Some interesting news items this week, although not interesting enough . . . which would be the case if we could get the Economic Democracy Act adopted. Instead, what we have is a lot of the same old thing:
Flames aren't the only thing that's red.
• Into the Wild Red Yonder. As of today (at least of this writing) the share value of Elon Musk’s SpaceX is hovering just under $149.00, a touch under the $150.00 at which it was first offered. This has caused some concern among the people who bought the shares in hopes of a quick flip or substantial long-term gains. News on the street is that SpaceX is now getting ready to do a new bond offer, which is also sending a few worries circulating, especially after the largest IPO in history. Why do they want more cash? What’s going on? In any event, aside from the sheer magnitude of the loss when the share value slips only a little, there is the question of just how much ownership the new shareholders actually have. They don’t have much of a right to vote (one vote per share as opposed to Musk’s ten votes per share) or the right to receive dividends (you can’t get dividends when the company doesn’t pay any and they aren’t allowed to, anyway), and the value per share is falling, so what’s the point? Is it a sign that a lot of people bought something that is simply going to go into the red and down the drain very rapidly? One way to avoid this sort of thing is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA), but that doesn’t seem to be on Musk’s radar.
• Workers Leaving the Workforce. It seems a little bit surreal, but large numbers of workers are leaving the workforce, and the so-called experts can’t figure out why the unemployment rate is falling, too. Of course, it might be that all the deported illegal aliens have reduced the size of the workforce . . . except that those jobs aren’t getting filled. It turns out the “illegals” were in many cases doing jobs that nobody else wanted and that now aren’t getting done. It could be the high stock market . . . but that’s unrealized capital gains and rather phantom when you try to cash in on it. It might be displacement by AI, except the experts tell us that isn’t happening . . . even as employers announce more cuts. It might just be people are giving up, and jobs are disappearing at a rate to make up for it. The only real way out of this conundrum is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA), so that if there’s work to be done, employers will have to get it done by labor or capital, without affecting people’s ability to make a living.
• Expanded Ownership News. There are some interesting events on the worker ownership front. The city of Baltimore, Maryland, is promoting worker cooperatives. This past week Baltimore formally approved budget funds to support the conversion of legacy businesses into worker cooperatives, aiming to preserve local establishments and build community wealth. Out in Colorado, the governor, former U.S. Representative Jared Polis highlighted employee-owned grocery models in Colorado, bringing widespread public and political attention to the cooperative framework. In the country of Senegal, the informal and formal transit sectors saw an expansion of new worker-owned cooperatives, highlighting global growth in the model. These are steps in the right direction, but it needs adoption of the Economic Democracy Act (EDA) to bring the benefits of expanded ownership to everyone.
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| Louis O. Kelso |
• Article on AI and Kelso. Okay, it’s a little dated — December 22, 2024 — but “The Fulcrum” had an article by Steven Hill on “Affordability Crisis and AI: Kelso’s Universal Capitalism.” Now, we’re not too comfortable with the term “universal capitalism” (we prefer “Economic Personalism”), but the article makes very good points. With all the concern about the rising cost of living and the growing realization that the government probably won’t be able to legislate affordability any more than it can mandate morality, it’s refreshing to see someone suggesting a viable alternative to the same old thing. As Hill says, “[S]everal decades ago, an American original named Louis O. Kelso proposed an innovative way to help every American have a bigger share of the economic pie. Kelso was an economic trailblazer and financial genius who, in the 1970s, proposed a new approach to a more broadly shared prosperity that broke with the usual ‘Tax the rich and redistribute the income’ model that became popular in the US, Europe, Canada, and elsewhere. . . . In today’s world of unbalanced inequality, of the 1% vs the 99% riven with populist grievances, universal capitalism is more relevant than ever. Kelso’s economic vision advances the common-sense notion that the vast majority of Americans should be owners of the businesses in which they work, as well as of the economy in general. Interestingly, Kelso, who was a corporate attorney by profession, was not some leftie liberal. His own politics could best be described as libertarian-humanitarian. And he was also anti-communist but critical of American capitalism. In fact, he thought that, during the economic doldrums of the 1970s, he was saving capitalism from the allure of communism/socialism.” We need to take the next logical step in Kelso’s vision and adopt the Economic Democracy Act (EDA).
• Trump Down Under. Problems with the Social Security system have plagued America for decades and the private sector retirement system is even worse. And lest you think that the government is in better shape, the U.S. government retirement plan is unfunded, and only as good as the taxbase or the bond market. Now President Trump thinks it’s a good idea to copy the Australian retirement system which would put a much greater burden on the private sector by adding expenses. Decades ago Walter Reuther said if we wanted to put America’s industrial base on a sound footing, shift from raising fixed costs based on bargaining or government power to profit-sharing which is after expenses and doesn’t raise prices. That is the whole idea behind 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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