms embodied in the Economic Democracy Act? Do that, and we could easily see the return of the one-cent piece, and even the half-cent, or maybe even a quarter-cent as the currency appreciated instead of depreciated.
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| It might not just be money |
• The Worth of a Person. The figures are both encouraging and discouraging. Americans over the age of 50 are — allegedly — “worth” an average of $1.4 million, at least according to an article in USA Today. Unfortunately, those of lesser age are also of lesser wealth — and the sense of hopelessness is spreading, at least according to what is reported in other sources. As noted in the article, “The average 50-something American has a net worth of $1.4 million, according to a report from Empower, the financial services firm. The average 60-something is worth $1.6 million. By contrast, the average 20-something is worth a mere $127,730.” Naturally, we think that (aside from abandoning the dehumanizing idea that people are “worth” how much wealth they have), the best thing that can be done to overcome this problem is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
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| Not ALL credit is bad, it just seems so |
• Bad v. Good Debt. It is a pillar of the Just Third Way that there is a distinction between “good debt” and “bad debt” — which actually fits in with traditional Aristotelian thought on the subject of money and credit. “Good credit” is credit extended, and money created for things that pay for themselves out of their own profits resulting from producing a marketable good or service. “Bad credit” is credit extended, and money created for things that do NOT pay for themselves out of their own profits. There are, of course, many qualifications and refinements in this simplistic understanding, but the basic principle remains: bad credit is credit that does not pay for itself, while good credit is credit that does pay for itself. That’s why this article from Fortune magazine is so frightening. As stated in the article, “The government’s $38.5 trillion national debt is suffocating the American Dream, a leading economist has warned, and if a highly debated debt crisis comes to fruition the country could be facing an all-out economic depression. Many factors have been blamed for the death of the American Dream. . . . many of these symptoms trickle back to the vast sum America owes to its debtors, according to Kurt Couchman, a senior fellow in fiscal policy at think tank Americans for Prosperity. In the final three months of 2025, the government spent $276 billion in interest on the debt, which the likes of Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio warn will one day squeeze out government investment needed to bolster economic prosperity.” Well . . . why do we need “government investment” in the first place? Because there isn’t enough private sector investment. And how to get government out of the investment business? Adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Tariff and Debt Trap. We realize we (and quite a few other commentators commenting on what there is on which to comment) are starting to sound like very broken records, but that doesn’t mean that what we say isn’t worth saying. As reported in an article in Fortune magazine, the U.S. national debt has reached epic proportions. — and President Trump’s tariffs and threats about Greenland aren’t making matters any better. As explained in the article, “While the likes of Japan, the U.K., and France are by no means balancing their books, America’s $38 trillion deficit dwarfs its counterparts. While a great deal of that debt is held by the public (including the Fed, where President Trump is also in hot water), vast sums are also owned by foreign governments and overseas investors. This exposure—to the tune of $8 trillion— ING pointed out, may be something European leaders decide to remind the White House of. Europe being America’s largest lender ‘illustrates the deep interdependence between the U.S. and Europe but also shows that, at least theoretically, Europe also has leverage on the U.S.,’ wrote Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro, and Bert Colijn, chief economist for the Netherlands.” In other words, purely by allowing President Trump to impose his will on the United States the country could trigger its own economic — and thus political — suicide. The solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act, and put economic (and thus political) power back in the hands of actual people rather than in a tiny elite.
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| Get ready for it? |
• Hard Times Come Again Galore. Think things are bad now? It is going to get worse, if you believe what the Bank of America says as reported in The Street. As noted in the article, “Bank of America just dropped a warning for stock market investors, arguing that they’re stepping into 2026 dangerously unprepared for a potential stock market correction. Following a historic AI-powered three-year bull run, the big bank says investor optimism remains high while downside protection is low, leaving little room for surprises. That combo has historically proven to be a recipe for disaster.” It comes as no surprise that the corrective to this is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act so that people — all people — are connected in the most personal and powerful way to the economy and thus to each other.
• K-shaped Is Not Okay. To keep insisting that everything is hunky-dory with the economy when it clearly is not, is something that — in our opinion — borders on the delusional. As noted in an article from CBS News, “Data from the Federal Reserve shows that the so-called K-shaped economy in America is alive and well, with low- and middle-income households falling further behind as the richest Americans pull away. The top 1% of households owned 31.7% of all U.S. wealth in the third quarter of 2025, the highest share on record since the Federal Reserve began tracking household wealth in 1989. That share has increased even as wealth growth for the rest of the population has stalled or slowed, the data shows.” Again, the obvious thing to do is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Tyrannosaurus Debt — Redux. Warnings of gloom and doom are becoming almost passe, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t valid. As reported in Fortune magazine, “The United States national debt has reached a precarious milestone, hitting 100% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and placing the nation on a trajectory that could trigger six distinct types of fiscal crises, according to an ominous new warning issued Thursday by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB). With the national debt now effectively equal to the size of the entire U.S. economy, the nonpartisan watchdog’s latest report, ‘What Would a Fiscal Crisis Look Like?’ outlined a dangerous future ahead. ‘If the national debt continues to grow faster than the economy,’ the report said, ‘the country could ultimately experience a financial crisis, an inflation crisis, an austerity crisis, a currency crisis, a default crisis, a gradual crisis, or some combination of crises. Any of these would cause massive disruption and substantially reduce living standards for Americans and people across the world.’” There really isn’t much else that can be said; it’s obvious the solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Doubling Down on the Dow. As surreal as it might seem to anyone who has even a rudimentary grasp of the economy and the financial markets (known as the primary and secondary markets, respectively, for a good reason), President Trump seems to be saying it’s a good thing that “the stock market” is going to double soon, at least in his opinion. As he declared during his speech before the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “The president brought up the markets on Wednesday during his speech in Davos, noting that ‘our stock market took the first dip yesterday’ but dismissing it. He predicted the ‘stock market is going to double in a relatively short period of time because of everything that’s happening.’” Why is the stock market doubling considered a good thing? It means that the concerns expressed about the so-called “K-shaped economy” are far from ephemeral or “fake news.” If the primary economy is doing poorly — as it is — yet the investments of the wealthy are going through the roof (as they are), it tells us there is too much money going to secondary investment (i.e., that doesn’t result in new capital formation), not enough money going to primary investment (not necessarily a corollary to the former), a speculative frenzy gripping the economy, or all three (and probably a few things we didn’t list). The only real solution to this is to reconnect people to the economy through capital ownership, and that means adopting 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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