Category Archives: Public v Private

Monetary Reform: How Can I Help?

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Monetary Reform: How Can I Help? George Crowell   We urgently need monetary reform in Canada in order to overcome the austerity agenda which is bringing cutbacks and privatization of public services. Pressure on our government to act must come from widespread grassroots action. What can ordinary people do to exert pressure for monetary reform? Read the open letter below. Use it to gain and share understanding of the need for monetary reform. Circulate it widely through social media, and where possible, post it on websites of your activist organizations. Open Letter to Hassan Yussuff Congratulations on your recent election as President of the Canadian Labour Congress! We who are Canadian social activists both inside and outside the CLC appreciate your long-time commitment not only to wage and benefit enhancements for workers, but also to social justice and environmental protection for all of us, nationally and globally. At present we … Continue reading →

Jeremy Corbyn’s “Quantitative Easing for People”

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Jeremy Corbyn’s “Quantitative Easing for People” The UK Labour Frontrunner’s Controversial Proposal By Ellen Brown, Global Research, September 04, 2015 The Web of Debt 2 September 2015   British MP Jeremy Corbyn has proposed a “People’s QE” that has critics crying hyperinflation and supporters saying it’s about time. Dark horse candidate Jeremy Corbyn, who is currently leading in the polls for UK Labour Party leadership, has included in his platform “quantitative easing for people.” He said in a July 22nd presentation: The ‘rebalancing’ I have talked about here today means rebalancing away from finance towards the high-growth, sustainable sectors of the future. How do we do this? One option would be for the Bank of England to be given a new mandate to upgrade our economy to invest in new large scale housing, energy, transport and digital projects: Quantitative easing for people instead of banks. As his economic advisor Richard … Continue reading →

The Greek Coup: Liquidity as a Weapon of Coercion

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The Greek Coup: Liquidity as a Weapon of Coercion Ellen Brown, TheWeb of Debt blog posted July 30, 3015   “My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Luca Brasi held a gun to his head and my father assured him that either his brains, or his signature, would be on the contract.” – The Godfather (1972) In the modern global banking system, all banks need a credit line with the central bank in order to be part of the payments system. Choking off that credit line was a form of blackmail the Greek government couldn’t refuse. Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is now being charged with treason for exploring the possibility of an alternative payment system in the event of a Greek exit from the euro. The irony of it all was underscored by Raúl Ilargi Meijer, who opined in a July 27 blog: “The fact that … Continue reading →

Time for the Nuclear Option

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Time for the Nuclear Option Raining Money on Main Street Ellen Brown, The Web of Debt Blog | News Analysis, Wednesday, 23 September 2015   Virtually all money today is created as bank debt, but people can no longer take on more debt. Predictions are that we will soon be seeing the “nuclear option” – central bank-created money injected directly into the real economy. All other options having failed, governments will be reduced to issuing money outright to cover budget deficits. So warns a September 18 article on ZeroHedge titled “It Begins: Australia’s Largest Investment Bank Just Said ‘Helicopter Money’ Is 12-18 Months Away.” Money reformers will say it’s about time. Virtually all money today is created as bank debt, but people can no longer take on more debt. The money supply has shrunk along with people’s ability to borrow new money into existence. Quantitative easing (QE) attempts to re-inflate … Continue reading →

The Problem of Greece Is Not Only a Tragedy

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The Problem of Greece Is Not Only a Tragedy It Is a Lie John Pilger, Global Research, July 13, 2015 http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-problem-of-greece…   An historic betrayal has consumed Greece. Having set aside the mandate of the Greek electorate, the Syriza government has willfully ignored last week’s landslide ‘No’ vote and secretly agreed a raft of repressive, impoverishing measures in return for a bailout that means sinister foreign control and a warning to the world. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has pushed through parliament a proposal to cut at least 13 billion euros from the public purse 4 billion euros more than the austerity figure rejected overwhelmingly by the majority of the Greek population in a referendum on 5 July. These reportedly include a 50 per cent increase in the cost of healthcare for pensioners, almost 40 per cent of whom live in poverty; deep cuts in public sector wages; the complete privatization … Continue reading →

Grexit or Jubilee? How Greek Debt Can Be Annulled

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Grexit or Jubilee? How Greek Debt Can Be Annulled Ellen Brown, Web of Debt, Posted on Jul 16, 2015   Greece’s creditors have finally brought the country to its knees, forcing President Alexis Tsipras to agree to austerity and privatization measures more severe than those overwhelmingly rejected by popular vote a week earlier. No write-down of Greece’s debt was included in the deal, although the IMF has warned that the current debt is unsustainable. Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis calls the deal “a new Versailles Treaty” and “the politics of humiliation.” Greek defense minister Panos Kammenos calls it a “coup d’état” done by “blackmailing the Greek prime minister with collapse of the banks and a complete haircut on deposits.” “Blackmail” is not too strong a word. The European Central Bank has turned off its liquidity tap for Greece’s banks, something all banks need, as explained earlier here. All banks are technically … Continue reading →

Sovereign Money offers an opportunity for Greece

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Sovereign Money offers an opportunity for Greece to stimulate a more rapid and sustinable recovery. WRITTEN BY FRANK VAN LERVEN ON JULY 3, 2015. http://positivemoney.org/2015/07/grexit-seize-opportunity/   A Grexit might never happen, but it could also be just days away. If a Grexit does happen, is it all doom and gloom, or is there a glimmer of hope? The re-establishment of the World’s oldest currency could represent a new path for monetary reform. One which is fit for purpose and designed to meet the challenges of the 21st century. A Sovereign Money system could bring a number of benefits to Greece. Not only would it offer a better and safer banking system, but it would also give Greece a much better opportunity to recover from its on-going crisis. By not relying on bank lending and increased levels of debt to grow the economy, Sovereign Money offers the Greek people a more … Continue reading →

Editorial

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Editorial   In this issue I include several articles commenting on the developing situation in Greece, by authors from different backgrounds, which note the conflicts of interest among the ‘players’. How many of them are psychopaths?? The interests of the ‘common people’ are scarcely considered in the proposed solutions. ‘Grexit’ seems to be a part of the needed changes; I wonder what will have changed by the time you receive this newsletter. It is clear that our debt-based money system is at the root of this, as of so much else. One thing missing even from many of those proposing money reform, is the difference that money spent into circulation makes, by allowing outstanding lending-created debts to be paid off, reducing the total outstanding, which money lent into circulation, even without any interest charged on it, does not do. Sorting out the truth from the lies, it is important to consider … Continue reading →

A Tory Manifesto? (for the economy)

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A Tory Manifesto? (for the economy) James Bruges 3 policies supported by the IMF, the Economist & the Financial Times (written at the request of a great friend who perhaps votes Tory, for circulation to his Tory friends)   Imagine our economy as the ‘sceptred isle, this precious stone set in the silver sea’. In addition as ‘this happy breed of men’ – and women of course. Those that deplete the isle’s natural resources can contribute through tax. Those that add to its riches can be encouraged. Money, of course, is an essential ingredient to enable this process. James Robertson summarised the responsibilities and rewards like this: “In Future Money (2012) I suggest three interlocking reform proposals about how a democratic government should perform its basic financial functions: providing the national money supply (monetary reform); raising public revenue (including land value tax); and spending on public purposes (including a basic … Continue reading →

How the Tories are redefining the state’s relationship with its citizens

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How the Tories are redefining the state’s relationship with its citizens Social rights are becoming commodities only available to the wealthy Prem Sikka, 21 July, 2015 http://leftfootforward.org/2015/07/how-the-tories…   The Conservative government’s proposal to dilute Freedom of Information laws will make it difficult, if not impossible, for citizens to see the inner workings of the government. In the past, such laws enabled the exposure of the abuse of expense allowances, and government efforts to conceal the identity of bank fraudsters. Such disclosures are embarrassing for the political elite, who are now determined to prevent them. The government is likely to turn to a neoliberal strategy of diluting collective rights by imposing costs on those requesting information. Such a strategy would disenfranchise ordinary people by monetising rights, ensuring that only the wealthy can exercise them. The latest move amounts to a redefinition of the relationship between state and citizens which the post-WW2 consensus outlined. The emphasis then was on progressive change … Continue reading →