MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR -- December 5 - 11

DECEMBER 5

1782 – BIRTH OF MARTIN VAN BUREN, 8TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“The practice of funding the public debt…has long been discontinued…A National Bank has become a completely 'obsolete idea' among us, as thoroughly condemned in public opinion as a national debt.”

DECEMBER 6

1921 – THOMAS EDISON QUOTE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES
“If our nation can issue a dollar bond, it can issue a dollar bill. The element that makes the bond good makes the bill good... If the Government issues bonds, the brokers will sell them. The bonds will be negotiable; they will be considered as gilt edged paper. Why? Because the government is behind them, but who is behind the Government? The people. Therefore it is the people who constitute the basis of Government credit. Why then cannot the people have the benefit of their own gilt-edged credit by receiving non-interest bearing currency… instead of the bankers receiving the benefit of the people’s credit in interest-bearing bonds?”

DECEMBER 9

1946 – BIRTH OF SONIA GANDHI, PRESIDENT, HEAD OF CONGRESS, INDIA
“Let me take you back to Indira Gandhi’s bank nationalization of 40 years ago. Every passing day bears out the wisdom of that decision. Public sector financial institutions have given our economy the stability and resilience we are now witnessing in the face of the economic slowdown.” (2008)

DECEMBER 10

1896 – DEATH OF ALFRED NOBEL, INVENTOR AND BENEFACTOR OF NOBEL PRIZES
Each year, annual international awards are bestowed to honor great scientific and cultural advances. Nobel’s great-grandnephew, Peter Nobel, in 2001 asked the Bank of Sweden to differentiate its award to economists given "in Alfred Nobel's memory" from the five other awards. He said, "The economics prize, awarded by the Swedish Rupsbank, runs counter the idealism in Alfred Nobel's declaration that the prizes should be awarded to those who have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind - the vast majority of economic prizes have gone to people who reflect the dominating western view of the world. It's doubtful whether this really is of benefit to all mankind."

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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