At this turning point in history — as if all points in history weren’t turning points of one kind or another — there seems to be increasing emphasis on form over substance, and even the few who focus on substance don’t know what to do except change the form in many cases, cross their fingers (and eyes) and hope for the best. Of course, if people were really interested in substantial change and improvements, they would push for adoption of the Economic Democracy Act:
Signing the Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Wrong About Rights. Ironically, last week being the 250th anniversary of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the news that some members of the “Trump Team” wanted to suspend habeas corpus was . . . discouraging. True, the Virginia Declaration of Rights doesn’t explicitly mention habeas corpus (although Virginia’s Constitution does), but it does mention the right to liberty, which implies the government just can’t go around locking people up without saying why. The Declaration of Independence implies habeas corpus as well, when condemning George III for “depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.” The specific legal right to the writ of habeas corpus — the power of a judge to determine whether a prisoner is being lawfully held — is found in Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, which dictates that it cannot be suspended unless in cases of rebellion or invasion. Frankly, after many people asserted that illegal immigrants have no rights and are not entitled to due process, or that the Fourteenth Amendment only applies to legal immigrants, freed slaves, and native born citizens, or some other equivocation, we begin to wonder if anyone really understands what a right is, or what constitutes (literally) their theory of government. We think a lot of this confusion results from the fact so few Americans own any meaningful amount of capital and thus lack the power to do anything, including thinking for themselves. The solution, as you might expect, is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• Oh, Canada. News from the Great White North is that Canada permanently solidified its Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) tax incentive. This allows sellers to exempt the first $10 million in capital gains from the sale of a business to qualifying EOTs. This provision was originally set to expire at the end of this year, but Ottawa wanted to expand worker-led capital ownership, evidently aware that worker-owned companies with the vote passed through, profit sharing, and participatory management are often 150% more profitable than otherwise comparable firms. The next step is to extend capital ownership opportunities and access to the means to everyone by adopting the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• A Good Idea, But Where Does It End? Or Begin? Recently, the inaugural (at least they didn’t say “first annual”) Front Royal Education Summit at Christendom College released a statement to compete with the “Land O’Lakes” declaration of a couple of generations ago that is credited (if that is the right word) with gutting Catholic education to bring it down to the level of secular education. The Front Royal Statement has a significant number of signatories, but it leaves out an important item which the late, great Robert Maynard Hutchins was careful to address: Where is the money to come from? While bemoaning the current state of education, there is no acknowledgment that Academia is going to follow the money, whether we’re talking pre-school or a graduate program. If the signatories to the Front Royal Statement are serious about putting the power over children’s (or anyone else’s) education back in the hands of parents or the students themselves, they had better be prepared to deal with the money question, and that means advocating the Economic Democracy Act (EDA). The Summit promotional video doesn’t exactly give an overwhelming amount of information . . .
• The Haves v. the Nots. A new NBC news poll has revealed the surprising finding that Americans are divided on virtually every issue . . . all the while maintaining Americans are not really divided except by the amount of wealth they have — or (more accurately) they don’t have. As the article reporting the survey begins, “Most Americans are optimistic that the country is broadly more united than divided, and they feel that's true even across some contentious dividing lines like race and gender.” It then reports that, on most issues, Americans are actually split about 50/50 on virtually everything except the wealth issue. To say that this does not represent divisiveness is a rather surprising analysis of the data, because when half the people think one way, and the other half thinks the other way, that’s about as divided as you can get. In contrast, the 50/50 split in most issues (except politics) is “overshadowed by the overwhelming shares who see sizable divisions . . . between the wealthy and the not wealthy (81%).” In any event — and in our opinion — if you want to remove the chief cause of divisiveness in the United States (or anywhere else), adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
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| AI generated image. Don't get any ideas. |
• Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch . . . For some reason known only to the shade of Julia Child, foreign soccer fans in the United States have gone gaga instead of gagging over American food, especially ranch dressing. Things have gotten so bad — or so good — that “The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued a firm warning for international World Cup travelers visiting the United States: Only 3.4 ounces of ranch dressing is permitted in your carry-on bag.” This is despite the fact that ranch dressing might even have the power to overcome recent political events that have significantly lowered American prestige. After all, when “Swedish traveler Elsa Thora, who posted on X on June 8 after having her first taste: ‘Why did no one tell me ranch sauce is like crack? EUROPE WE NEED RANCH ASAP.’ She also shared a video of her surroundings in a diner, musing, ‘This is so surreal, just had the best food ever.’” This is understandable, given that a noted Swedish delicacy is Surströmming, a traditional dish made from fermented Baltic Sea herring. It is famous for having one of the most putrid food odors in the world, often described as a mix of rotten eggs, ammonia, and sewage. No wonder they need ranch dressing . . . to kill the taste of the Surströmming. We’re not sure what this might have to do with the Economic Democracy Act (EDA), but we will entertain suggestions.
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| Get a tie? And a coat? |
• Sha-Na-Na-Na, Get a Job. “Have you got any work for me?” So goes one of the lines from “Get a Job,” a 1958 hit by the Silhouettes. It might be an oldie, but it’s a baddie, at least if you are a teenager looking for work this summer. As reported by the Associated Press, “About one-third of 16- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. were employed last summer, federal data show, down from a peak of about 60% in the late 1970s. Experts’ pessimistic forecasts are combining with reports from frustrated jobless young people around the country to form a seasonal outlook far from bathed in sunshine.” Making a long story short, in our opinion, there would be both more jobs and less need for them if we adopted the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
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| Can't happen, but it does . . . |
• It’s Not Real Inflation. Take heart. Given the fact that according to the above item the United States does not have full employment (although the official figures show that the U.S. is close to full employment . . . depending on who is talking), the inflation that ABC News says will continue due to the mismanaged Iran war . . . and a few gazillion other factors . . . isn’t real inflation!!!! That is, according to John Maynard Keynes. You see, as far as Keynes was concerned, true inflation consists of a rise in the price level after reaching full employment. A rise in the price level prior to reaching full employment is not real inflation but is due to other factors. Don’t worry that Keynes’s statement doesn’t make sense. Just accept it . . . and take comfort in the fact that what you think is a rise in the price level due to having reached full employment is really a rise in the price level due to other factors. And hope you can find one of those jobs that are evidently going begging. Or you could do something rational and push for the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• 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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