FEBRUARY 28
1856 – BIRTH OF WOODROW WILSON, 28TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men who, even if their action be honest and intended for the public interest, are necessarily concentrated upon the great undertakings in which their own money is involved and who necessarily, by very reason of their own limitations, chill and check and destroy genuine economic freedom.” (1911)
MARCH 3
1863 - LEGAL TENDER ACT PASSED
Congress authorizes the Government to print no more than $400,000 million Greenbacks to pay for the Civil War. This was interest-free and debt-free money. The Lincoln Administration didn’t want to borrow money from corporate banks to pay for the war.
1865 – NATIONAL CURRENCY ACT AMENDED BY CONGRESS
The act amended the National Currency Act of 1864. State banks were no longer permitted to issue bank notes (currency).
1884 – JULLIARD V. GREENMAN ( 110 U.S. 421 ) SUPREME COURT DECISION
US Supreme Court ruling upholding the legality of US Government issued money (Greenbacks) created following the Legal Tender Acts of 1862 and 1863. The Court ruled that the government possessed the authority under the Constitution to issue a national currency and that that currency could be used to pay debts.
2003 - WARREN BUFFET, SECOND RICHEST PERSON ON EARTH, IN HIS ANNUAL LETTER TO BERKSHIRE HATHWAY SHAREHOLDERS
“Derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction."
MARCH 4
1789 – US GOVERNMENT UNDER NEW CONSTITUTION BEGINS OPERATION
The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation as the overarching legal document of the nation. The new Constitution provides the federal legislature the power “[t]o coin money [and] regulate the value thereof.”
MARCH 6
1926 – BIRTH OF ALAN GREENSPAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE US FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
"I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said." In a speech to the Economic Club of New York, 1988
1933 – PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT ISSUES EXECUTIVE PROCLAMATION 2039 DECLARING A BANK “HOLIDAY”
The “holiday” meant that all banks would be closed from March 6-9 to prevent further runs. Bank failures were a result in earlier speculative investments and banks loaning out more money than they actually possessed (fractural reserve). When too many people came to a bank at the same time wanting their deposits, the banks collapsed since they lacked sufficient assets. The bank “holiday” was meant to restore confidence in the banking system.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html
Monday, February 28, 2011
Protect Workers' Rights Rally in Columbus - February 26
Teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public service employees joined with students, environmentalists and other citizens from across Ohio on Saturday, February 26 to rally in support of maintaining collective bargaining rights. The rally was the latest mass action over the last several weeks at the State House in Columbus organized against passage of Senate Bill 5. The roughly 500 people at the rally heard from a dozen speakers, mostly those representing public employees, talk about how the current $8 billion state budget deficit is being used as a pretext to eliminate the power of people in public unions to bargain collectively for wages and benefits.
I was one of the non-union speakers who addressed the crowd (the only person representing a religious organization) – focusing on the need to maintain unity despite our separate organizations and issues as well as to understand and work to link the immediate threat to collective bargaining with the larger issue of corporations wielding never-intended political power to influence elections and govern. Referencing the Wisconsin Wave, a new campaign to develop a broad democratic/self-governing platform (including the call for greater election integrity and an end to corporate personhood) I urged those in attendance to consider developing a similar platform in Ohio and to support the national effort, led by Move to Amend, to abolish corporate constitutional rights.
Among those in the crowd were several people from other parts of the state AFSC has worked with over the years – including Friends from Athens on democracy issues, student organizers in Columbus on antiwar issues and social workers from Columbus on affordable housing issues.
Also in the crowd was a brother and sister, Margo Kernan and Charlie Koester, from Akron whose mother Margie Koester, member of the Akron Friends Meeting, recently passed away. Margie was a longtime AFSC volunteer who rarely missed an AFSC organized or supported march and rally for peace or justice in Akron or DC. In small but noticeable letters on the edges of their “Defeat Issue 5” signs were written “Hi Mom!” “We’re here because of the issue but also because of her,” they said. “She’s here today in spirit.”
A march was held following the rally. It circled the State House grounds. Those on the streets and drivers in passing cars showed their support for worker rights with thumps up signs and a din of honking horns.
p.s. The one picture of people holding the “We the People” sign was held in front of a statue of former President and Ohioan William McKinley on the statehouse grounds. During his 1896 election for President, McKinley’s campaign manager, Marc Hanna, said, “There are 2 things important in politics. The first is money. I can’t remember what the second one is.” This captures well the fact that government increasingly has been captured by large monied and corporate interests — with agendas including eliminating worker rights and programs supporting people who don’t donate (or invest) to political candidates.
Friday, February 25, 2011
TESTIMONY AT PEOPLES BUDGET HEARING
February 24, 2011 / Cleveland, Ohio
Greg Coleridge, Director, Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee
Increasing tensions in Ohio, other states and in Washington, DC between maintaining vital social and economic services and reducing budget deficits and debts appears irreconcilable. But are they? Not if our vision and understanding expands beyond the narrow construct we’ve been conditioned to accept – which has been reinforced by a distracting corporate media, an educational system designed to nurture the status quo rather than critical consciousness, and by either unaware or corporate-influenced public officials.
Three “off the table” solutions at the federal level to the economic and human crisis need to be placed on the table – for good.
1 Slash funding for military. The military/war budget consumes roughly 59% of the funds Congress can vote on. This includes a dizzying array of Cold War-era military weapons systems; more than 700 empire-reinforcing bases and installations world-wide; military aid to prop up dictators and regimes – many of which are now being challenged by popular democratic uprisings; and hot wars and occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and to a lesser extend Yemen. Hundreds of billions of dollars could be saved – to be reinvested in economic conversion of our weapons plants, to balance the budget, to spend on vital social and economic needs, and to reduce taxes.
2 End the most destructive and debt-increasing federal subsidy of all – the license given to banks to print money. All other government subsidies pale in comparison to the subsidy the federal government has provided to banks for most of our nation’s history – the right to print money, which is loaned back to us and which must be repaid with interest. We the People should print our own money – debt and interest free – as stipulated in the Constitution. This would allow us to save roughly $200 billion alone this year in interest payments. It would also permit us to spend money to address vital needs without having to go into debt. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is set to reintroduce the National Emergency and Employment (NEED) Act – which calls for the government to print federal money to address the $2.2 trillion the American Association of Civil Engineers says is needed in infrastructure repair and billions more needed to address education and health care services.
3 Increase taxes on the superrich. Economist and Professor Richard D. Wolff computes that the 2.9 million High Net Worth Americans whose investible assets totaled $12.09 trillion in 2009, if taxed at just 15%, would have yielded more than total government borrowing of $1.7 trillion in 2009. Obama’s stimulus program would have required no deficit, no borrowing, and no additional taxes for 99% of US citizens. The same could be done for this year. There would be no need to even tax the earnings of the top 1% -- just the investible assets.
It’s time to discuss these options – those that would make our priorities more sane and humane. They would also increase democracy – of our own money system and of people and nations abroad.
Greg Coleridge, Director, Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee
Increasing tensions in Ohio, other states and in Washington, DC between maintaining vital social and economic services and reducing budget deficits and debts appears irreconcilable. But are they? Not if our vision and understanding expands beyond the narrow construct we’ve been conditioned to accept – which has been reinforced by a distracting corporate media, an educational system designed to nurture the status quo rather than critical consciousness, and by either unaware or corporate-influenced public officials.
Three “off the table” solutions at the federal level to the economic and human crisis need to be placed on the table – for good.
1 Slash funding for military. The military/war budget consumes roughly 59% of the funds Congress can vote on. This includes a dizzying array of Cold War-era military weapons systems; more than 700 empire-reinforcing bases and installations world-wide; military aid to prop up dictators and regimes – many of which are now being challenged by popular democratic uprisings; and hot wars and occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and to a lesser extend Yemen. Hundreds of billions of dollars could be saved – to be reinvested in economic conversion of our weapons plants, to balance the budget, to spend on vital social and economic needs, and to reduce taxes.
2 End the most destructive and debt-increasing federal subsidy of all – the license given to banks to print money. All other government subsidies pale in comparison to the subsidy the federal government has provided to banks for most of our nation’s history – the right to print money, which is loaned back to us and which must be repaid with interest. We the People should print our own money – debt and interest free – as stipulated in the Constitution. This would allow us to save roughly $200 billion alone this year in interest payments. It would also permit us to spend money to address vital needs without having to go into debt. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is set to reintroduce the National Emergency and Employment (NEED) Act – which calls for the government to print federal money to address the $2.2 trillion the American Association of Civil Engineers says is needed in infrastructure repair and billions more needed to address education and health care services.
3 Increase taxes on the superrich. Economist and Professor Richard D. Wolff computes that the 2.9 million High Net Worth Americans whose investible assets totaled $12.09 trillion in 2009, if taxed at just 15%, would have yielded more than total government borrowing of $1.7 trillion in 2009. Obama’s stimulus program would have required no deficit, no borrowing, and no additional taxes for 99% of US citizens. The same could be done for this year. There would be no need to even tax the earnings of the top 1% -- just the investible assets.
It’s time to discuss these options – those that would make our priorities more sane and humane. They would also increase democracy – of our own money system and of people and nations abroad.
50 States Rally TOMORROW / Wisconsin Wave of Resistance
Wisconsin Solidarity Rally
Saturday, February 26, Noon
Ohio Statehouse
Tomorrow, in cities across the nation, including Columbus and every state capital, people will come together to stand in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin and rally to Save the American Dream. Teachers, nurses, firefighters, students, police officers and others protesting in Wisconsin have occupied the Capitol building and streets of Madison for the past nine days, and now their protest is going national.
--------
Issue 5 and similar bills in other states to remove collective bargaining is not at root about saving money or balancing budgets. The core issue is the right of people to organize — the Constitutional right of freedom of association — against corporate power and rights and for justice and dignity. It’s one piece of the struggle to End Corporate Rule.
The Wisconsin Wave of Resistance is making this connection.
http://www.WisconsinWave.org
Their Statement/Call follows. They are collecting signatures from people across the state.
-----------
CALL FOR A WISCONSIN WAVE OF RESISTANCE
the WISCONSIN WAVE Against Corporatization and Austerity and for Democracy and Shared Prosperity
We recognize the rising Wisconsin wave of resistance to corporatization and austerity and call on our fellow Wisconsinites to join it.
For more than a century Wisconsin was America’s laboratory of democracy. Big Wisconsin Ideas, like barring corporate electioneering, workers’ rights protections, and the conservation ethic, have inspired Americans everywhere to push their state governments in a more progressive direction. But Wisconsin is not immune to the forces that often threaten social progress. For every elected official who channels grassroots energy and calls us to the higher ground, there’s a politician who wants to steer us off the cliff. For every “Fighting Bob” La Follette, there’s a “Tailgunner Joe” McCarthy.
Today, Wisconsin’s democratic tradition faces the greatest threat it has ever known. Governor Scott Walker, operating at the direction of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), is using the financial crisis caused by Wall Street speculators as an excuse to impose devastating cuts to public services. The WMC agenda is shameless. They intend to shift the tax burden even further away from major corporations and onto the rest of us. Their agenda is undemocratic. They would protect themselves from voters by lowering Wisconsin’s voting rights guarantees to those of Alabama and Mississippi. Their agenda is heartless. It has no place in it for the needs of Wisconsin’s youth, our poor, our disabled, or our unemployed at this time when their needs are greatest. The WMC-Walker agenda would destroy everything that once made Wisconsin great: a robust educational system; safe, high paying jobs; and a clean environment available for enjoyment by all people.
But as in other grim times throughout our state’s history, concerned Wisconsinites are rising up to defend our way of life. This diverse group of individuals, which includes everyone from college students to factory workers to small farmers and businesspeople, is uniting behind the common-sense principle that the wealthy few who caused the financial crisis are the ones who should pay for it. This rising Wisconsin Wave of protest insists that:
* Our state government must guarantee a fully funded public sector including education, health care, human services, transportation, public safety, and vital regulatory agencies.
* Taxes on large corporations and wealthy individuals should be returned to reasonable levels in order to solve the state’s fiscal crisis.
* The state must respect the rights of workers to organize unions and bargain collectively.
* Initial budget priorities must be established through public participation instead of closed door meetings between public officials and special interest lobbyists.
* Voting rights must be expanded, not limited, to insure that every Wisconsinite can take part in our democracy.
* Wisconsin deserves government of, by, and for the people, not the corporate elite; corporations have no constitutional rights and may not buy our elections or government.
This Wisconsin Wave is a force independent of political parties and partisan elected officials. It is an awakening of Wisconsinites independent of --but not exclusive of-- whatever other political, union, faith, or organizational affiliations we each might have.
To the giant corporate interests that currently dominate our state, we say that we will not stand by and watch you destroy Wisconsin’s democracy, Wisconsin’s economy, Wisconsin’s schools, and Wisconsin’s communities. We will not pay for your crisis. We will organize. We will march. We will non-violently resist your policies and overcome your agenda.
To our fellow Wisconsinites we say simply, “join us.” Join the Wisconsin Wave of resistance against corporatization and austerity, and for democracy and shared prosperity for all: http://www.WisconsinWave.org
Saturday, February 26, Noon
Ohio Statehouse
Tomorrow, in cities across the nation, including Columbus and every state capital, people will come together to stand in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin and rally to Save the American Dream. Teachers, nurses, firefighters, students, police officers and others protesting in Wisconsin have occupied the Capitol building and streets of Madison for the past nine days, and now their protest is going national.
--------
Issue 5 and similar bills in other states to remove collective bargaining is not at root about saving money or balancing budgets. The core issue is the right of people to organize — the Constitutional right of freedom of association — against corporate power and rights and for justice and dignity. It’s one piece of the struggle to End Corporate Rule.
The Wisconsin Wave of Resistance is making this connection.
http://www.WisconsinWave.org
Their Statement/Call follows. They are collecting signatures from people across the state.
-----------
CALL FOR A WISCONSIN WAVE OF RESISTANCE
the WISCONSIN WAVE Against Corporatization and Austerity and for Democracy and Shared Prosperity
We recognize the rising Wisconsin wave of resistance to corporatization and austerity and call on our fellow Wisconsinites to join it.
For more than a century Wisconsin was America’s laboratory of democracy. Big Wisconsin Ideas, like barring corporate electioneering, workers’ rights protections, and the conservation ethic, have inspired Americans everywhere to push their state governments in a more progressive direction. But Wisconsin is not immune to the forces that often threaten social progress. For every elected official who channels grassroots energy and calls us to the higher ground, there’s a politician who wants to steer us off the cliff. For every “Fighting Bob” La Follette, there’s a “Tailgunner Joe” McCarthy.
Today, Wisconsin’s democratic tradition faces the greatest threat it has ever known. Governor Scott Walker, operating at the direction of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), is using the financial crisis caused by Wall Street speculators as an excuse to impose devastating cuts to public services. The WMC agenda is shameless. They intend to shift the tax burden even further away from major corporations and onto the rest of us. Their agenda is undemocratic. They would protect themselves from voters by lowering Wisconsin’s voting rights guarantees to those of Alabama and Mississippi. Their agenda is heartless. It has no place in it for the needs of Wisconsin’s youth, our poor, our disabled, or our unemployed at this time when their needs are greatest. The WMC-Walker agenda would destroy everything that once made Wisconsin great: a robust educational system; safe, high paying jobs; and a clean environment available for enjoyment by all people.
But as in other grim times throughout our state’s history, concerned Wisconsinites are rising up to defend our way of life. This diverse group of individuals, which includes everyone from college students to factory workers to small farmers and businesspeople, is uniting behind the common-sense principle that the wealthy few who caused the financial crisis are the ones who should pay for it. This rising Wisconsin Wave of protest insists that:
* Our state government must guarantee a fully funded public sector including education, health care, human services, transportation, public safety, and vital regulatory agencies.
* Taxes on large corporations and wealthy individuals should be returned to reasonable levels in order to solve the state’s fiscal crisis.
* The state must respect the rights of workers to organize unions and bargain collectively.
* Initial budget priorities must be established through public participation instead of closed door meetings between public officials and special interest lobbyists.
* Voting rights must be expanded, not limited, to insure that every Wisconsinite can take part in our democracy.
* Wisconsin deserves government of, by, and for the people, not the corporate elite; corporations have no constitutional rights and may not buy our elections or government.
This Wisconsin Wave is a force independent of political parties and partisan elected officials. It is an awakening of Wisconsinites independent of --but not exclusive of-- whatever other political, union, faith, or organizational affiliations we each might have.
To the giant corporate interests that currently dominate our state, we say that we will not stand by and watch you destroy Wisconsin’s democracy, Wisconsin’s economy, Wisconsin’s schools, and Wisconsin’s communities. We will not pay for your crisis. We will organize. We will march. We will non-violently resist your policies and overcome your agenda.
To our fellow Wisconsinites we say simply, “join us.” Join the Wisconsin Wave of resistance against corporatization and austerity, and for democracy and shared prosperity for all: http://www.WisconsinWave.org
Monday, February 21, 2011
MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR February 21-27
FEBRUARY 23
1743 – BIRTH OF MAYER AMSCHEL ROTHSCHILD – FOUNDER OF THE ROTHCHILD INTERNATIONAL BANKING DYNASTY
"Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws. "
FEBRUARY 25
1791 – CREATION OF THE FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES
A 20-year charter was issued by the federal government (very unusual at the time since most corporate charters, or licenses, were issued by states) to create the first national private bank. This was the first private institution empowered to create paper money -- with all the power and profit that goes along with it. The bank’s paper money was accepted for taxes. Eighty percent of its shares were privately owned, among these 75% were foreign owned (mostly by the English and Dutch). The bank was modeled on the Bank of England. It’s main proponent, Alexander Hamilton, argued in support: "Suppose that the necessity existed...for obtaining a loan; that a number of individuals came forward and said, we are willing to accommodate the government with this money (which we have or can raise) but in order to do this it is indispensable, that we should be incorporated as a bank...and we are obliged on that account to make it a consideration or condition of the loan." In other words, Hamilton was saying the private/corporate bank will be more than happy to give the government loans if the government grants the private/corporate bank the power to create money! Jefferson, Madison and others opposed it. Jefferson said, "This institution (the Bank of England) is one of the most deadly hostility against the principles of our Constitution…suppose an emergency should occur…an institution like this…in a critical moment might overthrow the government." The bank had an enormous impact on the economy early on. Within 2 months of its creation, it flooded the market with loans and banknotes and then suddenly called in many of its loans. The result was the first US securities market crash -- what became known as the “Panic of 1792” – the first of many panics, recessions and depressions due to the private/corporate control of our money system.
1862 – LEGAL TENDER ACT PASSED
A bill authorizing the issuance of $150 million non interest-bearing United States notes (commonly referred to as Greenbacks). Congress would later grant $300 million more in US notes. This was interest free US money. The Lincoln administration wanted to avoid the nation going into debt borrowing money from private/corporate bankers to pay for the Civil War. Greenbacks were not bonds or notes or any other promises to pay “money” at some future time. They were money. Since they were not borrowed, they didn’t add to the national debt. What later made them inflationary was they were used to pay for war – which didn’t produce or add anything productive to the economy to offset the added money supply.
1863 – NATIONAL BANKING ACT PASSED
It provided for the national chartering of banks by the federal government. This replaced state charters – many of which contained much more rigid and democratic provisions. The Act in numerous ways standardized banking across the country. However, it also entrenched what some have called “structural fraud” of the banking system – creating money out of thin air and charting interest on it.
FEBRUARY 27
1867 – BIRTH OF IRVING FISHER, MATHEMATICAL ECONOMIST
"If two parties instead of being a bank and an individual, were an individual and an individual, they could not inflate the circulating medium by loan transaction, for the simple reason that the lender could not lend what he didn't have as banks can do ... Only commercial banks and trust companies can lend money that they manufacture by lending it.” 100% Money (1935)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com
For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html
1743 – BIRTH OF MAYER AMSCHEL ROTHSCHILD – FOUNDER OF THE ROTHCHILD INTERNATIONAL BANKING DYNASTY
"Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws. "
FEBRUARY 25
1791 – CREATION OF THE FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES
A 20-year charter was issued by the federal government (very unusual at the time since most corporate charters, or licenses, were issued by states) to create the first national private bank. This was the first private institution empowered to create paper money -- with all the power and profit that goes along with it. The bank’s paper money was accepted for taxes. Eighty percent of its shares were privately owned, among these 75% were foreign owned (mostly by the English and Dutch). The bank was modeled on the Bank of England. It’s main proponent, Alexander Hamilton, argued in support: "Suppose that the necessity existed...for obtaining a loan; that a number of individuals came forward and said, we are willing to accommodate the government with this money (which we have or can raise) but in order to do this it is indispensable, that we should be incorporated as a bank...and we are obliged on that account to make it a consideration or condition of the loan." In other words, Hamilton was saying the private/corporate bank will be more than happy to give the government loans if the government grants the private/corporate bank the power to create money! Jefferson, Madison and others opposed it. Jefferson said, "This institution (the Bank of England) is one of the most deadly hostility against the principles of our Constitution…suppose an emergency should occur…an institution like this…in a critical moment might overthrow the government." The bank had an enormous impact on the economy early on. Within 2 months of its creation, it flooded the market with loans and banknotes and then suddenly called in many of its loans. The result was the first US securities market crash -- what became known as the “Panic of 1792” – the first of many panics, recessions and depressions due to the private/corporate control of our money system.
1862 – LEGAL TENDER ACT PASSED
A bill authorizing the issuance of $150 million non interest-bearing United States notes (commonly referred to as Greenbacks). Congress would later grant $300 million more in US notes. This was interest free US money. The Lincoln administration wanted to avoid the nation going into debt borrowing money from private/corporate bankers to pay for the Civil War. Greenbacks were not bonds or notes or any other promises to pay “money” at some future time. They were money. Since they were not borrowed, they didn’t add to the national debt. What later made them inflationary was they were used to pay for war – which didn’t produce or add anything productive to the economy to offset the added money supply.
1863 – NATIONAL BANKING ACT PASSED
It provided for the national chartering of banks by the federal government. This replaced state charters – many of which contained much more rigid and democratic provisions. The Act in numerous ways standardized banking across the country. However, it also entrenched what some have called “structural fraud” of the banking system – creating money out of thin air and charting interest on it.
FEBRUARY 27
1867 – BIRTH OF IRVING FISHER, MATHEMATICAL ECONOMIST
"If two parties instead of being a bank and an individual, were an individual and an individual, they could not inflate the circulating medium by loan transaction, for the simple reason that the lender could not lend what he didn't have as banks can do ... Only commercial banks and trust companies can lend money that they manufacture by lending it.” 100% Money (1935)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com
For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Ohio Lawmakers, Corporations and the Constitution
Creating Jobs Ohio and eliminating collective bargaining.
Different issues. The same approach -- to ignore the Constitution.
The former the Ohio Constitution, the later the US Constitution.
Both issues weaken the rights of people.
In both cases, the Ohio General Assembly may approve what it does not have the constitutional authority to grant.
CREATING JOBS OHIO
By a vote of 31-2, the State Senate approved yesterday HB 1, the measure creating Jobs Ohio, a private corporation that would assume the public job creation functions of the Ohio Department of Development. The measure permits state funds to be invested in this private company. This appears to be a direct violation of the Ohio constitution.
Article 8, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution states, “The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given
or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.”
The version of HB 1 passed was not the version originally proposed. After three rounds of testimony, several amendments were offered in a substitute bill that would increase transparency, prevent the new corporation from making political donations, and segregate funds. As one attorney told me who studied the original measure and reviewed the amendments, “it’s probably not as unconstitutional as before.”
That’s reassuring.
The prohibition of using public tax dollars for investments in private companies goes back to the 1837 “Plunder Law” (Ohio Loan Law) when the state was soaked for $20 million in lousy investments in canal and railroad corporations. Public pressure resulted in the repeal of the Plunder law. But that wasn’t enough. The public didn’t feel confident. What could be repealed today could be re-enacted tomorrow. Thus, the public pressure to “constitutionalize” this law — to be beyond the reach of corporations and compliant public officials. That’s how Article 8, Section 4 (and many other democratic articles and sections) of the Ohio Constitutional came into existence.
After this measures becomes law, will this measure be challenged? Depends I guess on how unconstitutional it’s perceived (I didn’t realize there was some sort of litmus test). If it does meet this threshold, it may also depend on whether wants to buck both political parties. It’s not real politically popular at the moment to come out against jobs and job creation. There’s also the question of legal priorities. All the legal eagles may have their eyes set on challenging another provision which may soon become law, which is....
ELIMINATING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Senate Bill 5 would eliminate collective bargaining rights for state employees and change the rights of local government employees. Doesn’t this violate the Contracts Clause of the US Constitution? State employees who work under a union do so under a contract. I thought contracts were considered “sacred.” That’s how they’re presented when a corporation is one of the parties. When workers are involved, contracts aren’t perceived with quite the same reverence.
Protect the rights of people to organize and collectively bargain. Oppose Senate Bill 5.
Different issues. The same approach -- to ignore the Constitution.
The former the Ohio Constitution, the later the US Constitution.
Both issues weaken the rights of people.
In both cases, the Ohio General Assembly may approve what it does not have the constitutional authority to grant.
CREATING JOBS OHIO
By a vote of 31-2, the State Senate approved yesterday HB 1, the measure creating Jobs Ohio, a private corporation that would assume the public job creation functions of the Ohio Department of Development. The measure permits state funds to be invested in this private company. This appears to be a direct violation of the Ohio constitution.
Article 8, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution states, “The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given
or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.”
The version of HB 1 passed was not the version originally proposed. After three rounds of testimony, several amendments were offered in a substitute bill that would increase transparency, prevent the new corporation from making political donations, and segregate funds. As one attorney told me who studied the original measure and reviewed the amendments, “it’s probably not as unconstitutional as before.”
That’s reassuring.
The prohibition of using public tax dollars for investments in private companies goes back to the 1837 “Plunder Law” (Ohio Loan Law) when the state was soaked for $20 million in lousy investments in canal and railroad corporations. Public pressure resulted in the repeal of the Plunder law. But that wasn’t enough. The public didn’t feel confident. What could be repealed today could be re-enacted tomorrow. Thus, the public pressure to “constitutionalize” this law — to be beyond the reach of corporations and compliant public officials. That’s how Article 8, Section 4 (and many other democratic articles and sections) of the Ohio Constitutional came into existence.
After this measures becomes law, will this measure be challenged? Depends I guess on how unconstitutional it’s perceived (I didn’t realize there was some sort of litmus test). If it does meet this threshold, it may also depend on whether wants to buck both political parties. It’s not real politically popular at the moment to come out against jobs and job creation. There’s also the question of legal priorities. All the legal eagles may have their eyes set on challenging another provision which may soon become law, which is....
ELIMINATING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Senate Bill 5 would eliminate collective bargaining rights for state employees and change the rights of local government employees. Doesn’t this violate the Contracts Clause of the US Constitution? State employees who work under a union do so under a contract. I thought contracts were considered “sacred.” That’s how they’re presented when a corporation is one of the parties. When workers are involved, contracts aren’t perceived with quite the same reverence.
Protect the rights of people to organize and collectively bargain. Oppose Senate Bill 5.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Testimony on Ohio House Bill 1
Ohio Senate Finance Committee - February 15, 2011
My name is Greg Coleridge. I’m the director of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee and author of the book Citizens over Corporations: A Brief History of Democracy in Ohio and Challenges to Freedom in the Future.
In 1837, the Ohio Legislature passed the Ohio Loan Law. This is one of the earliest examples of corporations gaining never-intended political power in our state.
The Ohio Loan Law provided funds to railroads, canals, and turnpike companies for construction and maintenance – loans to railroads and canals and funds for the purchase of stock in canal and turnpike companies.
The law greatly benefited Ohio’s development and permitted the state to have a different yet significant role in that development. Corporate influence on legislators, however, resulted in a few years in tremendous favoritism to certain industries (i.e. railroads over canals) and certain corporations (i.e. one railroad over another). This combination resulted in a $20 million state debt, increased taxes, and popular belief that government had been plundered (thus the nickname the “Plunder Law”) by corporate interests.
Stung by the rise in debt and loss of political power over corporations that the state legislature once possessed, the Plunder Law was repealed in 1842. That same year, the legislature also passed a general incorporation law that established among other provisions, that direct managers and stockholders of corporations were not immune from personal liability for the
corporation’s wrongdoing so long as the aggrieved party sued the corporation first.
These two acts together made corporate officials much more subordinate to the We the People – which was the intention of our state’s founders.
The public didn’t feel statutes went far enough to control corporations. A ballot proposal to hold a constitutional convention was approved statewide by 73% in 1850. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer put it, the convention provided an opportunity to pluck “the root of all political sin” from Ohio’s soil. In the words of one commentator, “the major motivating force [for the convention] was an anti-corporation sentiment.”
H.D. Clark, delegate to the Convention, stated the problem in these terms:
“The experiment has been tried in that body and almost every effort to engraft private responsibility on corporations has failed. The State is now strewed with the rotten, putrid carcasses of defunct corporations, and the effluvia is a stench in the nostrils of an outraged, swindled, community. The people of the county I represent have been scourged too much by corporations, to be willing to trust the Legislature.”
The sentiment at the convention was to “constitutionalize” laws controlling corporations – to transform statutes into constitutional provisions beyond the reach of corporations and their rented, leased, bought, and retained legislators.
The resulting 1851 revised Ohio Constitution, passed by voters, contained many strong provisions reasserting democratic control over corporations – affirming that they are, in fact, creations of the state.
Among them were Article XIII consists of seven sections placing general limits on the exercise of corporate power and Article VIII, specifically Section 4, which states (with amendment updates to the present): “The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.”
The language of this Amendment is very clear – no state money given or loaned to any corporation.
Wouldn’t that include the proposed Jobs Ohio corporation as defined in HB1?
Isn’t it unconstitutional for this proposed public corporation to take equity positions in private corporations?
Doesn’t that make the effort to privatize (or more descriptively, corporatize) part of the Ohio Department of Development a violation of the state constitution?
Didn’t We the People, those Ohioans who came before us who had experienced the financial disaster of the Plunder Law, abolish state investments and loans to corporations for a good reason?
And didn’t the citizens of Ohio, committed to self-governance, those who proposed and passed the 1851 Constitution, include Article VIII, Section 4 to prevent what is now being proposed legislatively in HB 1?
Our forebears who proposed and passed the 1851 Constitution were both wise and scathed from their experience to prevent turning over political power and public tax dollars to corporations.
HB1 is asking you to approve what you constitutionally do not have the authority to grant. Only the public, We the People, can amend the state constitution to give corporations more power and privileges.
None of us want a new Plunder Law. None of us want to see public tax dollars mixed up with private corporations. Hopefully, none of us as well want to violate a democratic provision of our state’s constitution.
HB1 may very well be a violation.
My name is Greg Coleridge. I’m the director of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee and author of the book Citizens over Corporations: A Brief History of Democracy in Ohio and Challenges to Freedom in the Future.
In 1837, the Ohio Legislature passed the Ohio Loan Law. This is one of the earliest examples of corporations gaining never-intended political power in our state.
The Ohio Loan Law provided funds to railroads, canals, and turnpike companies for construction and maintenance – loans to railroads and canals and funds for the purchase of stock in canal and turnpike companies.
The law greatly benefited Ohio’s development and permitted the state to have a different yet significant role in that development. Corporate influence on legislators, however, resulted in a few years in tremendous favoritism to certain industries (i.e. railroads over canals) and certain corporations (i.e. one railroad over another). This combination resulted in a $20 million state debt, increased taxes, and popular belief that government had been plundered (thus the nickname the “Plunder Law”) by corporate interests.
Stung by the rise in debt and loss of political power over corporations that the state legislature once possessed, the Plunder Law was repealed in 1842. That same year, the legislature also passed a general incorporation law that established among other provisions, that direct managers and stockholders of corporations were not immune from personal liability for the
corporation’s wrongdoing so long as the aggrieved party sued the corporation first.
These two acts together made corporate officials much more subordinate to the We the People – which was the intention of our state’s founders.
The public didn’t feel statutes went far enough to control corporations. A ballot proposal to hold a constitutional convention was approved statewide by 73% in 1850. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer put it, the convention provided an opportunity to pluck “the root of all political sin” from Ohio’s soil. In the words of one commentator, “the major motivating force [for the convention] was an anti-corporation sentiment.”
H.D. Clark, delegate to the Convention, stated the problem in these terms:
“The experiment has been tried in that body and almost every effort to engraft private responsibility on corporations has failed. The State is now strewed with the rotten, putrid carcasses of defunct corporations, and the effluvia is a stench in the nostrils of an outraged, swindled, community. The people of the county I represent have been scourged too much by corporations, to be willing to trust the Legislature.”
The sentiment at the convention was to “constitutionalize” laws controlling corporations – to transform statutes into constitutional provisions beyond the reach of corporations and their rented, leased, bought, and retained legislators.
The resulting 1851 revised Ohio Constitution, passed by voters, contained many strong provisions reasserting democratic control over corporations – affirming that they are, in fact, creations of the state.
Among them were Article XIII consists of seven sections placing general limits on the exercise of corporate power and Article VIII, specifically Section 4, which states (with amendment updates to the present): “The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.”
The language of this Amendment is very clear – no state money given or loaned to any corporation.
Wouldn’t that include the proposed Jobs Ohio corporation as defined in HB1?
Isn’t it unconstitutional for this proposed public corporation to take equity positions in private corporations?
Doesn’t that make the effort to privatize (or more descriptively, corporatize) part of the Ohio Department of Development a violation of the state constitution?
Didn’t We the People, those Ohioans who came before us who had experienced the financial disaster of the Plunder Law, abolish state investments and loans to corporations for a good reason?
And didn’t the citizens of Ohio, committed to self-governance, those who proposed and passed the 1851 Constitution, include Article VIII, Section 4 to prevent what is now being proposed legislatively in HB 1?
Our forebears who proposed and passed the 1851 Constitution were both wise and scathed from their experience to prevent turning over political power and public tax dollars to corporations.
HB1 is asking you to approve what you constitutionally do not have the authority to grant. Only the public, We the People, can amend the state constitution to give corporations more power and privileges.
None of us want a new Plunder Law. None of us want to see public tax dollars mixed up with private corporations. Hopefully, none of us as well want to violate a democratic provision of our state’s constitution.
HB1 may very well be a violation.
MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR February 14-20
FEBRUARY 19
1869 -- CONGRESS PASSES BILL PROHIBITING USING UNITED STATES NOTES AS SECURITY OR COLLATERAL IN CERTAIN INSTANCES
“That no national banking association shall hereafter offer or receive United States notes or national bank notes as security or as collateral security for any loan of money…and any national banking association offending against the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof in any United States court having jurisdiction shall be punished by a fine…” Approved February 19, 1869
This was one of many attacks by bankers on the Greenbacks – public money issued by the Lincoln Administration. Public control of the money system meant banks couldn’t control it. Banking corporations wanted, as they had done prior to and after Greenbacks, print money out of thin air and then charge interest on top of it (otherwise known as “debt money”). Banks pressured Congress in a variety of ways to delegitimize Greenbacks. This law was one such way.
NO OTHER ENTRIES THIS WEEK, HOWEVER...
IN COMMEMORATION OF THE HISTORIC NONVIOLENT REVOLUTION IN EGYPT CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE
FROM THE KORAN (2: 275):
"Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the evil one by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: 'Trade is like usury…but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury."
Some features of Islamic banking principles (from the Associated Press, 1/2/97):
“Interest on deposits: Islamic banks pay no interest on deposits. Unlike fixed return promised by most Western banks, Islamic banks operate on principle of shared risk. Depositors can choose an account that guarantees their money but pays no dividend, or one that acts like an investment fund. Depositors in investment accounts share in the bank's profits, but risk losing money if its investments perform poorly.
Interest on loans: Islamic banks charge no interest on loans. Instead of lending money to commercial borrowers at fixed rate of return, Islamic bankers become partners, sharing in venture's profits and losses. Some Islamic banks also make mortgage loans, charging flat fees payable in monthly installments, with costs similar to traditional mortgages. But loans have no compound interest or late-payment charges, and borrowers are spared uncertainty of variable interest rates common in Western nations.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com
For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html
1869 -- CONGRESS PASSES BILL PROHIBITING USING UNITED STATES NOTES AS SECURITY OR COLLATERAL IN CERTAIN INSTANCES
“That no national banking association shall hereafter offer or receive United States notes or national bank notes as security or as collateral security for any loan of money…and any national banking association offending against the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof in any United States court having jurisdiction shall be punished by a fine…” Approved February 19, 1869
This was one of many attacks by bankers on the Greenbacks – public money issued by the Lincoln Administration. Public control of the money system meant banks couldn’t control it. Banking corporations wanted, as they had done prior to and after Greenbacks, print money out of thin air and then charge interest on top of it (otherwise known as “debt money”). Banks pressured Congress in a variety of ways to delegitimize Greenbacks. This law was one such way.
NO OTHER ENTRIES THIS WEEK, HOWEVER...
IN COMMEMORATION OF THE HISTORIC NONVIOLENT REVOLUTION IN EGYPT CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE
FROM THE KORAN (2: 275):
"Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the evil one by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: 'Trade is like usury…but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury."
Some features of Islamic banking principles (from the Associated Press, 1/2/97):
“Interest on deposits: Islamic banks pay no interest on deposits. Unlike fixed return promised by most Western banks, Islamic banks operate on principle of shared risk. Depositors can choose an account that guarantees their money but pays no dividend, or one that acts like an investment fund. Depositors in investment accounts share in the bank's profits, but risk losing money if its investments perform poorly.
Interest on loans: Islamic banks charge no interest on loans. Instead of lending money to commercial borrowers at fixed rate of return, Islamic bankers become partners, sharing in venture's profits and losses. Some Islamic banks also make mortgage loans, charging flat fees payable in monthly installments, with costs similar to traditional mortgages. But loans have no compound interest or late-payment charges, and borrowers are spared uncertainty of variable interest rates common in Western nations.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com
For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Jobs Ohio is Unconstitutional – Contact Your State Senator
Governor Kasich wants to private/corporatize the Department of Development (DOD). He has proposal to create a private corporation, Jobs Ohio, which would take over the responsibilities of job creation from the DOD. Jobs Ohio would be funded by public tax dollars.
Jobs Ohio is unconstitutional. The Ohio constitution prohibits the state from investing in corporations. It says Ohio can’t be a “joint owner, or stockholder, in any company...formed for any purpose whatever.”
The reason for this goes back to the “Plunder Law” (Ohio Loan Law) of 1837. A little background to that law is below (drawn from Citizens over Corporations: A Brief History of Democracy in Ohio and Challenges to Freedom in the Future — available for $3 from AFSC, 2101 Front St., #111, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221)
The Jobs Ohio bill has already passed the Ohio House. Two public hearings have been held in the Ohio Senate Finance Committee (14 people have, to date, testified in support of Jobs Ohio while only 2 in opposition). A third and final hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday. Those who repealed the Plunder Law did so to not only protect taxpayers but also democracy.
A new effort is needed today to prevent what could become Plunder Law II from being enacted.
Contact your State Senator. Ask him/her to oppose corporatizing the job-creation duties of the state through creating the unconstitutional Jobs Ohio. To find the number of your state senator, go to http://www.ohiosenate.gov/
-------------------
Early Corporate Usurpations
Since the original state constitution placed nearly total power in the
hands of the legislative branch, it was no surprise that those who sought
to gain special privileges, including corporate owners and managers,
would try to corrupt legislators and pervert legislation. Perhaps if
democracy in Ohio had been more widespread from the start, the state
legislature would not have been so easily corrupted.32
An early example of corporate usurpation was perversion of the 1837
Ohio Loan Law. The law provided funds to railroads, canals, and
turnpike companies for construction and maintenance – loans to
railroads and funds for the purchase of stock in canal and turnpike
companies.33
The law greatly benefited Ohio’s development and permitted the state
to have a different yet significant role in that development. Corporate
influence on legislators, however, resulted in a few years in tremendous
favoritism to certain companies (i.e. one railroad over another) and
industries (i.e. railroads over canals). This combination resulted in a
$20 million state debt, increased taxes and popular belief that
government had been plundered (thus the nickname the’“Plunder
Law”) by corporate interests.34
Corporate influence of the legislature was evident in the number of
pieces of legislation benefiting one or more corporations (called
“special” legislation). In 1833 the legislature enacted only 30 pieces
of general legislation but 250 pieces of special legislation. In 1849,
the legislature enacted 75 plank road, 67 railroad, and 78 turnpike
bills. In 1851, as the Constitutional Convention finished its work,
817 pieces of special legislation were enacted, including 40 to benefit
insurance companies, 66 for plank roads, 74 for turnpikes, and 89 for
railroads.35
In 1842, two events transpired which altered the corporate form in
Ohio. First, the Plunder Law was repealed. Some have noted that
corporations didn’t want state control through stock ownership and
that propagandizing the Loan act as plunder represented the start of a
laissez faire movement in the relationship between the state
and business corporations.36
Second, a general law was passed which created a set of general rules
governing corporate activity. These rules removed the requirement
that corporate charters had to be granted through the passage of a
specific statute. More importantly the rules stated that direct managers
and stockholders were not immune from personal liability for the
corporation’s wrongdoing so long as the aggrieved party sued the
corporation first. If the suit was successful, the corporate directors,
managers, and stockholder could be held personally responsible.37
The 1842 act changed corporate law in two major ways. First, it
set forth specific laws to govern corporations where none had
existed. Second, the act made corporate officials subordinate to
the people. No longer could evil deeds be shrouded in the guise of
corporate action. So long as the injured parties followed the proper
procedure, wrongdoers could be found personally liable.
Significant public pressure must have forced passage of such a
law.
Unfortunately, this provision of the 1842 act was short-lived.
Enraged by the loss of their liability shield, corporate officials
and their agents forced through a measure which repealed the
provision in 1845.38
1851 Constitution
The Constitution of 1802 proved to be an ineffective instrument
because “the legislature swallowed up all the rest of the government”
and “corporate power and the money power...joined hands.”39 Nearly
forty years of corruption and laws such as the Plunder Act proved
too much for Ohioans. Public alarm over massive state debt,
particularly indebtedness for canal construction and unsound
investments in railroad stock and other private ventures, led to public
action. A ballot proposal to hold a constitutional convention was
approved statewide by 73%. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer put it,
the convention provided an opportunity to pluck “the root of all
political sin” from Ohio’s soil.40 In the words of one commentator,
“the major motivating force [for the convention] was an anti-
corporation sentiment.”41
H.D. Clark, delegate to the Convention stated the problem in these
terms:
The experiment has been tried in that body and almost every
effort to engraft private responsibility on corporations has
failed. The State is now strewed with the rotten, putrid
carcasses of defunct corporations, and the effluvia is a stench
in the nostrils of an outraged, swindled, community. The
people of the county I represent have been scourged too much
by corporations, to be willing to trust the Legislature.42
Although the convention addressed issues such as race and judicial
reform, concern over legislatively-sponsored corporate greed
dominated the debate.
The 1851 Constitution addressed the problem of “special laws”
benefiting corporations by agreeing that “the General Assembly shall
pass no special act conferring corporate powers. Corporations may
be formed under general laws; but all such laws may, from time to
time be altered or repealed.” At that time this was seen as an attempt
to increase citizen power. No longer could the state legislature pass
specific acts incorporating specific corporations with specific
provisions. In the following year, only 24 pieces of special legislation
were passed. The same overall rules would now apply to all classes
of corporations.
The portions of the 1851 Constitution with the greatest impact upon
corporations are contained in Article VIII and Article XIII. Section 4
of Article VIII deals primarily with prohibiting the state from
colluding with corporations, while Section 6 places similar limits
on local governments. Essentially, these sections prohibit the gift
or loan of state credit “to, or in aid of, any individual, association
or corporation whatever” and forbids the state to ever “become a
joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this
state or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.”43
Article XIII consists of seven sections placing general limits on
the exercise of corporate power. Most significant are Sections 2
and 3 which reinforce the notion that corporate powers and identity
exist only to the extent provided for by law; Section 4 states that
“[t]he property of corporations...shall forever be subject to taxation,
the same as the property of individuals,” and Section 7 precludes
the state from “authorizing associations with banking powers”
unless such a measure is passed by the people in a general election.44
The new Constitution that emerged from the convention was
adopted in 1852. With the addition of several amendments, the
same document still guides Ohio’s government today.
Jobs Ohio is unconstitutional. The Ohio constitution prohibits the state from investing in corporations. It says Ohio can’t be a “joint owner, or stockholder, in any company...formed for any purpose whatever.”
The reason for this goes back to the “Plunder Law” (Ohio Loan Law) of 1837. A little background to that law is below (drawn from Citizens over Corporations: A Brief History of Democracy in Ohio and Challenges to Freedom in the Future — available for $3 from AFSC, 2101 Front St., #111, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221)
The Jobs Ohio bill has already passed the Ohio House. Two public hearings have been held in the Ohio Senate Finance Committee (14 people have, to date, testified in support of Jobs Ohio while only 2 in opposition). A third and final hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday. Those who repealed the Plunder Law did so to not only protect taxpayers but also democracy.
A new effort is needed today to prevent what could become Plunder Law II from being enacted.
Contact your State Senator. Ask him/her to oppose corporatizing the job-creation duties of the state through creating the unconstitutional Jobs Ohio. To find the number of your state senator, go to http://www.ohiosenate.gov/
-------------------
Early Corporate Usurpations
Since the original state constitution placed nearly total power in the
hands of the legislative branch, it was no surprise that those who sought
to gain special privileges, including corporate owners and managers,
would try to corrupt legislators and pervert legislation. Perhaps if
democracy in Ohio had been more widespread from the start, the state
legislature would not have been so easily corrupted.32
An early example of corporate usurpation was perversion of the 1837
Ohio Loan Law. The law provided funds to railroads, canals, and
turnpike companies for construction and maintenance – loans to
railroads and funds for the purchase of stock in canal and turnpike
companies.33
The law greatly benefited Ohio’s development and permitted the state
to have a different yet significant role in that development. Corporate
influence on legislators, however, resulted in a few years in tremendous
favoritism to certain companies (i.e. one railroad over another) and
industries (i.e. railroads over canals). This combination resulted in a
$20 million state debt, increased taxes and popular belief that
government had been plundered (thus the nickname the’“Plunder
Law”) by corporate interests.34
Corporate influence of the legislature was evident in the number of
pieces of legislation benefiting one or more corporations (called
“special” legislation). In 1833 the legislature enacted only 30 pieces
of general legislation but 250 pieces of special legislation. In 1849,
the legislature enacted 75 plank road, 67 railroad, and 78 turnpike
bills. In 1851, as the Constitutional Convention finished its work,
817 pieces of special legislation were enacted, including 40 to benefit
insurance companies, 66 for plank roads, 74 for turnpikes, and 89 for
railroads.35
In 1842, two events transpired which altered the corporate form in
Ohio. First, the Plunder Law was repealed. Some have noted that
corporations didn’t want state control through stock ownership and
that propagandizing the Loan act as plunder represented the start of a
laissez faire movement in the relationship between the state
and business corporations.36
Second, a general law was passed which created a set of general rules
governing corporate activity. These rules removed the requirement
that corporate charters had to be granted through the passage of a
specific statute. More importantly the rules stated that direct managers
and stockholders were not immune from personal liability for the
corporation’s wrongdoing so long as the aggrieved party sued the
corporation first. If the suit was successful, the corporate directors,
managers, and stockholder could be held personally responsible.37
The 1842 act changed corporate law in two major ways. First, it
set forth specific laws to govern corporations where none had
existed. Second, the act made corporate officials subordinate to
the people. No longer could evil deeds be shrouded in the guise of
corporate action. So long as the injured parties followed the proper
procedure, wrongdoers could be found personally liable.
Significant public pressure must have forced passage of such a
law.
Unfortunately, this provision of the 1842 act was short-lived.
Enraged by the loss of their liability shield, corporate officials
and their agents forced through a measure which repealed the
provision in 1845.38
1851 Constitution
The Constitution of 1802 proved to be an ineffective instrument
because “the legislature swallowed up all the rest of the government”
and “corporate power and the money power...joined hands.”39 Nearly
forty years of corruption and laws such as the Plunder Act proved
too much for Ohioans. Public alarm over massive state debt,
particularly indebtedness for canal construction and unsound
investments in railroad stock and other private ventures, led to public
action. A ballot proposal to hold a constitutional convention was
approved statewide by 73%. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer put it,
the convention provided an opportunity to pluck “the root of all
political sin” from Ohio’s soil.40 In the words of one commentator,
“the major motivating force [for the convention] was an anti-
corporation sentiment.”41
H.D. Clark, delegate to the Convention stated the problem in these
terms:
The experiment has been tried in that body and almost every
effort to engraft private responsibility on corporations has
failed. The State is now strewed with the rotten, putrid
carcasses of defunct corporations, and the effluvia is a stench
in the nostrils of an outraged, swindled, community. The
people of the county I represent have been scourged too much
by corporations, to be willing to trust the Legislature.42
Although the convention addressed issues such as race and judicial
reform, concern over legislatively-sponsored corporate greed
dominated the debate.
The 1851 Constitution addressed the problem of “special laws”
benefiting corporations by agreeing that “the General Assembly shall
pass no special act conferring corporate powers. Corporations may
be formed under general laws; but all such laws may, from time to
time be altered or repealed.” At that time this was seen as an attempt
to increase citizen power. No longer could the state legislature pass
specific acts incorporating specific corporations with specific
provisions. In the following year, only 24 pieces of special legislation
were passed. The same overall rules would now apply to all classes
of corporations.
The portions of the 1851 Constitution with the greatest impact upon
corporations are contained in Article VIII and Article XIII. Section 4
of Article VIII deals primarily with prohibiting the state from
colluding with corporations, while Section 6 places similar limits
on local governments. Essentially, these sections prohibit the gift
or loan of state credit “to, or in aid of, any individual, association
or corporation whatever” and forbids the state to ever “become a
joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this
state or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.”43
Article XIII consists of seven sections placing general limits on
the exercise of corporate power. Most significant are Sections 2
and 3 which reinforce the notion that corporate powers and identity
exist only to the extent provided for by law; Section 4 states that
“[t]he property of corporations...shall forever be subject to taxation,
the same as the property of individuals,” and Section 7 precludes
the state from “authorizing associations with banking powers”
unless such a measure is passed by the people in a general election.44
The new Constitution that emerged from the convention was
adopted in 1852. With the addition of several amendments, the
same document still guides Ohio’s government today.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR - February 7-13
FEBRUARY 7
1870 - HEPBURN V GRISWOLD US SUPREME COURT DECISION
The Court declared that certain parts of the passed Congressional Legal Tender acts in the 1860’s were unconstitutional. The Legal Tender acts authorized the government to issue paper money, “Greenbacks,” and recognized them as legal to meet financial obligations. The Court concluded, however, that a party to a contract could not use paper money as payment for a debt if the contract stipulated gold or silver as payment. The Court explained how the US Congress possessed the power to coin money, but that that power was different than the power to made paper money legal.
FEBRUARY 11
1847 – BIRTH OF THOMAS EDISON
“Gold and money are separate things…Gold is the trick mechanism by which you can control money…that is the root of all evil.”
2004 – RON PAUL, US CONGRESSMAN, SPEAKING TO THE HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
He referred to the Federal Reserve by stating "maybe there's too much power in the hands of those who control monetary policy? The power to create the financial bubbles. The power to maybe bring the bubble about. The power to change the value of the stock market within minutes. That to me is just an ominous power and challenges the whole concept of freedom and liberty and sound money."
FEBRUARY 12
1791 – BIRTH OF PETER COOPER, US INDUSTRIALIST, PHILANTHROPIST (FOUNDED COOPER UNION) AND GREENBACK CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
"The bankers will favor a course of special legislation to increase their power - they will never cease to ask for more so long as there is more to be wrung from the toiling masses of the American people.”
1809 – BIRTH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy.”
Under Lincoln’s administration, the US Government issued 450 million “Greenbacks” – interest and inflation free money. They weren’t government bill, bonds or any other debt-bearing note. They were actual US money.
“The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of government, but it is the government’s greatest creative opportunity. The financing of all public enterprise, and the conduct of the treasury will become matters of practical administration. Money will cease to be master and will then become servant of humanity.”
1873 – COINAGE ACT PASSED BY CONGRESS (THE “CRIME OF ‘73”)
The Coinage Act removed silver as a form of currency (“demonetized) – leaving gold as the major form of US currency. The public didn’t realize at first what happened. With silver no longer convertible to money, the overall volume of currency dramatically declined, causing the prices farmers received for their produce to drop (deflation) but the cost of their debts to rise. Thousands of farmers lost their land. Those who held silver also suffered. This was one of the sparks of the farmer-led US Populist movement. It’s also a lesson on the perils of linking the issuance of money to the supply of gold.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com
For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html
1870 - HEPBURN V GRISWOLD US SUPREME COURT DECISION
The Court declared that certain parts of the passed Congressional Legal Tender acts in the 1860’s were unconstitutional. The Legal Tender acts authorized the government to issue paper money, “Greenbacks,” and recognized them as legal to meet financial obligations. The Court concluded, however, that a party to a contract could not use paper money as payment for a debt if the contract stipulated gold or silver as payment. The Court explained how the US Congress possessed the power to coin money, but that that power was different than the power to made paper money legal.
FEBRUARY 11
1847 – BIRTH OF THOMAS EDISON
“Gold and money are separate things…Gold is the trick mechanism by which you can control money…that is the root of all evil.”
2004 – RON PAUL, US CONGRESSMAN, SPEAKING TO THE HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
He referred to the Federal Reserve by stating "maybe there's too much power in the hands of those who control monetary policy? The power to create the financial bubbles. The power to maybe bring the bubble about. The power to change the value of the stock market within minutes. That to me is just an ominous power and challenges the whole concept of freedom and liberty and sound money."
FEBRUARY 12
1791 – BIRTH OF PETER COOPER, US INDUSTRIALIST, PHILANTHROPIST (FOUNDED COOPER UNION) AND GREENBACK CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
"The bankers will favor a course of special legislation to increase their power - they will never cease to ask for more so long as there is more to be wrung from the toiling masses of the American people.”
1809 – BIRTH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy.”
Under Lincoln’s administration, the US Government issued 450 million “Greenbacks” – interest and inflation free money. They weren’t government bill, bonds or any other debt-bearing note. They were actual US money.
“The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of government, but it is the government’s greatest creative opportunity. The financing of all public enterprise, and the conduct of the treasury will become matters of practical administration. Money will cease to be master and will then become servant of humanity.”
1873 – COINAGE ACT PASSED BY CONGRESS (THE “CRIME OF ‘73”)
The Coinage Act removed silver as a form of currency (“demonetized) – leaving gold as the major form of US currency. The public didn’t realize at first what happened. With silver no longer convertible to money, the overall volume of currency dramatically declined, causing the prices farmers received for their produce to drop (deflation) but the cost of their debts to rise. Thousands of farmers lost their land. Those who held silver also suffered. This was one of the sparks of the farmer-led US Populist movement. It’s also a lesson on the perils of linking the issuance of money to the supply of gold.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com
For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html
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