On the one hand, the so-called experts keep telling us the economy is doing great. On the other hand, we keep hearing how individuals and families are worse off than before. On the other, other hand, we hear about the “K-shaped economy” that explains matters . . . sort of. On the other, other, other hand . . . forget it. Just push for the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act so we have something positive to talk about in this news report:
• The War That’s Too Big to Fail. According to an article in Fortune magazine (which maybe ought to consider a name change to “Misfortune Magazine”), “Russian Officials are Warning Putin That a Financial Crisis Could Arrive This Summer.” As if they didn’t already have a financial crisis, all self-inflicted. Evidently, someone forgot to remind Putin that “Russian roulette means you only load one cylinder of a revolver, not all six, and you’re supposed to have more than one person playing. As the article notes, “The Kremlin’s financial situation is becoming increasingly dire and could come to a head in a matter of months as oil revenue shrinks while President Vladimir Putin shows no intention of ending his war on Ukraine. Russian officials have been warning Putin with growing alarm that a financial crisis could hit by the summer.” They say Russia can’t afford to continue and it can’t afford to stop. Nonsense. You can always stop a war. The question is what you do afterwards. And that is? Well, the crazy thought occurs that maybe Russia ought to consider getting rid of Putin, stopping the war (not necessarily in that order), and adopting the Economic Democracy Act . . . or is that so easy and simple it might work?
• The Jobs Game. It’s kind of a toss-up. According to a report from GMA, new, low value jobs are being created at a faster rate than old, high value jobs are being lost. If having a “job” is all that matters, that’s a good thing. If having sufficient income is the goal, however, it’s a very bad thing. Plus, as AI innovations increase, more jobs are disappearing as well as in response to the paradox of the paper economy (Wall Street and Capitol Hill) doing terrific, while the real economy is on the skids. It’s a little like living in Never-Never Land, because given the way things are going, we are never, never going to get out of this trap. Unless, of course the powers-that-be get wise and adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• The Steak Economic Indicator. Why are so many mid-price restaurants such as steak houses either going bankrupt or drastically cutting back on locations, menus, and just about everything else? Isn’t the economy “booming”? Well . . . if you’re already rich, probably. If you’re anybody else, lots of luck. That translates into businesses catering to the “middle class” (which is selling blood to survive — below) are going out of business at a record rate. As reported in The Street, the latest is the near-total closing of Lone Star Steakhouse, with one (count ’em, one) location left open. The solution? You guessed it: adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
And not just taxes, either.
• Blood, Sweat, and Fears. It used to be a sign that somebody had really hit the skids and was reduced to selling body parts and blood. Nowadays, however, it seems more “middle class” Americans are selling blood plasma just to make ends meet. As reported in NBC News, “Inside a suburban Philadelphia strip mall, between the Hair Cuttery and a Citizens Bank, a dozen people lay on black ergonomic beds a few feet apart, hooked up through a needle in the crook of their arms to machines pumping blood out of their veins. They were there to sell their plasma in exchange for $65 on a prepaid debit card. . . . It’s a scene repeated by an estimated 200,000 people a day across the country as part of a multibillion-dollar business fueled by a growing number of Americans willing to trade their blood for money in an economy where many have seen their job prospects weaken, costs rise and savings dwindle. Despite data that shows a relatively stable economy, middle-class Americans say they have had to start selling their plasma over the past year to cover basic expenses, from medical bills to a winter coat for their child.” This “suggests” maybe the economy isn’t doing quite as well as the so-called experts tell us, and that the only way out (short of chipping in a kidney or a lung or something) is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act.
• Going to the Well Too Often. The Daily Beast is not generally known as a fan of the current administration . . . and its antics at the Kennedy Center haven’t done anything to change that. According to the Beast, “Donald Trump has dispatched one of his veteran fundraisers [Meredith O’Rourke] in a frantic attempt to stop the Kennedy Center from bleeding donations.” Sounds like a plan, right? Wrong. As the article goes on to say, “O’Rourke has spearheaded drumming up financial support for the president’s controversial White House ballroom project and Rose Garden refurbishment.” Uh, huh, and those haven’t exactly been popular with some people. And the Kennedy Center is a somewhat different thing as an arts institution that needs ongoing fundraising, not just initial funding. Asking people to give once is hard enough. Asking them to continue to pay for something they don’t particularly like and may even outrage them is quite another. Trump’s move in naming the memorial to Kennedy after himself angered many in the existing funding base, and his demands for his other projects have already drained his supporters’ pockets. He shouldn’t expect to be able to replace the existing funding base. We’re not sure how to drag the Economic Democracy Act into this, but there is probably some way.
• Have More Babies . . . or Else. In what seems a trifle . . . threatening and a bit creepy, even to pro-life people, President Trump — who has described himself as “the fertilization president,” is emulating some of the dictators of the early twentieth century and trying ways to encourage people to have more children. Of course, one answer to the demand that people have more children would be to allow more people to stay in the country instead of finding more ways to deport them, but that wouldn’t leave him in charge of the bedroom the way government programs to encourage more people instead of getting rid of them: “Trump has reportedly floated everything from doling out $5,000 checks to mothers after delivery, to awarding a ‘National Medal of Motherhood’ to mothers with at least six children, to lowering the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) drugs.” Economists at Stanford University, however, say they have a different idea on how to get people to have more children: “A new study led by Stanford University economists, . . . realized fertility (the number of children one has in a given period) was 14% higher when both partners worked from home one or more days per week compared with when neither did.” Setting aside how a study can realize anything, it still dodges the real issue and avoids the problem that people who can’t afford children tend not to have them. It assumes when both husband and wife work — and can thus afford to have children already — choose not to do so when there is nobody at home to take care of the children or having children would adversely affect their chosen lifestyle. So, if Trump is serious about people having more children, he should push for adoption of the Economic Democracy Act. and stop putting the future of those children in jeopardy by his “immigration crackdown” and incoherent economic policies.
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| "Feed me, Seymour, and more and more and more!" |
• Yes, But Inflation is Still Inflation. The powers-that-be are crowing in triumph that the rate of inflation slowed in January. As reported in an article in Yahoo! Finance, “Friday’s data represented broad progress from December’s reading. The inflation print also offered this week's second better-than-expected reading on the state of the economy. Wednesday’s jobs report showed the unemployment rate ticked down at the start of the year, while payrolls grew by twice what economists had expected.” That sounds very nice . . . but it assumes that a low rate of inflation is better than a high rate of inflation (we agree), but also the paradox which presumes inflation is itself good if kept in bounds — and we emphatically disagree. Prices might not be going up as fast as they were before, but they are still going up, and wages are stagnating. What’s the answer? Adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA). The monetary policies of the EDA are non-inflationary and could even (and probably will) lead to an appreciation of the currency: an increase in the value of the currency and a consequent lowering of the price level. This is good unless someone is a significant debtor — in which case, if debts above a certain amount were pegged to the value of the currency as of the date the debt was incurred the debtor would pay the value of the debt in full even if the nominal amount of the debt was much less. For example, if a debtor incurred a debt of $100 when bread was $1 a loaf and went to pay it when bread was $0.50 a loaf, he, she, or it would pay $50 . . . but would still be repaying the full value of what was borrowed. Problem solved.
• 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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