Did you know that Congress can create $trillions in United
States Notes special purpose credit without increasing our debt one penny?
These "Legal Tender Notes" could be loaned and spent to jump start our economy.
Republicans and Democrats together forgave
the banks with bailouts and the Federal Reserve loaned $16.1 trillion at
near zero interest to them. The Fed created that money with keystrokes and
didn't print it, but directly deposited it. By moral parity, shouldn't our
Congress authorize creation of U.S. Notes to make very low, fixed interest rate,
long term loans to human American citizens
underwater; to pay off mortgage arrears and, if a breadwinner is currently unemployed, a few
months future payments. This special purpose credit can be deposited directly
to mortgage holders' accounts to partly satisfy them. Such refinancing would be
voluntary. Borrowers repay loans to the lending agency. About $700 billion
would take care of the arrears and $1.4 trillion more could produce 19 million
jobs, provided we get over the idea that this money has to be used in maximally
"productive" ways. American's simplistic moralism ("jobless means undeserving")
and thus our psychological general welfare, require millions of jobs to replace
jobs killed by automation, outsourcing and the Panic of 2007-9. The jobless
can't all operate earth movers or computers. But millions can engage in paid, high value, low tool use child, senior
and disability care, early education, homemaking, burial of the electric grid, building
retrofitting, etc. Our money must serve us, instead of us serving our money.
Would this be inflationary? Yes! The Panic of 2007-9 started severe deflation. Only massive targeted reflation can counteract it. Lack of massive reflation turned the Panic of 1929 into the Great Depression of '29 -- "39. Such U.S. currency was printed twice in our history: in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. It was essential to fund our armies to create our nation and save the Union. America survived, and won those wars and soon Americans prospered again. Mega banks hate the idea of U.S. Notes. They lose "earned" interest because they aren't lending their Federal Reserve Notes to us. Weakening the dollar makes our exports more competitive and thus helps keep jobs in America. Reflation gives bond holders the haircut (the reduction in purchasing power of bond principals) they deserve for letting their banker executives gamble. Billionaires will send a thousand "Liars for Lucre" economists, etc. to argue against it. They'll withdraw advertising to media that educate the public about it. They'll withdraw support from politicians who advocate it and support vocal opponents. Representative Dennis Kucinich introduced a sweeping bill, HB 2990, to create U.S. Notes. The major parties connived to redistrict him into an election against a more popular Democrat, which he lost. Congressman Ron Paul, who also sees severe problems with the Federal Reserve, but has a more extreme solution, will survive. He has a billionaire sponsor (Peter Theil, cofounder of PayPal.) Kucinich had none such.
Citizens will need to push U.S. Notes for stimulus above the cacophony of irrelevant news media distractions. Explain it, advocate it, demonstrate for it until the media and then Congress can't ignore it any more. We're the wealthiest, most powerful nation ever. Years of "The economy is getting a little better," "No, the economy still stinks," is intolerable. "Oh, something will come along." Another War? That's insufferable. The pretense that no Presidential or Congressional candidates or professors or pundits ever heard of government money created without debt is totally unacceptable.