DECEMBER
4
1975
– DEATH OF GRAHAM TOWERS, GOVERNOR, BANK OF CANADA, 1934-54
"Each and every time a bank
makes a loan, new bank credit is created - new deposits - brand new
money."
DECEMBER
5
1782 – BIRTH OF MARTIN VAN BUREN, 8TH PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES
“The MONEY POWER…when firmly
established, was destined to become the only kind of an Aristocracy that could
exist in our political system.” (Note, Van Buren always capitalized “MONEY
POWER” when using the term.)
Van Buren was Vice President when
President Jackson refused to support the re-chartering of the private,
mis-named “Second Bank of the United States” – the nation’s central bank at the
time (equivalent in some ways to the Federal Reserve Bank of today). The Bank
had originally been chartered for 20 years in 1816. A corporate charter was
considered then a democratic tool, a means for the public to define the actions
of a corporation to ensure it remained subordinate to meeting public needs
(something We the People have forgotten today). After the Bank charter was
dissolved (which meant the Bank could no longer create money as debt), Jackson
and Van Buren sought to replace the money system with coinage or bank notes
convertible to gold/silver. But this was an insufficient amount of currency
needed to supply the growing the US economy. Currency contracted. The nation
experienced the worst depression up to that time beginning in 1837.
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
1768
– BIRTH OF JOSEPH DESHA, U.S.
REPRESENTATIVE, KY
"This accumulation of foreign capital
(in the First Bank of the U.S.) was one of the engines for overturning civil
liberty and I have no doubt that King George was a principal stock
holder."
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.”
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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
