Foreclosures, Unemployment, Debt — The Wizard of Oz Explains Why the Global Economy Is Falling Part
This Week in Money October 1–7
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This Week In Money helps you discover the history of economics.
OCTOBER 1
1525 — FIRST WESTERNER, PORTUGUESE EXPLORER DIOGA DE ROCHA, ARRIVES IN YAP The people on the island of Yap in the Carolina Islands have for centuries used large, solid stone wheels as currency. The modern “civilized” world used in a similar way gold or silver mined from the ground. The Yap money supply is the most stable in the world. It is controlled by the people and not by banking corporations.
1936 — DEATH OF LOUIS MCFADDEN (R- PA), CHAIRMAN OF THE US HOUSE BANKING AND CURRENCY COMMITTEE “We have in this country one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks. Some people think the Federal Reserve Banks are U.S. government institutions. They are private credit monopolies; domestic swindlers, rich and predatory money lenders which prey upon the people the United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers…The truth is the Federal Reserve Board has usurped the Government of the United States by the arrogant credit monopoly which operates the Federal Reserve Board.”
2009 — RELEASE OF THE FILM, “THE SECRET OF OZ” “What’s going on with the world’s economy? Foreclosures are everywhere, unemployment is skyrocketing — and this may only be the beginning. Could it be that solutions to the world’s economic problems could have been embedded in the most beloved children’s story of all time, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”? The yellow brick road (the gold standard), the emerald city of Oz (greenback money), even Dorothy’s silver slippers (changed to ruby slippers for the movie version) were powerful symbols of author L. Frank Baum’s belief that the people — not the big banks — should control the quantity of a nation’s money.” Written by Bill Still.
2014 — “WHY OUR MONETARY SYSTEM IS BROKEN AND HOW IT CAN BE FIXED” online video posted Ben Dyson from the organization Positive Money speaks (UK) at the Economy, People and Planet conference 2014 arranged by the Danish organization Omstilling Nu (Transition Now), held at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS)
2022 — “BY TAKING BACK CONTROL OF THE MONEY WE CAN BEGIN REGAINING CONTROL OF OUR WORLD, VIDEO BY NEIL OLIVER “Now is the time to take back control of money — Its creation, its value and its flow. By so doing, we can begin the task of regaining control of our world.
2023 — NATIONAL DAY IN CHINA The day commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. The first paper money appeared in China about 806 AD.
OCTOBER 2
1869 — BIRTH OF MOHANDAS GANDHI ‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” One of his “7 Deadly Sins” was “wealth without work.” He also said “First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Then they fight you. Then you win.”
2008 — US REPRESENTATIVE BRAD SHERMAN ON HOUSE FLOOR CONCERNING BANK BAILOUT LEGISLATION “But why are we bailing out the Bank of China? Why are we bailing out the Saudi royal family?… The only way they can pass this bill is by creating and by sustaining a panic atmosphere… A few Members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted “no.”
2014 — MORTGAGE REFINANCE APPLICATION OF FORMER FEDERAL CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE IS DENIED More money injected into the banking sector by the Federal Reserve was to make more money available for loans — especially to moderate-income people. Yet, banks were hesitant to increase the pool of housing loans — funneling funds to Wall Streets and speculative investments rather than to homeowners…including to former Fed honcho Ben Bernanke!
2020 — “POLITICS AND MONETARY REFORM,” ARTICLE BY MARK PASH “Stephen Zarlenga stated “Communicating Monetary Reform (MR) is the most difficult thing to do in Monetary Reform!” I agree. Stephen spent years working the Halls of Congress. He met with many Congressmen and their staff. He had only one success: US Representative from Ohio, Dennis Kucinich. Starting well before Stephen, I have contacted many Congressmen and candidates resulting in total failure. But, I am still trying…Howard and others have managed to get MR on the platform of the Green Party. This is great but we have had no transferring over to the main parties. MR is the most important macroeconomic factor in a modern economy, by far! It is surprising to me that we have not received more attention from our leaders. Recently the MMT and the Public Banking movement have received far more attention than real MR.” https://www.monetaryalliance.org/politics-and-monetary-reform/
OCTOBER 3
2008 — US CONGRESS APPROVES $700 BILLION BAILOUT FOR BANKS Congress passes and President Bush signs into law the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–343), which establishes the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). US taxpayers bailed out the largest US banks since they were considered “too big to fail.” Main Street businesses and side street homeowners facing foreclosures (due in large part to the speculative practices of major financial institutions) received no such support. Many of these major banks were major political campaign contributors/investors in the 2008 political campaign. The final bailout legislation was a revised and slightly better version of an original bill proposed by Sec. of Treasury Hank Paulson that was literally only a few pages in length. Massive public anger resulted in a flood of calls, emails and visits to congressional offices. Congress defeated the original proposal.
OCTOBER 4
1923 — BIRTH OF CHARLTON HESTON, ACTOR “You shall not charge interest to your countrymen…” A quote from Moses from the Bible, [Deuteronomy 23: 19–20]. Moses was born sometime in 1527 BC. Since the exact date is unknown, why not use the birth date of the guy who played him in films!
OCTOBER 5
1941 — DEATH OF LOUIS BRANDEIS, US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE (1916–1939) “The development of our financial oligarchy followed, in this respect, lines with which the history of political despotism has familiarized us: usurpation, proceeding by gradual encroachment rather than by violent acts; subtle and often long-concealed concentration of distinct functions, which are beneficent when separately administered, and dangerous only when combined in the same persons. It was by processes such as these that Cæsar Augustus became master of Rome. The makers of our own Constitution had in mind like dangers to our political liberty when they provided so carefully for the separation of governmental powers. . . . “The goose that lays golden eggs has been considered a most valuable possession. But even more profitable is the privilege of taking the golden eggs laid by somebody else’s goose. The investment bankers and their associates now enjoy that privilege. They control the people through the people’s own money.”
1998 — “OUR MONEY” by James Robertson online posting “Should the creation of new money — ‘credit creation’ — continue to be delegated by governments to banks? This allows banks to profit from issuing money as debt in the form of interest-bearing loans to their customers, and requires governments themselves to pay interest on public borrowing. Why can’t governments themselves issue new money directly, as payments for public spending programmes or as part of a Citizen’s Income?” https://newint.org/features/1998/10/05/alternatives/
2020 — “’WHAT’S WRONG WITH MODERN MONEY THEORY?: A SUMMARY” by Govert Schuller posted online A review of: Epstein, Gerald A. 2019. What’s Wrong with Modern Money Theory? A Policy Critique. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave. “This last point brings me to the idea that MMT might have a not so hidden agenda which leaves regular and shadow banks, hedge funds and the rich off the hook as they do not have to be regulated, reformed or taxed per MMT. They can continue their financialization schemes, reaping huge profits, creating financial crises and then getting bailed out. A fair question might be to ponder if this was the business plan of Warren Mosler–the originator and generous promoter of MMT–from the beginning so he could imagine himself to be a progressive without having to limit or regulate his financial schemes as a hedge fund manager. Epstein put the lie to that and provided the MR community with a sophisticated analysis of MMT, both its good policy goals, mixed bag of analyses and counter-productive means, and also moving the discussion into an international dimension.” https://www.monetaryalliance.org/whats-wrong-with-modern-money-theory-a-summary/?fbclid=IwAR2ChUHbVYa3G_ugVmfYWAFSowni5tMGFGhRLQiVVLmABVDI-wHXOLkwkYE
OCTOBER 6
1979 — HISTORIC ANTI-INFLATION MEASURES ANNOUNCED BY FED CHAIR PAUL VOLKER The Fed made “a short-term change in the method used to conduct monetary policy, from making adjustments in the federal funds rate to …controlling the amount of reserves provided to the banking system.” Alan Greenspan, who would follow Volker as Fed chair, called the decision, “A defining moment may shape the direction of an institution for decades to come. In the modern history of the Federal Reserve, the action it took on October 6, 1979, stands out as such a milestone and arguably as a turning point in our nation’s economic history.” The Fed has since shifted back to focusing on federal funds rates (the rate banks charge each other). Volcker’s decision would he hoped rein in inflation. The goal today by the Fed (and most of the other private central banks) is to increase inflation to 2% via money printing. That was the purpose of the Fed’s multiple Quantitative Easing (QE) programs. https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/the-region/reflections-on-monetary-policy-25-years-after-october-1979
2005 — PRESS RELEASE BY AMERICAN MONETARY INSTITUTE, “MONETARY REFORM PLAN WOULD SAVE $ BILLIONS IN KATRINA CLEANUP” Money Reform Plan Would Save Taxpayers $ Billions Per Year in Katrina Cleanup “An alteration in the way money is introduced into our economy would save at least $10 billion dollars per year in the cleanup and rebuilding aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. If the clean-up loans last the normal 30 years, the savings will be over $250 billion,” says Stephen Zarlenga, Director of the Institute. http://www.monetary.org/american-money-scene-3-january-2006/2006/01
2020 — AS 98,000 BUSINESSES PERMANENTLY CLOSED, THE FED AND TREASURY SAT ON $340 BILLION OF UNTAPPED MONEY FROM THE CARES ACT” posted online “When both parties in Congress came together in March to pass the CARES Act, which was signed into law by President Trump on March 27, the clear intention of the legislation was for the U.S. Treasury to hand over $454 billion of taxpayers’ money to the Federal Reserve. The Fed, in turn, was to leverage the money by 10 times to approximately $4.54 trillion to deploy to keep the economy moving, credit flowing, workers employed and businesses alive until the pandemic had been brought under control… “But according to the latest H.4.1 release from the Federal Reserve (and backed up by recent Senate Testimony), six months after the CARES Act was signed into law, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has handed only $114 billion of the $454 billion over to the Fed. That leaves $340 billion allocated by Congress unaccounted for. “ https://wallstreetonparade.com/2020/10/as-98000-businesses-permanently-closed-the-fed-and-treasury-have-sat-on-340-billion-of-untapped-money-from-the-cares-act/?fbclid=IwAR13LF8g7-cBiJ4RUURpYIeU3OhZt6xKf-VB_xj7yC1THGFQYKsEqF7asPc
2021 — “TOKEN OF ALL TOKENS: COULD A $1T COIN FIX THE DEBT LIMIT” POSTED ARTICLE “But despite all the jokes about who should go on the face of the coin — Chuck E. Cheese? Donald Trump, to tempt or taunt the GOP? — there’s scholarship behind it, too. However improbable, it is conceivable the government could turn $1 trillion into a coin of the realm without lawmakers having a say… “The Treasury can’t introduce new currency into circulation, only the Fed can do that. In theory, the coin would be minted and deposited with the Fed and its value would make its way into Treasury’s general account and used to pay a whole lot of bills.” https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-business-congress-85d495defe92b42915c19f3fc2d0176d
2021 — “THE MONEY MATRIX, PART 1: THE PRIVATE MONEY SYSTEM” BY SUE PETERS POSTED ARTICLE “U.S. history can be viewed as a power struggle between public control and private control of money (1). Beginning with the signing into law of the U.S. Constitution, Congress used its constitutional power to issue money, but, at the same time, states chartered private commercial banks to issue bank credit (‘bankmoney’). Congress created the money for public needs. Banks created bankmoney for private profit and power… “Say this 15,000 times: “The bank makes a loan and CREATES the deposit in the borrower’s account… “If you have the power to create what everyone uses as money, you will eventually own the world…and the 1% is almost there (3). Obscene economic inequality. Starving of the real economy where we all live, and shamelessly inflating the speculative financial markets.” https://www.monetaryalliance.org/the-money-matrix-part-1-the-private-money-system/
OCTOBER 7
1849 — DEATH OF EDGAR ALLEN POE, US WRITER, POET AND CRITIC, AUTHOR OF “THE GOLD BUG” “But what makes ‘The Gold Bug’ highly valuable (a literary work of art), rather than merely entertaining (a humbug) is the fact that encrypted within it is a very sophisticated set of meditations on the subject of money. Specifically, ‘The Gold Bug’ concerns the transition from gold coins to paper money (the piece of parchment). In America, which was the first country to make widespread use of paper money, these very controversial developments took place in the 1830s and ’40s, that is, precisely when Poe was alive and writing all the works for which he would become famous, if not extravagantly wealthy….And so, everything that might be said about the power of paper money can also be said about coined money: both of them produce dissociative, illogical and unnatural effects. What’s so special about gold? As King Midas learned so tragically, you can’t eat it. Provided that they are inscribed with the right words, images and symbols, even bullets can be used as legal tender. Though the advent of paper money made visible a certain crisis, that crisis didn’t begin or wasn’t caused by paper money; it began or was caused by the advent of money itself, thousands of years ago.” http://www.notbored.org/gold-bug.html
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This Week In Money by Greg Coleridge helps you discover the history of economics. Get TWIM delivered directly to your email inbox for free.