OCTOBER 29
1897 – DEATH OF HENRY GEORGE, AUTHOR OF “POVERTY AND PROGRESS,” POLITICIAN AND ECONOMIST
On the other hand it is the business of government to issue money. This is why the issuance of this money should be made a government function become still stronger. The evils entailed by wildcat banking in the United States are too well remembered to need reference. The loss and inconvenience, the swindling and corruption that flowed from the assumption by each State of the Union of the power to license banks of issue ended with the war, and no one would now go back to them. Yet instead of doing what every public consideration impels us to, and assuming wholly and fully as the exclusive function of the General Government the power to issue money, the private interests of bankers have, up to this, compelled us to the use of a hybrid currency, of which a large part, though guaranteed by the General Government, is issued and made profitable to corporations. The legitimate business of banking – the safekeeping and loaning of money, and the making and exchange of credits, is properly left to individuals and associations; but by leaving to them, even in part and under restrictions and guarantees, the issuance of money, the people of the United States suffer an annual loss of millions of dollars, and sensible increase the influences which exert a corrupting effect upon their government.
1929 – US STOCK MARKET CRASH
Known as "Black Tuesday," October 29 was the worst day in stock market history. Since everyone was selling and no one was buying, stock prices collapsed. The crash was due to policies of the Federal Reserve which had made money cheap to borrow. Too much money was concentrated in too few hands. Cheap money resulted in wild speculation (booms or bubbles) in financial instruments, the stock market and office buildings rather than useful and necessary goods and services. Speculation was rampant. Understanding what was happening, but not admitting it to the public, the Fed significantly contracted the US money supply by raising interest rates to borrow money. Not enough money was available to meet economic needs. The speculative bubbles burst, triggering what became the Great Depression.
OCTOBER 30
1735 – BIRTH OF JOHN ADAMS, 2ND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt."
"All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America aeise, not from the defects of the Constitution or confederation, not from the want of honour or virtues, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nation, of coin, credit and cirrculation."
1840 – BIRTH OF WILLIAM GRAHAM SUMNER, PROFESSOR, YALE UNIVERSITY AND MONETARY THEORIST
“For as the currency question is of first importance and we cannot solve it or escape it by ignoring it. We have got to face it and the best way to begin is not by wrangling about speculative opinions as to untried schemes but to go back to history and try to get hold of some firmly established principles.”
1885 – BIRTH OF EZRA POUND, US POET AND CRITIC
Some of his poetry deals with the destructive moral and social effects of usury, or usura, such as his Canto XLV:
“…Usura rusteth the chisel
It rusteth the craft and the craftsman
It gnaweth the thread in the loom
None learneth to weave gold in her pattern;…”
OCTOBER 31
1874 – PUBLICATION OF OCTOBER ISSUE OF INDUSTRIAL AGE MAGAZINE
“The religious press has almost without exception been the allies of the bondholders and bankers in their endless schemes to fleece the public, and the mouthpiece of the monopolists and the defender of the soulless corporations that fill their pockets by robbing the toiling people.”
NOVEMBER 1
1873 – PASSAGE OF THE COINAGE ACT BY CONGRESS
The fourth coinage act passed by Congress, the 1873 bill “demonetized” silver – meaning silver was no longer accepted as currency or used as a metal to back paper money. Only gold was now accepted as currency and used to back paper money. With the money supply now contracted, the US went into an economic depression. The demonitization of silver was also not apparent in the bill at the time of passage. When this became public, there was national outrage. Congressional passage became known as “the Crime of ’73.”
NOVEMBER 2
1832- RE-ELECTION OF ANDREW JACKSON, 7TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
"The bold effort the present (central) bank had made to control the government ... are but premonitions of the fate that await the American people should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution or the establishment of another like it." "If Congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given to be used by themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations." "I have no hesitation to say if they can re-charter the bank, with this hydra of corruption, they will rule the nation and its charter will be perpetual and its corrupting influence destroy the liberty of our country."
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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
Monday, October 29, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR October 22-28
OCTOBER 23
2008 – TESTIMONY OF ALAN GREENSPAN, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN, BEFORE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM (NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE)
“Do you feel that your ideology pushed you to make decisions that you wish you had not made?”
Mr. Greenspan conceded: “Yes, I’ve found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I’ve been very distressed by that fact.” “Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief.”
OCTOBER 24
2008 – PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES CORPORATION PURCHASES NATIONAL CITY CORPORATION
Using bank bailout funds under the federal TARP program, PNC, headquartered in Pittsburgh, purchases National City Corporation, a major Cleveland based bank. The transaction created the 5th largest U.S. banking corporation. TARP funds were intended to assist struggling banks. The funds ended up in many cases, like PNC, enlarging “too-big-to-fail” banking corporations.
OCTOBER 27
1945 – BIRTH OF LULA DE SILVA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (2003-2010)
“The Third World War has already started. The war is tearing down Brazil, Latin America, and practically all the Third World. Instead of soldiers dying, there are children. It is a war over the Third World debt, one which has as its main weapon, interest, a weapon more deadly than the atom bomb, more shattering than a laser beam.”
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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
2008 – TESTIMONY OF ALAN GREENSPAN, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN, BEFORE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM (NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE)
“Do you feel that your ideology pushed you to make decisions that you wish you had not made?”
Mr. Greenspan conceded: “Yes, I’ve found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I’ve been very distressed by that fact.” “Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief.”
OCTOBER 24
2008 – PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES CORPORATION PURCHASES NATIONAL CITY CORPORATION
Using bank bailout funds under the federal TARP program, PNC, headquartered in Pittsburgh, purchases National City Corporation, a major Cleveland based bank. The transaction created the 5th largest U.S. banking corporation. TARP funds were intended to assist struggling banks. The funds ended up in many cases, like PNC, enlarging “too-big-to-fail” banking corporations.
OCTOBER 27
1945 – BIRTH OF LULA DE SILVA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (2003-2010)
“The Third World War has already started. The war is tearing down Brazil, Latin America, and practically all the Third World. Instead of soldiers dying, there are children. It is a war over the Third World debt, one which has as its main weapon, interest, a weapon more deadly than the atom bomb, more shattering than a laser beam.”
--------
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, October 15, 2012
MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR October 15-21
OCTOBER 15
1908 – BIRTH OF JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH, U.S. ECONOMIST
Two quotes. “The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to disguise or evade truth, not to reveal it.” "The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled.”
1913 – ADDRESS OF NELSON ALDRICH (FORMER SENATOR OF RHODE ISLAND AND CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL MONETARY COMMISSION) BEFORE THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
In commenting on the proposed bill that would become the Federal Reserve Act passed later in the year, Aldrich said, "If the attempt is successful it will be the first and most important step toward changing our form of government from a democracy to an autocracy. No imperial government in Europe would venture to suggest, much less enact, legislation of this kind.”
1982 – U.S. CONGRESS PASSES GARN - ST. GERMAIN DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS ACT
The act deregulated savings and loan associations and allowed banks to provide adjustable-rate mortgage loans. Many believe it contributed to the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s.
OCTOBER 18
1931 – DEATH OF THOMAS EDISON, U.S. INVENTOR
This is one of the best statements ever on the ease and legitimacy of the government creating its own money.
“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?”
OCTOBER 19
1987 – U.S. STOCK MARKET CRASH
Known as Black Monday, stock markets around the world crashed. The Dow Jones average dropped by 508 points. It was the largest one-day percentage decline in Dow Jones history.
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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 theplanet. 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
1908 – BIRTH OF JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH, U.S. ECONOMIST
Two quotes. “The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to disguise or evade truth, not to reveal it.” "The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled.”
1913 – ADDRESS OF NELSON ALDRICH (FORMER SENATOR OF RHODE ISLAND AND CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL MONETARY COMMISSION) BEFORE THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
In commenting on the proposed bill that would become the Federal Reserve Act passed later in the year, Aldrich said, "If the attempt is successful it will be the first and most important step toward changing our form of government from a democracy to an autocracy. No imperial government in Europe would venture to suggest, much less enact, legislation of this kind.”
1982 – U.S. CONGRESS PASSES GARN - ST. GERMAIN DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS ACT
The act deregulated savings and loan associations and allowed banks to provide adjustable-rate mortgage loans. Many believe it contributed to the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s.
OCTOBER 18
1931 – DEATH OF THOMAS EDISON, U.S. INVENTOR
This is one of the best statements ever on the ease and legitimacy of the government creating its own money.
“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?”
OCTOBER 19
1987 – U.S. STOCK MARKET CRASH
Known as Black Monday, stock markets around the world crashed. The Dow Jones average dropped by 508 points. It was the largest one-day percentage decline in Dow Jones history.
----------
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 theplanet. 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
Several issues neither political party has properly addressed: Letter to the Editor
http://www.cleveland.com/sun/all/index.ssf/2012/10/several_issues_neither_politic.html
Ohioans have a unique opportunity before November to help shape the federal election results for President, Senate and representatives beyond voting.
It’s time to stop being mere spectators of staged Presidential visits and consumers of often-inaccurate media ads and time to start being citizens demanding candidates share their positions on significant issues.
A partial list of issues candidates of both major parties haven’t discussed and related questions include:
- Increasing poverty: Do you support a living wage and adequate housing and food for all?
- Corporate dominance of our democracy: Are you for a constitutional amendment ending the legal doctrine that corporations are “persons” with inalienable “rights” to influence elections, write laws and shape regulations?
- Money in elections: Do you favor a constitutional amendment reversing the legal principle that “money is speech,” meaning those having the most money has the most speech?
- The Trans Pacific Partnership: Will you vote for this latest proposed trade agreement providing corporations new powers to directly challenge national laws they don’t like?
- Banks causing financial bubbles: Do you support banks not being able to create money out of nothing and them only lending what they possess in assets?
It’s up to us citizens to demand candidates address these issues.
Greg Coleridge
Cleveland Heights
Coleridge is director of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee.
Ohioans have a unique opportunity before November to help shape the federal election results for President, Senate and representatives beyond voting.
It’s time to stop being mere spectators of staged Presidential visits and consumers of often-inaccurate media ads and time to start being citizens demanding candidates share their positions on significant issues.
A partial list of issues candidates of both major parties haven’t discussed and related questions include:
- Increasing poverty: Do you support a living wage and adequate housing and food for all?
- Corporate dominance of our democracy: Are you for a constitutional amendment ending the legal doctrine that corporations are “persons” with inalienable “rights” to influence elections, write laws and shape regulations?
- Money in elections: Do you favor a constitutional amendment reversing the legal principle that “money is speech,” meaning those having the most money has the most speech?
- The Trans Pacific Partnership: Will you vote for this latest proposed trade agreement providing corporations new powers to directly challenge national laws they don’t like?
- Banks causing financial bubbles: Do you support banks not being able to create money out of nothing and them only lending what they possess in assets?
It’s up to us citizens to demand candidates address these issues.
Greg Coleridge
Cleveland Heights
Coleridge is director of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Corporations are Not People at Romney Rally
I attended the rally for Mitt Romney yesterday in Cuyahoga Falls, just a few blocks from our AFSC office.
I brought with me the simple red, white and blue sign saying, "Corporations are not People." We "protesters" were kept on the opposite side of the block from the line of people waiting to get inside. That was unfortunate since my hope was to engage people in conversation about how "corporate personhood" is a non-partisan issue which threatens real self-governance -- something that hurts most Republicans as well as Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, etc.
Several people in line either nodded in approval or gave thumbs up signs when they saw the sign. Others, though, simply yelled across the street "corporations ARE people" and/or a variation of the themes of "where do you think we get our jobs from?" or "you just want more big government." I slowly made my way across the street to speak with several people in line who were cordial and willing to listen and calmly discuss the issue.
The major points shared was to clarify that "corporate personhood" represents a series of never-intended POLITICAL and HUMAN rights separate from the ECONOMIC functions of corporations. Declaring an end to "corporate personhood" does not mean an end to corporations -- only a reaffirmation that people have more inalienable rights in our society than corporations and, as such, that people possess the power and authority to define corporate actions. That's what our nation's founders intended since the Bill of Rights applies exclusively to human beings.
On the question of the relationship between corporations and government, most people aren't aware that it is government that permits corporations to exist. Without government, there would be no legal entity as the corporation with legally/governmentally defined protections. A simple group of people is simply a group of people. A corporation has been legally/governmentally defined as separate from the people who compose it. For those who wish to eliminate government, they would then eliminate the ability to create corporations.
It wasn't long, however, until the local police asked me to move back across the street -- to prevent any potential disturbance. Too bad. It was an educational opportunity missed to help shed light on the absurdity of "corporate personhood."
There were still several hundred people in line when I left. As I passed them holding my sign, women stepped out and asked if she could it. I gladly handed one (I was carrying 3 together) to her and continued walking. Before long, two people in line, an attorney and small business owner, wanted to talk. Issues of the first and fourteenth amendment came up and how corporations had perverted them for their own gain. While that was an interesting conversation, what was most interesting was what I saw right beside me. The women I had given my sign to was walking past the line of people prominently holding the sign.
"Ending corporate personhood" is truly a nonpartisan issue.
I brought with me the simple red, white and blue sign saying, "Corporations are not People." We "protesters" were kept on the opposite side of the block from the line of people waiting to get inside. That was unfortunate since my hope was to engage people in conversation about how "corporate personhood" is a non-partisan issue which threatens real self-governance -- something that hurts most Republicans as well as Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, etc.
Several people in line either nodded in approval or gave thumbs up signs when they saw the sign. Others, though, simply yelled across the street "corporations ARE people" and/or a variation of the themes of "where do you think we get our jobs from?" or "you just want more big government." I slowly made my way across the street to speak with several people in line who were cordial and willing to listen and calmly discuss the issue.
The major points shared was to clarify that "corporate personhood" represents a series of never-intended POLITICAL and HUMAN rights separate from the ECONOMIC functions of corporations. Declaring an end to "corporate personhood" does not mean an end to corporations -- only a reaffirmation that people have more inalienable rights in our society than corporations and, as such, that people possess the power and authority to define corporate actions. That's what our nation's founders intended since the Bill of Rights applies exclusively to human beings.
On the question of the relationship between corporations and government, most people aren't aware that it is government that permits corporations to exist. Without government, there would be no legal entity as the corporation with legally/governmentally defined protections. A simple group of people is simply a group of people. A corporation has been legally/governmentally defined as separate from the people who compose it. For those who wish to eliminate government, they would then eliminate the ability to create corporations.
It wasn't long, however, until the local police asked me to move back across the street -- to prevent any potential disturbance. Too bad. It was an educational opportunity missed to help shed light on the absurdity of "corporate personhood."
There were still several hundred people in line when I left. As I passed them holding my sign, women stepped out and asked if she could it. I gladly handed one (I was carrying 3 together) to her and continued walking. Before long, two people in line, an attorney and small business owner, wanted to talk. Issues of the first and fourteenth amendment came up and how corporations had perverted them for their own gain. While that was an interesting conversation, what was most interesting was what I saw right beside me. The women I had given my sign to was walking past the line of people prominently holding the sign.
"Ending corporate personhood" is truly a nonpartisan issue.
Monday, October 8, 2012
MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR October 8-14
OCTOBER 8
1946 – BIRTH OF DENNIS KUCINICH, CONGRESSMAN, OHIO
Author of the National Emergency Employment Defense [NEED] Act, introduced in 2010 and 2011. Amontg the bill’s provisions are: (a) make the Federal Reserve System more accountable by placing the Fed under the US Department of Treasury, (b) create government issued money to hire people to repair the nation’s physical and human infrastructure, and (c) eliminate fractional reserve lending – the practice that permits banks to lend many times more funds that they actually possess.
OCTOBER 13
1879 – DEATH OF HENRY CAREY, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Carey was the major proponent in the Lincoln Adminstration of issueing debt-free US money, Greenbacks. In referencing the US economy under the Greenback system, he said, …”for the first time, too, in the history of the world, there has been presented a community in which nearly all business was done for cash, and in which debt has scarcely an existence…there has been a large and general diminution of the rate of interest…traders have therefore become more independent of the capitalist, while the country at large has become more independent of the ‘wealthy capitalists’ of Europe.”
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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 Previous calendar entries are posted at http://afsc.net/monetaryhistorycalendar.html
1946 – BIRTH OF DENNIS KUCINICH, CONGRESSMAN, OHIO
Author of the National Emergency Employment Defense [NEED] Act, introduced in 2010 and 2011. Amontg the bill’s provisions are: (a) make the Federal Reserve System more accountable by placing the Fed under the US Department of Treasury, (b) create government issued money to hire people to repair the nation’s physical and human infrastructure, and (c) eliminate fractional reserve lending – the practice that permits banks to lend many times more funds that they actually possess.
OCTOBER 13
1879 – DEATH OF HENRY CAREY, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Carey was the major proponent in the Lincoln Adminstration of issueing debt-free US money, Greenbacks. In referencing the US economy under the Greenback system, he said, …”for the first time, too, in the history of the world, there has been presented a community in which nearly all business was done for cash, and in which debt has scarcely an existence…there has been a large and general diminution of the rate of interest…traders have therefore become more independent of the capitalist, while the country at large has become more independent of the ‘wealthy capitalists’ of Europe.”
--------
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 Previous calendar entries are posted at http://afsc.net/monetaryhistorycalendar.html
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Issues Federal Candidates Should Address
Letter to the Editor
Akron Beacon Journal
Thursday, October 4, 2012
http://www.ohio.com/editorial/vop/letters-to-the-editor-oct-4-1.339124
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Before voting, Ohioans have a unique opportunity to help shape the outcome of the federal elections for president and members of Congress.
It’s time to stop being mere spectators of staged presidential visits and consumers of often-inaccurate media ads, and time to start being citizens who demand that candidates share their positions on significant issues.
What issues? The ones candidates of both major parties largely haven’t discussed.
• Increasing poverty. Do candidates support a living wage and sufficient housing and food for all?
• Corporate dominance of our democracy. Are candidates for a constitutional amendment ending the legal doctrine that corporations are “persons” with inalienable “rights” to influence elections, write laws and shape regulations?
• Money in elections. Do candidates favor a constitutional amendment reversing the legal principle that “money is speech,” meaning those having the most money have the most speech?
• The Trans Pacific Partnership. Will candidates vote for this proposed trade agreement, providing corporations new powers to directly challenge nation states on rules and laws they don’t like?
• Banks causing financial bubbles. Do candidates support barring banks from being able to create money out of nothing and limiting them to lending only what they possess in assets?
It’s up to us citizens to demand candidates address these issues.
Greg Coleridge
Director, Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee
Cleveland Heights
Akron Beacon Journal
Thursday, October 4, 2012
http://www.ohio.com/editorial/vop/letters-to-the-editor-oct-4-1.339124
----------
Before voting, Ohioans have a unique opportunity to help shape the outcome of the federal elections for president and members of Congress.
It’s time to stop being mere spectators of staged presidential visits and consumers of often-inaccurate media ads, and time to start being citizens who demand that candidates share their positions on significant issues.
What issues? The ones candidates of both major parties largely haven’t discussed.
• Increasing poverty. Do candidates support a living wage and sufficient housing and food for all?
• Corporate dominance of our democracy. Are candidates for a constitutional amendment ending the legal doctrine that corporations are “persons” with inalienable “rights” to influence elections, write laws and shape regulations?
• Money in elections. Do candidates favor a constitutional amendment reversing the legal principle that “money is speech,” meaning those having the most money have the most speech?
• The Trans Pacific Partnership. Will candidates vote for this proposed trade agreement, providing corporations new powers to directly challenge nation states on rules and laws they don’t like?
• Banks causing financial bubbles. Do candidates support barring banks from being able to create money out of nothing and limiting them to lending only what they possess in assets?
It’s up to us citizens to demand candidates address these issues.
Greg Coleridge
Director, Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee
Cleveland Heights
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Ohio Supreme Court Rules in Favor of We the People in Brecksville
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Monday in favor of the citizens of Brecksville and their citizens initiative. The ruling defies a challenge by the Mayor and Council of Brecksville to keep the issue off the ballot this November. The Court affirmed the decision of Secretary of State Jon Husted who last month ruled that the citizens of Brecksville should have the right to vote on the initiative.
The initiative calls for (1) the creation of a "Democracy Day" once every 2 years for residents to speak at a public hearing about the impact of political contributions by corporations, unions, and Super PACs, and (2) having the City advise their state and federal leaders that Brecksville citizens voted in support of a Constitutional Amendment declaring:
- Only human beings, not corporations, are legal persons with constitutional rights.
- Money is not equivalent to speech and, therefore, can be regulated.
Brecksville now joins Newburgh Heights as having ballot measures in line with the Move to Amend comprehensive call to not merely overturn the Citizens United decision (which would merely return us to the "glorious" democracy of our nation of 2010) but to end the legal doctrines that corporations are people and money equals speech.
Brecksville and Newburgh Heights citizens now hit the streets to educate voters between now and Election Day to vote in favor of Issue 25 and 69 respectively. The slogan in Brecksville is "Keep Democracy Alive, Vote YES on Issue 25!" If you live in or anywhere near Brecksville or Newburgh Heights and can spend a couple of hours dropping off leaflets door-to-door, email ohio@movetoamend.org
Monday, October 1, 2012
MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR October 1-7
OCTOBER 1
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 poeple 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."
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 "[a] small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”
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). The largest US banks were bailed out by US taxpayers 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. The original proposal was defeated by Congress.
OCTOBER 4
1923 – BIRTH OF CHARLTON HESTON, ACTOR [I KNOW THIS IS A BIT OF A STRETCH]
“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.”
--------------
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
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 poeple 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."
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 "[a] small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”
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). The largest US banks were bailed out by US taxpayers 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. The original proposal was defeated by Congress.
OCTOBER 4
1923 – BIRTH OF CHARLTON HESTON, ACTOR [I KNOW THIS IS A BIT OF A STRETCH]
“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.”
--------------
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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