• My latest article, Riding the Populist Wave
• The Economics of Peace, Justice and Sustainability
• How can the next world war be averted?
• System change demands economic change–building the Open Credit Network
• Swami Beyondananda
• Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
• The dangers of 5G wireless technology: Warnings from an industry insider

__________________________________

My latest article, Riding the Populist Wave

In my latest article I report that capitalists now admit that the system is "rigged" in their favor. I argue that Trump and Sanders represent two edges of the populist wave that is now dominating U.S. politics, that a Sanders win over Trump is entirely plausible, that the New Deal of FDR has been systematically dismantled and needs to be reestablished, and that in the long run people will need to work together in communities to build systems and structures that can circumvent the rigged system.

Here is an excerpt, but click here to read the entire article.

There, the capitalists are admitting it–the system is rigged.

In his latest newsletter, financial advisor, John Mauldin, Co-Founder of Mauldin Economics, acknowledges that the system is rigged in favor of the wealthy and powerful, and against everyone else, including the shrinking middle-class. Mauldin says:

The "financialization" of the American economy has led to increasing income and wealth disparity. As much as it pains me to say it, the "system" really is rigged. Whatever the good intentions of the Federal Reserve in particular and the US government in general have been, it has distorted the economic feedback loops that balance a true market-based economic system. The fact is we already have "socialism" today. It's not the socialism we feared in 1974. We have socialized the risks of capitalism, to the benefit of a small portion of the country, while a larger portion struggles.

So, Mauldin admits what has been obvious for a long time, that the U.S. economy is characterized by socialism for the rich ruling class, and dog-eat-dog competition for everyone else. He cites this fact as the main reason why political outsider Donald Trump was elected President in 2016 and why "socialist" Bernie Sanders might conceivably be elected President in 2020. I agree.

So, what do Trump and Sanders have in common?

As I see it, both are viewed by the electorate as "populist," which ostensibly means anti-elite, Trump representing right-wing populism and Sanders left-wing populism. But, except for paying lip service to a plan to shift U.S. foreign policy away from the imperial belligerence of the deep state, Trump's actions as President belie any anti-elite sentiment. In fact, it's been quite the opposite.

What people want is something other than the globalist, interventionist, imperialist policies of the past several decades that have wasted enormous amounts of resources, killed hundreds of thousands of people, destroyed communities and nations, and caused political upheaval around the world. People want relief from the economic policies that have favored capital over labor by increasing capital mobility while shifting jobs from the U.S. to low wage countries especially in Asia, and at the same time reduced constraints on banks and corporations, enabling them to more fully exploit people and the environment. … More…

The article has also been published on Medium and republished at OpEd News

__________________________________

The Economics of Peace, Justice and Sustainability

This video was recently prepared by Ken Freeman based on a presentation I gave at the Economics of Peace Conference in Sonoma, California in October, 2009. My prescriptions for reclaiming the credit commons and creating a new "butterfly economy" remain completely relevant, and their implementation is becoming ever more urgent.

__________________________________

How can the next world war can be averted?

If you want an answer to that, listen to this interview with Dr. Paul Craig Roberts' on Ellen Brown's podcast, Resolved for 2020: Come Together, starting around 21:20. The most interesting part of the interview is toward the end (at 45:50) where Dr. Roberts talks frankly about the current geopolitical situation and the response to his recent article, Putin's Hour Is At Hand, which has gone viral around the world. If you can put aside any judgments you may have made about Putin and Russia based on the chorus of Russophobic rhetoric coming from the mainstream media you may learn something important.

__________________________________

System change demands economic change, by Oliver Sylvester-Bradley

In this recent article, Oliver Sylvester-Bradley of the Open Coop, announces the alpha launch of the new web platform for the Open Credit Network (OCN), a cooperative mutual credit clearing system that enables the moneyless exchange of goods and services among its member businesses. The Open Credit Network has the potential to realize the ideals and processes that E.C. Riegel expounded and that I have been elaborating and refining for the past 40 years.

https://www.thealternative.org.uk/dailyalternative/2020/1/11/open-credit-network

__________________________________

Swami  Beyondananda

Swami  Beyondananda (Steve Bhaerman) makes light of the heavy. An occasional dose of Swami's wisdom can help to keep you sane in this insane world. https://wakeuplaughing.com/.

And check out Steve's other website, https://wikipolitiki.com/, "Where left and right come front and center to face the music and dance together, to turn the funk into function and leave the junk at the junction"

__________________________________

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

This book by Chip and Dan Heath, rated at 4.5/5 stars on Amazon.com, is one of the most important books I've ever read. I read parts of it a few years ago and was quite impressed but too busy at the time to finish it. Recently, as I was scanning the shelves at my local public library I noticed the audio version of the book so I picked it up and checked it out. Over the past few weeks I've been listening to it in my car, a few minutes at a time as I travel about town. Whether the change one wishes to make is on a personal level, an organizational level, or the societal level, this book is a treasure trove that provides important insights and basic principles about how change happens, and numerous fascinating stories that illustrate their successful application. Whether your intention is to change yourself or to change the world, this book is essential reading (or listening). Find it at your public library or at your favorite bookseller.

__________________________________

The dangers of 5G wireless technology: Warnings from an industry insider who tells it all.

In a recent message, long-time correspondent Ben Levi alerted me to a video by Frank Clegg, former President of Microsoft Canada, in which he talks about the dangers inherent in 5G/Wireless Technologies. This is something that must be taken seriously; evertyone's health depends on it. You can view the video here. Ben also recommended an alternative to 5G that he is promoting and is described at http://www.safeg.net.

__________________________________

As I write this the drama surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to intensify. Around the world events are being cancelled, people are limiting their movements and interpersonal contacts, and many spheres of routine activity are being disrupted. Can the spread of the virus be stopped or is it destined to become, like the flu, a universal and recurrent cause of disease? What will be its social, political, and economic implications? Is there a silver lining to this dark cloud? Time will tell.

Wishing you a healthy and happy Spring season,

Thomas