November 26 – December 2

NOVEMBER 26

1865 –  “ALICE IN WONDERLAND” BY LEWIS CARROLL PUBLISHED IN THE US

The establishment of a European Monetary Union in 1993 was a bold experiment. It created a single monetary system overlaying individual nation states with their own political systems. William Buiter, member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, said ‘It’s a bold step into the unknown. Not unlike Alice [in Wonderland]’s leap down the rabbit hole.”

NOVEMBER 27

2008 – “HUMAN CAUSES OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS AND SPIRITUAL SOLUTIONS” POSTED ARTICLE BY STEVE LARSON

“In the ideal, spiritual economy, there is essentially a one-on-one relationship between the amount of money and the amount of something that has real actual value, be it goods or services. Or even, in the case of gold money, that the gold itself has a certain value. So the point here is there should always be a direct relationship between money and something that has real value. 

“And when people actually multiply their talents, they can, as a result of that multiplication, accumulate a certain amount of money which they can then choose to store for times when they may not be able to make the money. Even this is legitimate, as long as the money was created as a result of providing a real service to life, be it an invention, taking the initiative, or performing physical labor. There is nothing wrong with storing that money. Even so, it is only when it is put to use in investing will it will help the economy grow. And thus, savings should really only be a temporary thing and should not mean that the money is permanently taken out of circulation.”

http://www.alpheus.org/human-causes-of-the-economic-crisis-and-spiritual-solutions/?fbclid=IwAR3bAVoTfi5TVhm8SQb45jwjT4KGdeWQlO-Q9qlhcXb9tnlW1HasEpAPKlg

2012 — PAPERBACK PUBLICATION OF “DEBT: THE FIRST 5000 YEARS” BY DAVID GRAEBER

“A major argument of the book is that the imprecise, informal, community-building indebtedness of “human economies” is only replaced by mathematically precise, firmly enforced debts through the introduction of violence, usually state-sponsored violence in some form of military or police.

“A second major argument of the book is that, contrary to standard accounts of the history of money, debt is probably the oldest means of trade, with cash and barter transactions being later developments.

“Debt, the book argues, has typically retained its primacy, with cash and barter usually limited to situations of low trust involving strangers or those not considered credit-worthy. Graeber proposes that the second argument follows from the first; that, in his words, “markets are founded and usually maintained by systematic state violence”, though he goes on to show how ‘in the absence of such violence, they… can even come to be seen as the very basis of freedom and autonomy’.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years

2013 – RELEASE ON THE COMMUNITY CURRENCY KNOWLEDGE GATEWAY WEBSITE THE FIRST OF 10 PART  “OPEN MONEY” SHORT VIDEO SERIES

The short videos feature Michael Linton, developer of the Local Exchange Trading System (LETS), a form of community currency. The videos describe multiple aspects of money. Each video is only 2-4 minutes in length. Part 1 is at http://community-currency.info/en/featured/open-money-part-1/. The entire series is at http://community-currency.info/en/videos/introduction-to-ccs/open-money-series-michael-linton/

NOVEMBER 28

2014 – “DEBATE OVER MONETARY SYSTEM GROWS” ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON DEUTSCHE WELLE (GERMANY’S INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST WEBSITE)

“Nearly all money is created by commercial banks in the act of lending. They also decide whom to lend it to, and for what purposes. Is this good for the economy? A growing movement is arguing for an alternative.” http://www.dw.com/en/debate-over-monetary-system-grows/a-18100679

NOVEMBER 29

1820 – DEATH OF WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIS, GOVERNOR OF N. CAROLINA AND DELEGATE TO THE 1787 US CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

“So low and hopeless are the finances of the United States, that, the year before last Congress was obliged to borrow money even, to pay the interest of the principal which we had borrowed before. This wretched resource of turning interest into principal, is the most humiliating and disgraceful measure that a nation could take, and approximates with rapidity to absolute ruin: Yet it is the inevitable and certain consequence of such a system as the existing Confederation.”

1872 – DEATH OF HORACE GREELEY, AMERICAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

“While boasting of our noble deeds we’re careful to conceal the ugly fact that by an iniquitous money system we have nationalized a system of oppression which, though more refined, is not less cruel than the old system of chattel slavery.”

NOVEMBER 30

1835 – BIRTH OF MARK TWAIN

“Beautiful credit! The foundation of modern society. Who shall say that this is not the golden age of mutual trust, of unlimited reliance upon human promises? That is a peculiar condition of society which enables a whole nation to instantly recognize point and meaning in the familiar newspaper anecdote, which puts into the mouth of the speculator in lands and mines this remark: — ‘I wasn’t worth a cent two years ago, and now I owe two million dollars.’ “

Another classic: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

2006 – STATEMENT THIS MONTH BY REED SIMPSON, BANKER, GRADUATE OF AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BANKING AND THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

“The process by which money comes into existence is thoroughly misunderstood, and for good reason: it has been the focus of a highly sophisticated and long-term disinformation campaign that permeates academia, media, and publishing. The complexity of the subject has been intentionally exploited to keep its mysteries hidden. Henry Ford said it best: ‘It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.’…

“In my experience, in fact, the chief source of bank robbery is not masked men looting tellers’ cash tills but the blatant abuse of the extension of credit by white collar criminals. A common practice is for loan officers to ignore the long-term risk of loans and approve those loan transactions with the highest fees and interest paid immediately – income which can be distributed to the principal executives of the bank.”

DECEMBER 1

1135 – DEATH OF KING HENRY I OF ENGLAND

About 1100, King Henry, short on gold money, created a unique form of government issued money – Tally Sticks. These sticks were just that – polished pieces or sticks of wood with notches of a certain size to indicate the value of the wood. They were declared by the King as money and issued for purchases. They were accepted by the King for payment of taxes. Tally Sticks was an accepted debt-free government-issued money system of England for over 700 years, including the period of the rise of the British Empire.

1896 – PRELIMINARY MEETING OF INDIANAPOLIS MONETARY CONVENTION

Organized by those connected to J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller (the two most powerful bankers, if not businessmen, in the US at the time), a gathering was organized one month after William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan for President to address monetary issues. The economic power elite, which had backed McKinley and his support for money backed by gold, realized a pure gold standard prevented the issuance of new money when needed to meet a growing economy. Rather than directly proposing a more “elastic” monetary system or the creation of a banker controlled central bank themselves, the bankers deliberately organized a gathering of businessmen, economists, and other academics, as well as bankers, in the nation’s heartland.

            A preliminary meeting was held on December 1 with a larger gathering on January 12, 1897. The effort was to camouflage the interests of the major banking interests and convince the public and Congress of the existence of a grassroots movement for real monetary reform. The Indianapolis Monetary Convention urged President McKinley to continue the gold standard, and create a new system of “elastic” bank credit. To that end, the convention urged the president to appoint a new monetary commission to prepare legislation for a new revised monetary system.

            A more in-depth report from what became the Indianapolis Monetary Commission was first published on December 1 of the following year in Sound Money magazine. This provided the political cover for the introduction in Congress of a bill to create what eventually became the US. Federal Reserve Act, creating the Federal Reserve System.

DECEMBER 2

1968 – US PRESIDENT NIXON NAMES HENRY KISSINGER SECURITY ADVISOR

Attributed quote to Kissinger, connected to the powerful Rockefeller circle: “If you control the oil, you control entire nations; if you control the food, you control the people; if you control the money, you control the entire world.” 

2020 – “THE PROBLEM WITH MONEY” BY HOWARD SWITZER POSTED ARTICLE

“The nascent monetary reform movement understands that the real cause of the extreme wealth inequality as well as the destruction of our resource base, is the monetary system. It is a systemic problem that affects human behavior as well as our planet. The movement understands, as did Aristotle, that money for most of civilization’s history, has played two roles:

1. An exchange medium for facilitating economic activity (it is just money)

2. An instrument of power capable of dominating the market (the hidden hand)”

https://howardswitzer.medium.com/the-problem-with-money-7fc3e1b3490b

November 19 – 25

NOVEMBER 19

1831 – BIRTH OF JAMES GARFIELD, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

“Whosoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce, and when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate.” (attributed quote)

2021 – CAN MMT AND JUST MONEY BE FRIENDS? WITH VIRGINIA HAMMON

Alliance for Just Money Coffeehouse video

Building Bridges: Is MMT a solution, a step in the right direction, or a swizzle? Can MMT and Just Money be friends? Virginia Hammon, author of US Money: What is it? Why we must change, How we can (2018), and (with Mark Pash), How We Pay for a Better World (2019) will explore the similarities and differences in the goals, values, definitions, and worldview of Modern Money Theory and Just Money.

NOVEMBER 20

2014 – UK PARLIAMENT DEBATES MONEY CREATION FOR FIRST TIME IN 170 YEARS 

From a press release from the UK group, Positive Money                         

 “Parliament places huge scrutiny on how taxpayers’ money is spent. But for the last 170 years, parliament has ignored the question of how money is created in the first place. This will change on Thursday 20th November when MPs will attend a debate on money creation and society.

Money creation affects almost every aspect of our lives and is directly connected to almost all public policy, including public and private debt levels, house prices, and rising inequality, but it’s very poorly understood. A recent poll found that 7 out of 10 MPs believed that only the government could create money, when in fact banks create 97% of money when they make loans, as recently confirmed by the Bank of England.

There is cross party support calling for a debate on money creation. The problems resulting from private money creation have not been debated in Parliament since 1844, when Sir Robert Peel brought in the Bank Charter Act, forbidding the private banks from printing paper money. In light of the financial crisis, we welcome this debate to discuss the foundations of the economy: the monetary system.”

[NOTE: Lack of basic understanding of money creation is no doubt as much a reality of U.S. Senators and Representatives as English MP’s. Needed is a similar debate in the U.S. Congress to increase their monetary literacy and raise the issue for public discussion.]

2019 – THE FEDERAL RESERVE IS LOOKING INTO DEVELOPING A DIGITAL CURRENCY IN THE US, POWELL CONFIRMS

“A digital currency backed by the central bank in the largest economy would be unprecedented and raise a host of legal and operational questions. Powell said it would be closely considered by policymakers but added that the US could be in some ways better positioned than other countries that have looked into such a proposal.”

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/the-federal-reserve-is-looking-into-developing-digital-currency-us-2019-11-1028705211?fbclid=iwar2w7bdoo27_pjzxnv8loj6vkogvx0rwxpuid9arf-oqgsqdsl00j_5sn4m

[NOTE: A Fed-backed national digital currency would not change the fact that the Fed would continue to create money out of thin air as debt.]

2019 – MEMBER SUCCESS STORIES: THE AMERICAN ALLIANCE FOR JUST MONEY, ONLINE REPORT

“Over the last few months the Alliance has been supporting two of our members How We Pay Campaign.  Board member Virginia Hammon (Author of US Money: What is it? Why we must change. How we can) and AFJM member Mark Pash (Author of Creating a Win-Win Economy: Solutions for the Robotic Age) collaborated to publish their joint work entitled How We Pay For A Better World.  The campaign is a multifaceted effort to bring awareness about monetary reform to U.S. citizens. It involves not only a book but also a country wide tour visiting various conferences, fairs and gatherings to spread an understanding of how Just Money can pay for a better world.  Below is a link to a video narrated by Virginia Hammon promoting the campaign.”

Watch video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7QK7Yy9jwQ&feature=youtu.be

Member Success Stories Fall 2019

NOVEMBER 21

1933 – PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT  — FINANCIAL ELEMENTS OWN THE GOVERNMENT

“The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the Government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson — and I am not wholly excepting the Administration of W.W. (Woodrow Wilson). The country is going through a repetition of Jackson’s fight with the Bank of the United States — only on a far bigger and broader basis.” – Franklin Roosevelt, letter to Presidential advisor Col. Edward Mandell House

1939 – BIRTH OF MARGRIT KENNEDY, AUTHOR OF “OCCUPY MONEY”

“But we humans, not God, created our monetary system. And we are the ones who can change it. We must go beyond blaming the greedy bankers and investors whom we hold responsible for the ongoing financial disaster. Our own ignorance, comfort, and insecurity are part of the problem. To awaken from our slumber, we must expand our knowledge and shake off our fears.”

1944 – BIRTH OF DICK DURBIN, US SENATOR, ILLINOIS

“And the banks — hard to believe in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.”

Interview on WJJG 1530 AM’s “Mornings with Ray Hanania,” April 2009

[NOTE: The FIRE sector — Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate — is the #1 sector of political campaign investments (mistakenly called “contributions” or “donations”) to federal political candidates. They also employ hundreds of lobbyists who often write the laws and regulations on financial issues.]

NOVEMBER 22

1879 – BIRTH OF RALPH HAWTREY, FORMER SECRETARY OF TREASURY, ENGLAND.

“Banks lend by creating credit. They create the means of payment out of nothing.”

2012 – WHERE DOES MONEY COME FROM? video

Short 2 minute video of Michael Kumhof, IMF Economist and Dirk Bezemer, Associate Professor, University of Groningen explaining where money comes from.

NOVEMBER 23

1910 – JEKYLL ISLAND MEETING TO PLAN FOR US PRIVATE CENTRAL BANK

Attending this secret meeting were US Senator Nelson Aldrich; A. Piatt Andrew, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; Frank Vanderlip, president of the National City Bank of New York; Henry P. Davison, senior partner of J.P. Morgan Company; D. Norton, president of the Morgan-dominated First National Bank of New York; Benjamin Strong (a lieutenant of J.P. Morgan); and Paul Warburg, connected to the banking house of Kuhn, Loeb. The meeting would lead to the Aldrich bill, which eventually led to the Federal Reserve Act, passed in 1913.

2000 – WRITTEN ANSWER TO LORD BEAUMONT OF WHITLEY, HOUSE OF LORDS, BY JAMES ROBERTSON, CO-AUTHOR OF “MONETARY REFORM – MAKING IT HAPPEN”

“Many people, even in government and parliament, don’t know how new money is now created, and what the consequences are. Most people find it hard to believe, if they think about it at all, that almost all the money in circulation has been created by commercial banks at profit to themselves. In reply to questions, a government spokesman may say that the funds which banks lend to customers ‘must either be obtained from depositors or the sterling money market, both of which usually require the payment of interest’ – thus appearing to deny that banks are allowed to create new money and to profit from doing so.”

NOVEMBER 24

1911 – AMERICAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION ENDORSES SO-CALLED “MONETARY REFORM” PLAN

The ABA at their annual conference in New Orleans endorsed a “monetary reform” plan by U.S. Senator Nelson Aldrich. The plan was actually to deform the ability of citizens to create and distribute their/own own money (see above November 23, 1910 entry).

2018 – CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF MONEY, FRANKFURT, GERMANY

“How does the digitalization change the monetary system? Which problems are ocurring in the current money system? Will central banks introduce digital cash? How would this new form of money change the structure of the money system? Will it evolve into a sovereign money system (Vollgeld)? And what part will blockchain technology play? Will private cryptocurrencies create a new stable monetary system? All these questions will be discussed at the Conference”

http://conference2018.monetative.de/

2020 – “HOW BANKS CREATE MONEY” VIDEO

 “However, where these banks deposits come from is often misunderstood. A common belief is that banks simply act as intermediaries. They accept deposits from society’s savers, and they lend the same money to society’s borrowers.This would mean that bank deposits are created by the decision of consumers to save, with banks then lending out these savings or deposits to borrowers. But it’s not true. The actual relationship is the inverse of that usually assumed. Commercial banks decide how much they can profitably lend in the market, and then that lending activity creates new bank deposits.” (9 min, 12 sec mark)

“Tim Skeet is a banker with more than 35 years experience in the financial markets. Tim has been an ICMA board member and an ECBC steering committee member. Tim is also a Freeman of the City of London…

“Finance Unlocked produced this video and is the world’s first comprehensive, on-demand video-delivered learning platform built specifically for finance professionals.”

NOVEMBER 25

1874 – GREENBACK PARTY FOUNDED

The Greenback Party was founded on this day at a convention in Indianapolis. Many of its members were farmers hurt by the financial Panic of 1873 (also known as the “Crime of ‘73”). The party supported “Greenback” paper money (U.S. Notes) issued and spent into circulation by the Lincoln administration. They opposed all money systems backed by any precious metal, believing that those who owned gold or silver (banks and corporations) would possess the power to define the value of products and labor. Government control of the US money system would also ensure sufficient quantity of money was in circulation to help small businesses and farmers. Twenty independent congressmen, mostly Greenbackers, were elected in 1878.

2008 – QUANTITATIVE EASING (QE) PROGRAM ANNOUNCED BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE

The Fed announced that on December 1 it would create money and use it to purchase $500 billion in toxic mortgage backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and an additional $100 billion of debt from both entities. This phase of QE (called QE1) extended until March 2010. Two additional rounds, QE2 and QE3, followed it. A total of $4.4 trillion from the Fed was issued. It went disproportionately to financial corporations (Wall Street), not “Main Street” (for small businesses) or to “Side Streets” (to bail out homeowners facing foreclosures). QE money was also spent to purchase US Treasury bonds (debt) following the decline of purchases by other nations as a means to stimulate the economy. At its peak, $85 billion per month in Treasury debt and mortgage backed securities was purchased. Many within the financial industry have since admitted that QE contributed to the rising gap between rich and poor and the rise and size of too-big-to-fail banking corporations.

November 12 – 18

NOVEMBER 12

1958 – DEATH OF JAMES MICHAEL CURLEY, MAYOR OF BOSTON – WHO THREATENED BANKS

 “James Michael Curley was a long time political boss in Boston. He served in the U.S. Congress. He was Governor of Massachusetts. He was mayor of Boston repeatedly – on and off from 1914 to the early 1940s. He thought the bankers had too much say in how the city of Boston was run. He was willing to threaten the banks when they withheld credit or when they wouldn’t grant loans. One time he threatened to flood their vaults by opening the city water main.”

Christopher Shaw on the American Struggle to Make Banking Democratic

1999 – ENACTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES MODERNIZATION ACT (ALSO KNOWN AS GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY ACT)

The act removed many barriers contained in the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, including those that separated banking, securities and insurance corporations. The result was massive combination and consolidation within the financial sector – creating enormously powerful institutions. A leading Republican in Congress, Senator Phil Gramm, proposed the bill. President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, signed it.

2013 – VIDEO PRESENTATION, “THE CHICAGO PLAN REVISITED”

“Michael Kumhof will discuss his 2012 paper on the Chicago Plan, a radical reform plan for the banking industry that would eliminate banks’ power to create money. Based on proposals developed by members of the Chicago School in the US in the 1930s, Kumhof’s plan represents the most far-reaching and decisive proposal to eliminate the risks associated with fractional reserve banking.”

Michael Kumhof is deputy division chief of the Modelling Division at the IMF Research Department.

NOVEMBER 13

1856  – BIRTH OF LOUIS BRANDEIS, US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE (1916-1939)

“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.” Louis Brandeis, Other People’s Money and How the Bankers Use It (1913)

NOVEMBER 14

2008 – US GOVERNMENT BAILS OUT US BANKS

The U.S. Treasury Department purchases a total of $33.5 billion in preferred stock in 21 U.S. banks under the Capital Purchase Program.

2020 – “BANKING ON A DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE” BY GREG COLERIDGE, OUTREACH DIRECTOR, NATIONAL MOVE TO AMEND

Video presentation at the 16^th annual American Monetary Institute (AMI) conference.

2022 – “AN OPEN MIC ON ELECTION REFLECTIONS” VIDEO

How do you feel post-election? AFJM (Alliance for Just Money) hosted an Open Mic for folks to share their thoughts! We wanted to hear from monetary reformers new and old on their Election Reflections. This open forum is meant for us to decompress and digest the results. At AFJM’s September Coffeehouse, Educating Legislators, Candidates, and Voters on Monetary Reform, we introduced the American Monetary Reform Act (AMRA). At this Open Mic, we hoped to assess our legislators and discuss who would be good candidates to introduce AMRA too.

Posted on YouTube on 12/26/22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8MJe_2n81Y

NOVEMBER 15

1637 – WAMPUM ACCEPTED AS CURRENCY

On November 15, 1637 the Massachusetts General Court stated that wampum beads would pass at 6 to a penny and were to be legal as payment in sums fewer than 12 pence.  http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Wampum.intro.html

2005 – QUOTE BY BEN BERNANKE ON DERIVATIVES

“With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly.”

NOVEMBER 16

1914 – US FEDERAL RESERVE OPENS FOR BUSINESS

“Commercial banks create checkbook money whenever they grant a loan, simply by adding new deposit dollars in accounts on their books in exchange for a borrower’s IOU.” From I Bet You Thought, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

1914 – FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF BOSTON OPENS FOR BUSINESS

“When you or I write a check there must be sufficient funds in our account to cover the check, but when the Federal Reserve writes a check there is no bank deposit on which that check is drawn. When the Federal Reserve writes a check, it is creating money.”

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Putting It Simply (1984)

2006 – DEATH OF MILTON FRIEDMAN, US ECONOMIST

“The Federal Reserve definitely caused the Great Depression by contracting the amount of currency in circulation by one-third from 1929 to 1933.”

Source: Radio interview in January 1996

2023 – WORLD PHILOSOPHY DAY [3^rd Thursday in November every year]

“Are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honour and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul?” – Socrates (469-399 B.C.) Greek philosopher

 “The trade of the petty usurer is hated with most reason:  it makes a profit from currency itself, instead of making it from the process which currency was meant to serve.  Their common characteristic is obviously their sordid avarice.” — Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher

NOVEMBER 17

2008 – FEDERAL RESERVE BAILS OUT BANKS

The US Treasury gives out $33.6 billion to 21 banks in the second round of disbursements from the $700 billion bailout fund. This payout brings the total to $158.56 billion to date.

NOVEMBER 18

1898 – BANKRUPTCY ACT IS ANNOUNCED

“For fifteen years prior to 1898 the Bankruptcy Act lay pending in the Congress. On November 18, 1898, the rules of the act were finally announced to the American people by Justice Gray of the United States Supreme Court. It was asserted that all rules of the act would take effect as of January 2, 1898. The act replaced the previous Bankruptcy Act of 1867.

“The Bankruptcy Act was first advocated by Supreme Justice Torrey, and was supported by the majority of United States lawyers. The Act, which included a total of 38 rules, was the first Act of its kind to protect corporations from creditors. If a corporation felt that it was slipping into debt the Act presented the option of “equity receivership’ to protect their assets. Corporations also had the option of complete liquidation of assets to avoid bankruptcy. The act further established a bankruptcy referee to be appointed by the state judge. The responsibilities of the referee included attended all hearings and making decisions on any contested evidence. The referees worked to alleviate the work load of circuit judges so that they may attend to other matters.”

https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/693

2014 – “HOW THE CURRENT PROCESS OF MONEY CREATION IS CAUSING A RISE IN POVERTY, INSTABILITY AND INEQUALITY” TALK BY BEN DYSON, FOUNDER OF POSITIVE MONEY (VIDEO)

Ben Dyson, founder of Positive Money presenting at Meaning Conference 2014 on 18th November in Brighton, UK. He got into the nitty gritty of how the current process for money creation is causing a rise in poverty, instability and inequality. And challenged the audience to imagine what a modern and sustainable system could look like.

http://positivemoney.org/2014/12/current-process-money-creation-causing-rise-poverty-instability-inequality-video/

November 5 – 11

NOVEMBER 5

1818 – BIRTH OF BENJAMIN BUTLER, UNION ARMY CIVIL WAR GENERAL AND MEMBER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE

“I stand here, therefore, for inconvertible paper money, the greenback, which has fought our battles and saved our country, which has been held by us as a just equivalent for the blood of our soldiers, the lives of our sons, the widowhood of our daughters, and the orphanage of their children. I stand here for a currency by which the business transactions of forty million people are safely and successfully done, which, founded on the faith, the wealth, and property of the nation, is at once the exemplar and engine of its industries and power—that money which saved the country in war and has given it prosperity and happiness in peace. To it four million men owe their emancipation from slavery; to it labor is indebted for elevation from that thrall of degradation in which it has been enveloped for ages. I stand for that money, therefore, which is by far the better agent and instrument of exchanged of an enlightened and free people than gold and silver the money alike of the barbarian and the despot.” [Speech on House floor, January 12, 1869 on national currency]

2015 – SWISS CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE COLLECTS 105,000 SIGNATURES, TRIGGERS REFERENDUM ON MONEY CREATION

“The Swiss population will be the first in the world to vote on their banking and monetary system, thanks to the tireless efforts of a pro-Sovereign Money campaign.

“The ‘Vollgeld Initiative’ (Sovereign Money Initiative) has successfully managed to collect 100,000 signatures –  the number required to trigger a nationwide referendum on the issue.

‘In a nutshell, the proposal extends the Swiss Federation’s existing exclusive right to create coins and notes, to also include deposits. With the full power of new money creation exclusively in the hands of the Swiss National Bank, the commercial banks would no longer have the power to create money through lending. The Swiss National Bank’s primary role becomes the management of the money supply relative to the productive economy, while the decision concerning how new money is introduced debt free into the economy would reside with the government’, reads the official website of the initiative.”

http://positivemoney.org/2015/11/swiss-citizens-initiative-collects-105000-signatures-triggers-referendum-on-money-creation/

2016 – ”TO DEAL WITH CLIMATE CHANGE WE NEED A NEW FINANCIAL SYSTEM,” BY JASON HICKEL IN THE GUARDIAN

“When it comes to global warming, we know that the real problem is not just fossil fuels – it is the logic of endless growth that is built into our economic system…

“But there’s an even more exciting solution we might consider. We could abolish debt-based currency altogether and invent a new money system completely free of intrinsic debt. Instead of letting commercial banks create money by lending it into existence, we could have the state create the money and then spend it into existence. New money would get pumped into the real economy instead of just going straight into financial speculation where it inflates huge asset bubbles that only benefit the mega-rich…

“What they didn’t notice is that abolishing debt-based currency also holds the secret to getting our system off its addiction to growth, and therefore to arresting climate change. As it turns out, reinventing our money system is crucial to our survival in the Anthropocene – at least as important as getting off fossil fuels.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/nov/05/how-a-new-money-system-could-help-stop-climate-change

NOVEMBER 6

1841 – BIRTH OF NELSON ALDRICH, US SENATOR (R.I.), LEADER OF REPUBLICAN PARTY IN THE SENATE

Aldrich was the major Senate proponent of the Federal Reserve Act. He railroaded the bill through both houses of Congress in the fall and winter of 1913. Alfred Crozier, an Ohio attorney and author of the book US Money vs Corporation Currency, testified before Congress against the Aldrich bill. He said, “The… bill grants just what Wall Street and the big banks for 25 years have been striving for, namely, private instead of public control of currency. [The bill] robs the Government and the people of all effective control over the public money supply and vest in the banks exclusively the dangerous power to make money among the people scarce or plenty.”

2019 – PETITION “REQUIRE RESERVE BANK OR New Zealand TO ISSUE ALL NEW ZEALAND MONEY”

Download “Full evidence text”

“Petition Request

That the House of Representatives inquire into giving the Reserve Bank of New Zealand

the sole ability to issue all New Zealand money, whether notes, coins, or electronic.

“Petition Reason

Private banks create 97% of our money. They pump too much money into housing,

creating huge profits for themselves but skyrocketing house prices, inequality, and

poverty for ordinary kiwis. NZ successfully used Reserve Bank credit in 1936 to build

thousands of state houses and we can do it again.”

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/submissions-and-advice/document/52SCFE_EVI_78901_FE24585/stuart-bramhall

NOVEMBER 7

1775 – QUAKERS OF PHILADELPHIA REFUSE TO ACCEPT “CONTINENTALS”

The Continental Congress issued their own money, “continentals,” to facilitate economic transactions during the time of the American Revolution. The money was used in large part to pay for the war, since British and Spanish money was in short supply. Continentals helped the colonists win the war. As pacifists, however, Quakers of Philadelphia argued beginning on this day they couldn’t touch money created to fight a war.

1846 – AMENDMENT TO ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION ADOPTED

Among the first acts of the new state was chartering two private banking corporations. A depression, lasting from approximately 1834 to 1844, was in progress at the time, including the famous panic of 1837, causing inflation, speculation and “wildcat banking.”  As a result of these failures, the first amendment to the Constitution of Arkansas of 1836, ratified by the state legislature on November 17, 1846 read: “No bank or banking institution shall be hereafter incorporated or established in this State,” which lasted until after the Civil War.

1931 – PUBLISHED LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF ALBERT EINSTEIN IN BERLINER TAGEBLATT

“The gold standard has, in my opinion, the serious disadvantage that a shortage in the supply of gold automatically leads to a contraction of credit and also of the amount of currency in circulation… The natural remedies to our troubles are, in my opinion…Control of the amount of money in circulation and of the volume of credit in such a way as to keep the price level steady, abolishing any monetary standard.”

2000 – DEATH OF ROBERT DE FREMERY, AUTHOR, RIGHTS VS PRIVILEGES

“There are some people who look with distrust upon ‘printing press’ or ‘fiat’ money. But they overlook one of the basic facts about money. It is true that we need a ‘hard’ money. But we should not make the mistake of associated ‘hardness’ with convertibility into gold. The essence of hard money is not determined by the material of which it is composed — or the material into which it is convertible. The essence of a hard money is that its supply is fairly stable and there are precise limits to it…a purely paper or ‘fiat’ money can be a hard money if we set precise limits to its supply, or it can be a soft money if we set no precise limits to its supply.”

2023 – ELECTION DAY IN THE UNITED STATES

It may be impossible to believe in our corporate-dominated elections — where corporations and the wealthy few decide which candidates are “electable,” what issues are discussed and what constitutes “news” — that there were a few federal elections in our nation’s history where the nature of money and/or democratic control over the issuing and circulation of our nation’s money were among THE, major issues in the campaign [i.e. 1832 election of Andrew Jackson and 1896 election of William McKinley over William Jennings Bryan]. 

NOVEMBER 8

2013 –  “THE CRISIS AS A CLASSIC FINANCIAL PANIC,” TALK BY BEN BERNANKE, CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE

“The recent crisis echoed many aspects of the 1907 panic. Like most crises, the recent episode had an identifiable trigger–in this case, the growing realization by market participants that subprime mortgages and certain other credits were seriously deficient in their underwriting and disclosures. ” [No, Ben. The crisis was due to banking corporations being handed the authority to create the vast majority of money in our economy…and deciding where it should go. Too much of went into risky speculation – many times the amount they had in reserves to cover defaults. Add to this the reality that if those speculations went bust, banks would be bailed out by U.S. taxpayers – which added to their risk taking.

2019 – BOOK REVIEW OF “THE END OF BANKING” BY JOHN HOWELL POSTED ONLINE

“McMillan does an excellent job of describing the current system and making a case for the elimination of money creation by banks. This leaves the question of how new money is to be created. Like other monetary reform proposals, including the NEED Act, McMillan puts money creation in the public sphere, namely in government. He proposes a Monetary Authority (MA) to manage this, which is similar to what is proposed in the NEED Act. What is different is that McMillan proposes that the MA use only two tools, one for injecting money into circulation and one for removing it. For injecting money into circulation, he proposes a citizens’ dividend, a direct deposit into the digital currency account of every person. For removing money from circulation, McMillan proposes a liquidity fee on held money. Details aren’t given on how the liquidity fund would work. Its purpose would be to enable the MA to withdraw money from circulation in case inflation threatens. It is not likely to be necessary if populations and economies continue to grow and the money supply only needs to be increased.”

Review: The End of Banking

NOVEMBER 9

1910 – BIRTH OF CARROLL QUIGLEY, AMERICAN HISTORIAN AND THEORIST OF THE EVOLUTION OF CIVILIZATIONS

“The powers of financial capitalism had another far reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements, arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the worlds’ central banks which were themselves private corporations. The growth of financial capitalism made possible a centralization of world economic control and use of this power for the direct benefit of financiers and the indirect injury of all other economic groups.”

Tragedy and Hope: A History of The World in Our Time (Macmillan Company, 1966) Professor Carroll Quigley of Georgetown University, highly esteemed by his former student, former US President, Bill Clinton

2011- FEDERAL RESERVE AWARENESS DAY

Sponsored by the US Occupy movement, teach-ins and forums took place in several locations across the country to expose the true nature of the largely private misnamed Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Awareness Days are still needed since the myths, lore, untruths and lack of understanding of the origin, purposes, consequences and alternatives to the Federal Reserve.

NOVEMBER 10

1483 – BIRTH OF MARTIN LUTHER, MONK, PRIEST, KEY FIGURE IN PROTESTANT REFORMATION

He condemned anyone who charged usury (interest): “A thief, robber and murderer. Money is an unfruitful commodity which I cannot sell in such a way as to entitle me to a profit.”

1936 – LETTER TO PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT CALLING FOR CREATING U.S. DEBT-FREE MONEY TO END THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Economist Irving Fisher wrote FDR asking that he adopt the “Chicago Plan,” developed by Irving and several other prominent economists.

“It is, I believe, the only practicable plan proposed for transferring completely all control over our chief circulating medium from the banks to the Government, where it belongs. This plan has been gaining converts rapidly. Its adoption, as part of a managed currency plan, would, I am sure, go down in history with the emancipation of the slaves.”

One hundred and fifty academic economists signed the Plan; another 40 approved it with reservations. Main features: 1. Only the government would create money. 2. The Plan separated the loan-making function, which can belong in private banks, from the money-creation function, which belongs in government. 3. The proposal recognized the distinction between money and credit. Senator Bronson Cutting (R, NM) introduced The Plan in Congress (S. 3744). In several respects, it was the precursor to the National Emergency Employment Act (HR 6550) introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich in 2010, and reintroduced as HR 2990 in 2011.

1796 – BIRTH OF WILLIAM GOUGE, EDITOR AND WRITER

Gouge edited the ” Philadelphia Gazette” and other journals, and for thirty years contributed articles on banking to various periodicals. He was for thirty years connected with the treasury department at Washington. He published “History of the American Banking System” (1835); ” Expediency of Dispensing with Bank Paper” (1837); and a “Fiscal History of Texas” (1852)

“As it is public credit that supports the Banks, and not the Banks that support public credit, as the deposits of the Banks are the property of the community generally and the profits derived from circulation come from the community generally they ought to go to the community generally and be used to lighten the burden of taxation.”

“The banking system is the principal cause of social evil in the United States.”

2022 – “IF BITCOIN SUCCEEDS IT WILL KILL DEMOCRACY AND PLUNGE US BACK INTO SERFDOM” BY JARED A BROCK

“The underlying ideology of Bitcoin is so incredibly flawed that if it does somehow magically succeed and take over the global economy, it will destroy democracy and plunge humanity back into serfdom.

“Modern fiat currency is objectively horrible.

“Corporations own and control the Federal Reserve, and wield this power to create trillions by buying interest-bearing securities from their bankster buddies and then depositing the funds with their bankster buddies, who then loan that money to their corporate buddies so they can use it to buy up assets like your home and the company you work for.”

https://survivingtomorrow.org/if-bitcoin-succeeds-it-will-kill-democracy-and-plunge-us-back-into-serfdom-a5d2a694eab3

NOVEMBER 11

2013 – STATEMENT BY ANDREW HUSZAR, “CONFESSIONS OF A QUANTITATIVE EASER” IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“I can only say: I’m sorry, America. As a former Federal Reserve official, I was responsible for executing the centerpiece program of the Fed’s first plunge into the bond-buying experiment known as quantitative easing. The central bank continues to spin QE as a tool for helping Main Street. But I’ve come to recognize the program for what it really is: the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time.”

2021 – MONETARY CONFERENCE CALL COP26’S ATTENTION TO THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MONETARY SYSTEM AND CLIMATE CHANGE

“AMI Press Release on Letter to COP26…”

“The concise statement released to the participants of the UN Climate Conference’s COP26 is as follows:

“We acknowledge there exists a strong correlation between the current, debt-based monetary system and climate change. It acts through multiple paths of transmission, which have to be taken into account to find just and sustainable solutions.

“On top of that, we strongly believe that a sovereign monetary system will allow substantial public investments which are required to steer global civilisation from a brown, carbon-based system to a green, equitable, post-fossil fuel age with a balanced carbon cycle.”

https://www.monetary.org/Conferences/114-ami-press-release-on-letter-to-cop26

[Note: The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) began on November 6^th this year and today runs through November 18 in Egypt. The issues raised by AMI in last year’s press release are more pressing than ever with the need for sovereign money systems more necessary than ever.]