Tag: Ten Steps to Prosperity

Treating the 99% like dogs: The “crumb” theory.”

It takes only two things to keep people in chains:
.

The ignorance of the oppressed
and the treachery of their leaders.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

The GOP’s new tax law rewards the 1% mightily, and to appease the voting 99%, it includes a few crumbs for the rest. It’s the “crumb theory” at work

If you are a mean-spirited sadist, you can chain, beat and starve a dog all day, but if in the dog’s final hour, you feed him a few tasty crumbs, he will lick your face in appreciation.

People are much the same.

After decades of chastising the idle, Republicans pushed through a tax bill that specifically advantages rich people who don’t work. But they aren’t applying that standard for poor people.

Republicans also plan to make it easier for states to add work requirements for welfare recipients.

The Senate tax bill gives business owners nearly three times more benefits than workers with wages and salaries, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Adam Looney, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The New York Times that it will be the first time that “wage earners are substantially penalized” by the tax code.

The diverging treatment comes from how the tax bill treats the businesses that are structured so that profits are taxed as individual income. Republicans portray these businesses, which are known as “pass-throughs,” as “ma and pa bakeries and family-owned salons.”

In reality, most pass-through income goes to people in the top 1 percent—including the Trump family.

Pass-through owners only automatically pay the 25 percent rate when someone else runs their business. In other words, the wealthiest Americans are rewarded for not working.

The most important problems in economics involve the excessive income/wealth/power Gaps between the have-mores and the have-less.

Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics.Image result for begging dog

So you might expect the voting 99% to object when the GOP pushes them further down the income scale.

But then we meet the “crumb theory” — Give the beggers a crumb and they will lick your face in appreciation. 

Consider this squib:

Corporate American workers continue to reap the benefits stemming from a recent corporate tax cut.

Disney, American Airlines, Boeing, AT&T, Wells Fargo, Comcast, Bank of America and Walmart are just some of the companies that have announced one-off payments to employees late last year and early this year, while dozens of other firms have followed suit.

Apple recently said it will give $2,500 worth of restricted stock units to most of its employees. But why give bonuses rather than simply salary raises?

The Washington Post explains that salary bumps drive up fixed costs for companies; how workers are compensated is also changing, with discretionary bonuses becoming an increasing share of compensation.

Get it? “Reap the benefits” is happy-talk for “accept a few crumbs.”

To mollify any negative feelings you may have, about the 1% amassing endless billions from the new, lower tax rates, some of you will be given small, one-time bonuses.

And there will be other crumbs.

In the two right-hand columns, you will see the tax savings for each income level. If you earn up to $30,000, you’ll save virtually nothing. You may even pay more. At $30,000, the savings begin, but the crumbs truly are small.

A person making $1 million a year receives annual tax savings of 1.5% or $15,000.  But if you make $50,000 a year, your tax rate will be reduced by only 1% or about $500 on average — a crumb to keep you quiet.

While some may justify the rich receiving a higher tax saving because they pay more taxes, there simply is no justification for the rich receiving a higher percentage tax saving. Yet you are expected to thank the GOP for giving you the crumbs.

But the crumb theory doesn’t end there. What little the GOP gives with one hand, it more than takes back with the other.

The exists a block grant called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  But the number of poor people receiving federal cash assistance has plummeted, along with the monthly benefits.

The budget for the program has remained unchanged at $16 billion since 1996; inflation has reduced its actual value by a third since then.

And then there’s this article from the 1/24/18 issue of the Chicago Tribune:

Is a Medicaid work requirement fair?
Earlier this month, Kentucky made Medicaid history: It will now require some of its Medicaid recipients to work or risk losing benefits.

Critics say this 20-hours-per-week rule is a draconian plan to toss people off the rolls.

Kentucky’s plan is flexible: Recipients could meet the requirement through volunteer work, job training, searching for a job, taking classes, or caring for someone elderly or disabled. Pregnant women, full-time students, the medically frail, the homeless and people who aren’t healthy enough to work will be exempt.

About a dozen other states, including Indiana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Maine, have submitted similar proposals to the federal government.

Imposing a work requirement wouldn’t knock the neediest off the rolls. But it could prompt many to get jobs — and thus health coverage via employers.

The work requirement is based on the fiction that the poor are congenitally lazy, and unless forced to labor, they will just loll about in their miserable hovels, waiting to receive crumbs from the federal government.

Therefore they cannot be allowed to receive free money. They must labor for the rich or be punished.

The rich, by contrast, are felt to be entitled to loll about in luxury, supported by the government, because . . . . well, because they’re rich.

And while we’re on the subject of the GOP giving crumbs with one hand, while punishing with the other:

Ryan says Republicans to target welfare, Medicare, Medicaid spending in 2018

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday that congressional Republicans will aim next year to reduce spending on both federal health care and anti-poverty programs, citing the need to reduce America’s deficit.

“We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit,” Ryan said. “Frankly, it’s the healthcare entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements — because that’s really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking.”

Ignore, for a moment, the fact that the so-called federal “debt” isn’t really a “debt” and never will be a burden on the federal government or on taxpayers. Ignore, for a moment, that federal deficit spending grows the economy, and benefits everyone, even the rich.

Instead, focus on this reality: After forcing through a tax law that adds $1.5 trillion to the debt, and also massively increased military spending, and demanding billions more to finish a useless border wall, the GOP now has “discovered” that Medicare and Social Security, which primarily benefit the 99%, need to be reduced.

So they will try to cut these valuable programs that aid the 99% and cost the 1% nothing, though these programs do help narrow the Gap between the rich and the rest — something the rich do not want.

In summary, the GOP believes that you can mistreat the 99% “dogs,” but if you toss them a few crumbs, they will lick your face in the elections.

Is the 99% really that stupid? We’ll know this year.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The most important problems in economics involve the excessive income/wealth/power Gaps between the have-mores and the have-less.

Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics.

Implementation of The Ten Steps To Prosperity can narrow the Gaps:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich can afford better health care than can the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE A MONTHLY ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA (similar to Social Security for All) (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB (Economic Bonus)) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONE Five reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefitting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE FEDERAL TAXES ON BUSINESS
Businesses are dollar-transferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the federal government (the later having no use for those dollars). Any tax on businesses reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all business taxes reduce your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.) Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and business taxes would be a good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.

Progressives think the purpose of government is to protect the poor and powerless from the rich and powerful. Conservatives think the purpose of government is to protect the rich and powerful from the poor and powerless.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

 

The monster conspiracy of deceit in Washinton. What you can do.

Freedom

.
It takes only two things to keep people in chains:
.

The ignorance of the oppressed
and the treachery of their leaders.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

There is a monster fraud, a conspiracy of deceit, being perpetrated in Washington. It is a conspiracy among the politicians, the university economists, and the media.

The conspiracy is known as the “shutdown,” and you are the target and the victim. Like all conspiracies, the “shutdown” is based on a lie. In this case, the Big Lie. It has been pumped into your head for decades.

The Big Lie is: “Your federal taxes pay for federal spending.”

That is 100% false. The politicians know it is false. The media know it is false. The economists know it is false.

The facts are:

  1. The federal government, unlike state & local governments, and unlike you and me, is Monetarily Sovereign. It is sovereign over its sovereign currency, the U.S. dollar.
  2. Being Monetarily Sovereign, the U.S. government created from thin air, all the laws concerning the creation, the destruction, and the value of the dollar. It can modify and enforce those laws in any way it wishes. The dollar is 100% a product of laws controlled 100% by the federal government.
  3. The federal government has the unlimited ability to create laws from thin air, and even these current laws give the government the unlimited ability to create unlimited dollars from thin air. Thus, our Monetarily Sovereign U.S. government never unintentionally can run short of dollars. 
  4. Having the unlimited ability to create dollars, the federal government has no need for taxes, and indeed, the government does not use tax dollars for anything. Once received, tax dollars cease to be part of any money-supply measure — not M1, not M2, not M3, not L. In short,  federal tax dollars are destroyed upon receipt. (State and local governments, not being Monetarily Sovereign, do not destroy their tax dollars.)
  5. The federal “debt” is unlike all other forms of debt. The federal debt is the total of deposits into Treasury security accounts, which are similar to bank savings accounts. These deposits are paid off upon maturity by transferring the dollars that exist in those accounts back to the checking accounts of the account holders. The (misnamed) federal “debt” will not be paid off by your taxes. It will not be paid off by your grandchildren. Even if all federal tax collections were $0, the federal government could continue to spend and pay all its debt, forever.
  6. Finally, being absolutely sovereign over the U.S. dollar, the federal government has the unlimited ability to set the value of the dollar at any level it wishes. This means it has the unlimited ability to set inflation at any value it wishes.

The public has been told none of these facts. Instead, we are given a steady diet of lies, as in the following article:

Shutdown? Terrible, say GOP, Dems. But both threatened it
Associated Press, Laurie Kellman, January 19, 2018

Threatening to shutter the federal government unless demands are met — who would do that?
canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm” data-reactid=”16″>Members of both parties, it turns out. And both sides have complained loudly when the other resorted to a shutdown threat:

  1. President Donald Trump in May griped via Twitter that Congress’ negotiating process was frustrating his drive to enact his agenda. Looming ahead was the budget fight.

Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!” he tweeted.

On Thursday, Trump appeared to feel differently about the impact of a government shutdown.

“A government shutdown will be devastating to our military … something the Dems care very little about!” he tweeted.

2. As an Indiana congressman, Mike Pence, now Trump’s vice president, said he would be willing to shut the government down over reducing government spending and over his amendment to defund Planned Parenthood. In either case, he said, a government shutdown would be the Democrats’ fault.

“If liberals in the Senate would rather play political games and shut down the government instead of making a small down payment on fiscal discipline and reform, I say: Shut it down,” he said at a March 31, 2011, rally as Tea Partyers around him shouted, “Cut it or shut it!”

Asked a few days later whether he’d be willing to close the government if he didn’t get his amendment to defund Planned Parenthood, Pence replied, “Of course I would.”

3. In 2013, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, contemplating a run for president, vowed to speak on the Senate floor against President Barack Obama’s health care law until he was “no longer able to stand.” Cruz’s move forced a 16-day government shutdown. Democratic leaders criticized his strategy.

4. Earlier that same year, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D- N.Y., called Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and other House conservatives “fanatics.”

“No matter how strongly one feels about an issue, you shouldn’t hold millions of people hostage. That’s what the other side is doing. That’s wrong and we can’t give in to that,” he said in The New York Observer.

A few days later, on ABC’s “This Week,” Schumer said the technique produces negotiations held “with a gun held to your head. And you just can’t do it.”

5. Ahead of a 2013 shutdown, Meadows argued that the founding fathers intended for government funding to be leverage in policy debate. Meadows urged Republicans to use the budget to try to repeal the Obama-era health care law.

All of this is a lie. Trump knows it’s a lie. Pence knows it’s a lie. Cruz knows it’s a lie. Schumer knows it’s a lie. Meadows knows it’s a lie.  And Laurie Kellman and the Associated Press know it’s a lie.

They all know the federal government can pay any bill of any size at any time, and do it without collecting a dime in taxes.

FICA doesn’t pay for Social Security, Medicare, or Obamacare. Federal income taxes don’t pay for the military or for Planned Parenthood or for any federal agency or initiative. The federal government creates dollars, ad hoc, by paying bills. That is the federal government’s method for creating dollars.

Why the politicians, the media, and the economists lie: 

They lie because they are bribed by the richest among us to lie.

–The politicians are bribed by campaign contributions and promises of lucrative employment when they leave office.

–The media are bribed by advertising dollars and by wealthy media ownership.

–The university economists are bribed by contributions to their universities and by lucrative jobs at “think tanks.”

Why the rich pay the politicians, the media, and the economists to lie:

“Rich” is a comparative word.  If you have $1,000 and everyone else has $10, you are rich. But if you have $1000 and everyone else has $10,000 you are poor.

The Gap between you and others determines whether you are rich and by how much.  The rich want the Gap below them to be wide, for the wider the Gap, the richer they are.

But the rich believe you, the American public, are stupid. The rich fear that if you “stupid” people knew the federal government cannot run short of dollars, and has no need for your tax dollars, you would demand things.

You would demand the best health care, top education, good food, and decent lodging — all of which the rich have and the federal government could afford to give you.

But if the government gave you things, not only would the Gap narrow, making the rich less rich, but you wouldn’t be under their thumbs.  You wouldn’t struggle in a bad job for bad wages and accept bad conditions. In short, you wouldn’t be a slave to the rich.

I do not believe Americans are stupid; I believe you have misinformed (i.e. lied to) by the rich. I believe that, given the honest facts, the American public would understand what the government can and cannot do, and what the government should and should not do.

The politicians are not smarter than you. They just don’t want to give up the power and the money given to them by the rich. So they do as they are told, and we see the current spectacle in Washington.

What is the cure?

You hold the cure in your hands. First, you must understand and accept the truth. This can be difficult. Because you have been brainwashed with the Big Lie, by so many people for so many years, you have acquired an intuition against the real facts of our economy.

Then, contact your politicians. Tell them you know they are lying, and you will give your vote to the politician who tells them the truth.

Image result for teacher
The truth will set you free

Additionally, you should make specific demands. My suggestion is to demand the sequential implementation of the Ten Steps to Prosperity (below).

Enough is enough. You are being enslaved by lies, but as the maxim goes, “The truth will set you free.”

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The most important problems in economics involve the excessive income/wealth/power Gaps between the have-mores and the have-less.

Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics.

Implementation of The Ten Steps To Prosperity can narrow the Gaps:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich can afford better health care than can the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE A MONTHLY ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA (similar to Social Security for All) (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB (Economic Bonus)) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONE Five reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefitting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE FEDERAL TAXES ON BUSINESS
Businesses are dollar-transferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the federal government (the later having no use for those dollars). Any tax on businesses reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all business taxes reduce your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.) Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and business taxes would be a good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

 

On making America great, again

It takes only two things to keep people in chains:
.

The ignorance of the oppressed
and the treachery of their leaders.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Donald Trump’s signature promise was to make America great, again. But what does “great” mean in that context?

If it means militarily strong, we were militarily “great” ten years ago, militarily “great” five years ago, militarily “great” last year, and we will continue to be militarily “great” next year, and Trump has done nothing new to change that.

If “great” means improving the lives of those who live here, especially the lives of those whose lives most need improvement — the poor and middle classes — Trump has worked fervently against that form on national greatness. He has tried to destroy healthcare for the poor, and his tax plan simply pushes the poor and middle farther behind the rich.

If “great” means a more honest, open society, Trump is the embodiment of dishonesty, a man who lies a dozen times before breakfast, and whose promises are broken the instant they leave his lips. (Example: Trump: I’ll Sign Any Immigration Bill Congress Sends Me, then one day later, ‘No. No. No.’ — Donald Trump Says He Won’t Sign DACA Deal Without Wall Funding)

We suggest that “great” is not achieved by a nation supporting bigotry against black,  brown, or gay people.

For you who continue to live with the fantasy that someone ignorant of government, someone morally corrupt, emotionally unstable, paranoid, vengeful, and incapable of focusing for more than a few minutes, is able to, or even wishes to, “make America great” (whatever that means), I offer this view from abroad:

The Guardian: World’s confidence in US leadership under Trump at new low, poll finds
Approval for US falls to 30% from 48% under Obama
‘Historic low’ of Gallup poll ‘sets a new bar for disapproval

Global confidence in US leadership has fallen to a new low, and the country now ranks below China in worldwide approval ratings, according to a new Gallup poll.

The survey of opinion in 134 countries showed a record collapse in approval for the US role in the world, from 48% under Obama to 30% after one year of Donald Trump – the lowest level Gallup has recorded since beginning its global leadership poll over a decade ago.

The result comes after a separate Gallup survey found that Trump reaches the first anniversary of his inauguration with the lowest average approval rating of any elected president in his first year.

Germany is now seen as a global leader by many more people (41% of the sample), with China in second place on 31%. Russia has 27% approval for its global role according to the poll.

In just under half of the world’s countries – 65 out of 134 – US standing collapsed, by 10 percentage points or more. Some of the biggest losses were among Washington’s closest allies in western Europe, Australia, and Latin America.

Germany is not the world leader in the minds of the world. China is second. Does this indicate Trump has now made “America great, again”?

As part of his “America First” policy, Trump took the US out several multilateral agreements on the grounds they did not serve national interests, including the proposed Trans-Pacific trade partnership and the Paris Climate Change accord.

He walked out of talks on a new trade and investment deal with Europe and has threatened to leave the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

Rex Tillerson: ‘America first’ means divorcing our policy from our values

“Our values around freedom, human dignity, the way people are treated – those are our values. Those are not our policies.”

Does defaulting on promises and agreements with nations all over the world, help “make America great, again”? Does cruelty, denying scientific consensus, encouraging pollution, and putting incompetents in charge of vital agencies “make America great, again”?

Does conducting a war against news those news media that include criticism of Trump “make America great, again”?

Does Trump’s repeatedly disagreeing with, and undercutting his own advisors “make America great, again”?

Does the inherent selfishness and xenophobia of an “America first” policy “make America great, again”?

Tillerson is right about one thing: American values include “freedom, human dignity, and the way people are treated.” Does this describe the only person to whom Trump has given a pardon, the infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio?

Does “freedom, human dignity and the way people are treated” describe Trump’s treatment of immigrants from dark-skinned countries, or his actions against the poor and middle-classes, or his groping of women?

Every country has a reservoir or mean-spirited, selfish, hate-filled bigots, who offer so little to the world, they derive self-respect by dumping on the less fortunate. In them, Trump has found willing and eager acolytes.

With all his lies and broken promises, Trump has managed to break his most fundamental promise. He has not “made America great, again. “

Quite the opposite: He has done his best to turn America, the world’s beacon of freedom and human dignity,  into a barbaric, “shithole” country.

You know it. I know it. And apparently, now the whole world knows it.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

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America was a great nation before Trump, and it will be a great nation after Trump, but here is how to make America greater:

The most important problems in economics involve the excessive income/wealth/power Gaps between the have-mores and the have-less.

Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics.

Implementation of The Ten Steps To Prosperity can narrow the Gaps:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich can afford better health care than can the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE A MONTHLY ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA (similar to Social Security for All) (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB (Economic Bonus)) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONE Five reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefitting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE FEDERAL TAXES ON BUSINESS
Businesses are dollar-transferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the federal government (the later having no use for those dollars). Any tax on businesses reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all business taxes reduce your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.) Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and business taxes would be a good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

 

Why do you believe what you believe?

It takes only two things to keep people in chains:
.

The ignorance of the oppressed
and the treachery of their leaders.

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Why do you believe what you believe?

You believe a great deal. Some of what you believe is based on facts. Some is flat-out wrong. Some you have invented. Some exists because you want it to exist. Some comes from a trusted source.

Veronique de Rugy would be considered a “trusted source.” The Mercatus Center says:

She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a nationally syndicated columnist. Her primary research interests include the US economy, the federal budget, homeland security, taxation, tax competition, and financial privacy.

De Rugy is the author of a weekly opinion column for the Creators Syndicate, writes regular columns for Reason magazine, and she blogs about economics at National Review Online’s the Corner.

Her charts, articles, and commentary have been featured in a wide range of media outlets, including the Reality Check segment on Bloomberg Television’s Street Smart, the New York Times’ Room for Debate, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal,CNN International, Stossel,20/20, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, and Fox News.

In 2015, she was named in Politico Magazine’s Guide to the Top 50 thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American Politics. 

Outstanding credentials. You can’t get much more trusted than that.

And yet . . . well, you decide. Here are excerpts from one article she wrote for Reason Magazine:

Start Saving Now, Because Social Security Is Screwed
If Congress doesn’t address its insolvency issues, payouts will need to be slashed by a quarter starting in fewer than 20 years.

The single largest government program in the United States will soon have an annual budget of $1 trillion a year. Yet even that amount isn’t sufficient to fulfill the promises it has made.

If Congress doesn’t address its insolvency issues, payouts will need to be slashed by a quarter starting in fewer than 20 years.

The program is Social Security, and our national pastime seems to be turning a blind eye to its dysfunctions.

The U.S. federal government (unlike you and me, and unlike state and local governments), is Monetarily Sovereign.  As such, it has the unlimited ability to create its own sovereign currency, the U.S. dollar.

It created the very first dollar 240 years ago, by creating laws from thin air, and since then these laws have created many billions of dollars, also from thin air. 

The federal government never, unintentionally, can run short of dollars.

For the same reason, no agency of the U.S. government can run short of dollars, unless Congress and the President want that to happen. Social Security is an agency of the U.S. government.

Congress has no “insolvency issues.” Even if all federal tax collections fell to $0, the federal government could continue spending unlimited amounts, forever.

So, even if the FICA tax were $0, the federal government could fund Social Security and Medicare, too, for every man, woman, and child in America — forever.

The article continues:

The problems with this entitlement aren’t unique. Obamacare is also a mess, while cumulative government spending on Medicare and Medicaid is growing at a faster rate than Social Security is, and eventually will consume a larger share of the economy.

Obamacare indeed is “a mess,” but not because it is short of money. It is a mess because it is based on the lie that it is limited by federal tax collections.

Obamacare (and Medicare and Medicaid and all other similar programs) should be replaced by a federally funded Medicare for every man, woman, and child in America.

Federal spending for Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, and any other program does not “consume” a share of the economy. Federal spending adds growth dollars to the economy.

Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Non-federal Spending + Net Exports

The more the government spends, the more dollars become available to you, me, and the rest of the economy.

But that’s no reason to ignore the serious fiscal issues with America’s main retirement program. Since 2010, it has been running a cash-flow deficit—meaning that the Social Security payroll taxes the government collects aren’t enough to cover the benefits it’s obliged to pay out.

To get by, the program started tapping into the assets set aside beginning in the 1980s for rainy days.

Prior to 2010, the program collected more in payroll taxes than was needed to pay the benefits due at the time. The leftovers were “invested” into Treasury bonds through the so-called Old Age Trust Fund, which is now being drawn down.

Ms. de Rugy, seems not to understand the differences between a Monetarily Sovereign entity (the U.S. government) and a monetarily non-sovereign entity (you, me, businesses, cities, counties, states, euro nations.)

Payroll taxes do not “cover” benefits. Payroll taxes aren’t used for benefits. When your federal tax dollars reach the Treasury, they cease to be part of any money supply measure (M1, M2, M3, L, etc.)

In other words, your tax dollars are destroyed upon receipt.

To pay its financial obligations, the federal government creates brand new dollars, ad hoc. It sends instructions (not dollars) to each creditor’s bank, telling the bank to increase the creditors checking account numbers.

When the bank does as it is instructed, new dollars are added to the nation’s money supply. That is the method by which the federal government creates dollars.

In fact, the Treasury bonds are nothing but IOUs.

When you so-called “lend” to the federal government, you take dollars from your checking account and deposit them into your Treasury bond (or Treasury bill or Treasury note) account, which is quite similar to an interest-paying bank savings account.

There, your dollars remain, until the bond matures. Meanwhile, the dollars never are removed from your account to pay bills or for any other purpose. 

Upon maturity, the Treasury pays you back by transferring the dollars that still exist in your Treasury bond account back to your checking account. No new dollars required.

When it’s time to disburse benefits they can’t afford, Social Security administrators turn in those paper promises in exchange for hard cash from the Treasury Department.

Very few Treasury bonds are represented by paper, and there is no such thing, in all the world, as “hard cash.” A dollar bill is not cash.

A dollar is a balance sheet number, having no physical existence. A dollar bill is a title to a dollar, but in of itself is not a dollar, just as a car title is not a car and a house title is not a house.

The federal government can “afford” any payment, no matter how large.

But Treasury also doesn’t have the money: It has already spent it on wars, roads, education, domestic spying, and much more.

So when Social Security shows up with its IOUs, Treasury has to borrow to pay the bonds back. That adds to the debt that future generations will be on the hook for via higher taxes.

The federal government cannot run short of dollars, so the phrase “already spent it . . . ” makes no sense, whatsoever.

Further, the government has no need to borrow, and indeed, does not borrow. It simply accepts deposits, the purpose of which are not to fund government spending. (They help control inflation, provide a basis for safe worldwide investment, and secure the dollar’s position as a world reserve currency.)

 Past generations of workers paid extra payroll taxes to bulk up the Social Security system.

But the government spent that additional revenue on non-retirement activities, so now your children and grandchildren will also have to pay more in taxes to reimburse the program.

Totally false. Payroll taxes do not “bulk up” anything. They are destroyed upon receipt. The federal government never can run short of its own sovereign currency. That is what “sovereign” means. The federal government has infinite “bulk.”

The federal government does not spend tax dollars. It creates brand new dollars, ad hoc, every time it spends. So your children and grandchildren will not “reimburse” the program.

You may be tempted to wave away this problem. After all, there’s more than $2.3 trillion left in the trust fund.

The so-called “trust fund” is a fiction. Of what meaning is a “trust fund” for an entity that has the unlimited ability to create its sovereign currency? Answer: None.

The Social Security trustees have calculated that the cash-flow deficit over the next 80 years will amount to a staggering $44.2 trillion, and that’s after adjusting for inflation.

Under current projections, the make-believe assets in the fund will only be enough to pay full benefits until 2034.At that point, the system will have to revert to paying out only the amount taken in through annual taxes.

And that means benefit cuts across the board of 25 percent.

The federal government’s “deficit” is the economy’s income. The $44.2 trillion projected deficit (if correct) simply means $44.2 trillion in stimulus dollars added to the economy.

That is the way the economy grows. It’s a good thing, not a bad thing.

It will be especially hard on lower-income Americans, who are more likely to depend entirely on the program during their later years.

Yes, it will be hard on lower-income (and middle-income) Americans, and that is exactly what upper-income Americans, the rich who run America, want.

The goal of the rich is to become richer. This requires widening the Gap between the rich and the rest. Without the Gap, no one would be rich (We all would be the same.) And the wider the Gap, the richer they are.

To widen the Gap, the rich need to gain more for themselves and/or to take from the rest. Either will do.

That is the reason the rich employ people like Ms. de Rugy to spread the Big Lie, that the federal government needs tax dollars to pay its bills, and so can’t afford to support social programs.

Options for reform at that point will be limited. With the national debt projected to be 105 percent of GDP, or $39.1 trillion, in 2034—and with Medicare and Medicaid facing even bigger long-term problems—Congress will be too broke to restore full benefits for all.

The ratio of federal “debt” (i.e. deposits in T-security accounts) to Gross Domestic Product is meaningless. Contrary to popular myth, the ratio is supposed to indicate the “affordability” of debt. Utter nonsense.

The so-called “debt” is not paid off with Gross Domestic Product. Japan’s ratio is about 250%. Haiti’s is about 15%. Which economy would you prefer?

The most likely scenario is that higher-income earners will see their benefits disproportionately reduced, their taxes disproportionately hiked, or both. To them I have but one piece of advice: Start saving now.

No, the most likely scenario is that the Gap between the rich and the rest will widen, particularly with a conservative government.

Given this predicament, Congress should make it easier for all Americans to save. One way to do that is through the creation of Universal Savings Accounts, or vehicles that allow people to invest money without all the complicated rules that now apply to IRAs and 401(k)s.

In addition, Congress should boost the maximum contributions people can make to Health Savings Accounts, so that more Americans can afford the medical expenses most of us inevitably incur in our old age.

More broadly, Congress should shift away from Social Security into a “funded” system based on real savings, much as Australia and others have done. The libertarian economist Daniel J. Mitchell notes that, starting in the ’80s and ’90s, that country has required workers to put 9.5 percent of their income into a personal retirement account.

As a safety net—but not as a default—Australians with limited savings are guaranteed a basic pension.

Reason Magazine is Libertarian. Libertarians, who are kissing cousins to anarchists, have little credibility when discussing government spending. To libertarians, any government spending seems to be too much.

Congress should not ask people to pay for their health care, their retirement, their children’s education, etc., thus reducing what people have, today.

The federal government should do it, via the Ten Steps to Prosperity (below).

Summary: The title question, “Why do you believe what you believe?”  leaves open the question, why does “The Mercatus Center of George Mason University, promulgate such false information?”

We find it difficult to imagine that Ms. de Rugy really doesn’t understand the facts.  We are left only to speculate, and perhaps this article provides a clue:

George Mason Students Sue For Records On Koch Donations
By David Halperin

Today, students at George Mason University sued their school and a private foundation tied to the school in a Virginia state court, seeking records related to donations from the billionaire Koch brothers.

The students are concerned that Koch donations to GMU, a state university, come with inappropriate conditions; they launched their campaign on this issue in 2014 after learning that the Charles Koch Foundation, GMU’s biggest donor, had sought influence over faculty hiring and teaching curriculum, for example through a grant agreement with Florida State University.

Charles and David Koch, heirs to the $100 billion energy and chemicals corporation Koch Industries, have for decades sought to push a conservative agenda, seeking to influence politics but also investing heavily in academic programs that conform nicely with the brothers’ financial interests.

The rich want to widen the Gap by taking from the poor and middle classes and giving to themselves. They to promulgate the false notion of federal insolvency by:

  1. Bribing politicians via campaign contributions and promises of lucrative employment, later
  2. Bribing media via advertising dollars and media ownership
  3. Bribing university economists via donations to schools, and lucrative employment at think tanks.

Draw your own conclusions.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

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The most important problems in economics involve the excessive income/wealth/power Gaps between the have-mores and the have-less.

Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics.

Implementation of The Ten Steps To Prosperity can narrow the Gaps:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich can afford better health care than can the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE A MONTHLY ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA (similar to Social Security for All) (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB (Economic Bonus)) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONE Five reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefitting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE FEDERAL TAXES ON BUSINESS
Businesses are dollar-transferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the federal government (the latter having no use for those dollars). Any tax on businesses reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all business taxes reduce your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.) Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and business taxes would be a good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY