Recovery? What recovery?

Posted on March 20, 2017 | 3 comments

Despite the happy talk coming out of Washington and New York about the supposed economic recovery, the present economic and political order remains on course toward self-destruction. I’ve said it over and over again that the fundamental flaw is the compound interest that is built into the global debt-money regime. The fact that virtually all money is created by banks that “lend” it into circulation at interest causes debts to grow faster and faster with the passage of time. A quick glance at the timeline for public and private debt makes this obvious.Total-US-DebtTo2014

Prof. Richard Wolff, in the video below, does not mention this debt-growth imperative, but he does a good job of explaining how the governments and the central banks managed to temporarily forestall total collapse following the 2008 financial crisis, and why their actions are failing to solve the basic problem of slack demand.

We need to look beyond economic ideologies to find ways of defusing the debt bomb which grows bigger and more deadly with every passing day. A shift toward innovative, interest-free, approaches to the exchange of value and the financing of enterprise development provides the most promising route toward a soft landing. See The End of Money and the Future of Civilization.

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Posted in Debt, Finance and Economics, Global Economy, The Debt Imperative, The Political Money System

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Universal Basic Income, an idea whose time has come…again

Posted on March 1, 2017 | 1 comment

In ancient Israel, Mosaic Law, in addition to the division of the land among the tribes and families, delineated several ingenious provisions to assure the welfare of all. Recognizing the tendency in organized societies for inequities to develop over time, it prescribed such measures as the sabbatical year, the jubilee year,  gleaning and the prohibition of usury. Some of these, in some form, were carried over into the Christian era, but over time mercantile and industrial demands overshadowed social concerns. The mid-twentieth century saw tremendous gains in productivity along with renewed demands by the laboring class and racial minorities for a more just distribution of the collective wealth, but over the past 35 years many of the social programs that were instituted by governments have been under systematic attack by powerful reactionary forces resulting in massive increases in the disparities of income and wealth. These disparities bring with them increased violence, crime, addiction, and deteriorating quality of life for all.

Now, with automation rapidly reducing the need for human labor, the separation of livelihood from jobs is becoming an obvious necessity.

Here below are two pertinent videos, and this article mentions a few places where basic income allowances are being tried.

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Posted in Developing Alternatives, Emerging paradigm, Finance and Economics, Government, Prescriptions

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Kucinich: U.S. Intelligence community trying to undermine Trump, rekindle Cold War

Posted on February 23, 2017 | 4 comments

In this Fox News interview, former Ohio Congressman and Presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich, sounds the alarm that entrenched elements in the U.S. Intelligence community are working to undermine the Trump presidency and derail his attempts to normalize relations with Russia.

When you consider the economic and financial implications of peace, it makes complete sense that the military-industrial-banking complex would fight tooth and nail to stir up conflicts around the world, which is precisely what has been happening.

Whatever we might think of Trump as a man or as a President, the people must rally to support his efforts to cooperate with Russia in quelling the turmoil in Syria and the middle-east and move the world toward peace.

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Posted in Geo-politics, The state of democracy

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Bloomberg: The IMF Should Get Out of Greece

Posted on February 20, 2017 | 1 comment

It has long been evident the Greek government, over the years, has been so overburdened with debt that much of it would eventually need to be forgiven. Now, even the mainstream media is touting that as the necessary solution to Greece’s predicament. In his recent article, published on the Bloomberg website, Princeton Prof. and former IMF deputy research director Ashoka Mody argues that the IMF is to blame for Greece’s debt situation and that it ought to pull out. He proposes that the IMF’s principal shareholders — the Europeans and Americans, must “honorably accept real losses.”

But he also points out that “the IMF’s Board, over the fierce opposition of several executive directors, the Europeans and Americans pushed through a bailout program that, contrary to the fund’s rules, did not impose losses on Greece’s private creditors. The decision was based on a spurious claim that “restructuring” private debt would trigger a global financial meltdown.”

So, here we have another case of private bank creditors being bailed-out. Yes, the Greek debt must be forgiven to allow the Greek economy to recover, but the burden now falls upon European and American citizens instead of on the banks’ owners, where it properly belongs.

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Posted in Finance and Economics, Geo-politics, The Debt Imperative, The Political Money System

Thomas Greco’s 2017 Summer Workshop in Greece

Posted on February 11, 2017 | Leave a comment

Following last summer’s exciting and successful workshop in Greece, Thomas Greco will again this summer be conducting a workshop in Monetary and Financial Innovation for the New Economy at the Alexandros campus of the Kalikalos Holistic Summer School on the beautiful Pelion peninsula in Greece.

[Edit:During the 2017  workshop Tom will again have the assistance of Matthew Slater and the benefit of a guest appearance by Prof. Jem Bendell of Cumbria University (UK).]

View southward from Alexandros

In this week-long workshop we will examine the problems and deficiencies of both conventional money and local currencies and exchange systems, and delve into the principles and practices of innovative exchange and finance.

Over the past three decades, a great many complementary currencies and exchange schemes have sprung up, gained some degree of acceptance and notoriety, then faded away. This workshop will focus in on the reasons why none of them has become a significant factor in their community economies, and uncover the principles of design and implementation that need to be applied to make exchange alternatives more effective, robust, and scalable. It will also cover new ways of providing entrepreneurs with the resources needed to bring their ideas to fruition and achieve success in the marketplace.

Alexandros Center

Alexandros Center

This course is designed especially for social entrepreneurs, government officials, enthusiastic agents of change, and serious students who are ready to co-create a new sustainable and convivial economy from the bottom up. In this highly participatory workshop, we will use a combination of presentations, discussion groups (some on the beach), videos, and simulation games, to dive deeply into the process of exploring and developing innovative methods of finance, exchange, and value measurement. Participants will have the opportunity to showcase their projects and ideas and receive feedback from the group.

Here is an opportunity to work with one of the world’s leading experts in innovative economics, finance, and exchange, and to collaborate with like-minded peers to create a new economy that works for everyone, while enjoying a delightful summer holiday on the magical Pelion peninsula. Come join us in a process of inquiry, discovery, sharing and collaboration.

The workshop will run from 16 to 23 June, 2017. Space is limited so register early at http://www.kalikalos.com/community/x/exchange-finance-new-economy-thomas-greco/.

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 All the perplexities, confusions and distresses in America arise not from defects in the Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, as much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation. –John Adams, second president of the United States.

Just as the political monetary system trends power toward the state, so the system based on true money will release the natural forces that trend society toward private initiative, enterprise and democracy. Pending this fundamental reversal, all resistance to statism is futile. As long as the only available monetary system is political, exchange, that process by which the social order functions, will never accomplish its natural purpose, the development of prosperity and freedom.– E.C. Riegel, Flight From Inflation

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Posted in Developing Alternatives, Emerging paradigm, Exchange Design, Finance and Economics, Implementation Strategies, My activities, Prescriptions

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Roberts says raise taxes on corporations’ offshore profits; the FED manipulates all markets, may crash the economy.

Posted on January 25, 2017 | 1 comment

Here is another excellent interview of Dr. Paul Craig Roberts in which he outlines the political situation in the U.S, some of the prospects for the Trump administration, limits to Presidential power,  and what would need to be done to rebuild the American economy.

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Posted in Banking, Economics, Politics, The Political Money System, The state of democracy

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Israel Slaps Capital Tax on Bitcoins

Posted on January 23, 2017 | 1 comment

According to Barter News Weekly, the Israeli government will now charge capital gains tax on profits made from Bitcoin transactions. here is their report:

TEL AVIV – Transactions involving Bitcoins in Israel could be treated as barter transactions, and profits from coin sales could be charged a capital gains tax.

Late last week the Israeli Tax Authority issued a circular detailing the authority’s stance on the taxation of cryptocurrencies, saying that the Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies shall be treated as assets when sold.

Cryptocurrencies are often considered to fall into a legal grey area for the purposes of taxation, with some countries classifying them as financial instruments, or currency, or an equivalent of a currency, or an asset.

The ITA has now decided that any cryptocurrency sold in Israel shall be regarded as the sale of an asset, and, subsequently, will carry a potential capital gains tax obligation.

The profits made from the sale of cryptocurrencies will need to be declared to the tax authority.

Some experts have noted that if the currency is treated as assets, any businesses accepting crypto-coins as payment will need to treat the transaction as a barter transaction, and will be required to complete their tax filling obligations accordingly.

The treatment of cryptocurrency as an assets does not preclude any transactions from falling under the scope of the country’s VAT system.

It has been said that, “the power to tax is the power to destroy.” Well, the decision of the Israeli tax authorities to tax Bitcoin transactions as asset transfers may not destroy Bitcoin as a speculative medium, but it will surely inhibit its use as a payment medium. The money and banking cartel hates competition.–t.h.g.

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Posted in Emerging paradigm, Finance and Economics, The Political Money System

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