"Phase 1" of Dr. King's dream was to abolish Black segregation in the United States, and great strides resulted from his leadership in this regard. But "Phase 2" of Dr. King's dream was to eradicate poverty for people of all races worldwide. While he recognized that "people must be made consumers" through either employment or incomes or both, the centerpiece for King's proposal was "Basic Income Guarantee". [14]
But Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was by no means the first or last to propose guaranteed purchasing power as a means toward economic stability. It was proposed in 1795 by American revolutionary, Thomas Paine, [15] and again in 1849 by American businessman Edward Kellogg . [16] In 1918 Scottish engineer, C.H. Douglas, proposed a "national dividend" based on a system he called "Social Credit". [17] But according to Richard C. Cook:
"...while the financiers were well aware of Douglas 's system, they hated it. Word went out in the 1920s that his name was never to be mentioned in the British press. John Maynard Keyes was said to have developed his own deficit-spending theories as a means to counter Douglas 's influence. And when Douglas visited the U.S. in the late 1930s, he was told to his face that he would never be allowed to introduce his ideas in this country." [18]
More recently, Nobel Prize winning Economist, Milton Friedman proposed a negative income tax to support a Basic Income Guarantee. But he originally intended this program to replace all other welfare and assistance programs. So when the bill was revised to merely supplement the existing system rather than replace it, Friedman ended up opposing the distorted version of his original proposal, and it was never implemented. [19]
Now Peter Barnes, founder of Working Assets and author of "Capitalism 3.0", steps forward to join Richard C. Cook and many other economists to propose a "national dividend" or "basic income guarantee" to save the U.S. economy. While Barnes suggests funding should come from the formation of a "Commons Sector" to regulate the environmental damage caused by industry, his conclusions concur with many others regarding a guaranteed income -- in other words a "birthright" or "heritage" for every American citizen; a permanent "leisure dividend" instead of temporary "unemployment compensation" or "welfare"; a daily opportunity for self-improvement and personal growth; and purchasing power for social security and economic stability, overall. [20]
So, with such a long history and so much contemporary support, why does such a simple idea receive so much opposition from those in power? Why are the power structures on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C. so reluctant -- nay afraid -- to even discuss such an obviously viable plan for economic stability? Why must "We The People " march on Washington to gets this proposal discussed? If we're "all in this together" as Barack Obama suggests, then why must we force a reasonable decision upon him?
In the next and final installment of this series, these questions will be discussed along with a few others. Meanwhile, the economic forecast is not at all promising, regardless of recent election results. Things will most likely get much worse before they start getting any better. Moreover, windy campaign rhetoric rarely translates very well into real-world practice. So it might be wise for communities nationwide to begin right now in organizing a Homeless March on Washington -- "East Bound and Down" -- to bring our leaders back to their senses.
"East bound and down, loaded up and truckin',
We're gonna do what they say can't be done.
We got a long way to go, and a short time to get there.
Well, I'm eastbound, jus' watch ol' Bandit run!!" [21]
Notes
[1] Swanson, David (10/20/2008). "A McCain "Win" Will Be Theft, Resistance Is Planned". OpEdNews. http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-McCain-Win-Will-Be-The-by-David-Swanson-081020-212.html
[2] Kendall, David (11/02/2008). "East Bound and Down: A Homeless March on Washington". OpEdNews. http://www.opednews.com/articles/-East-Bound-and-Down--A-H-by-David-Kendall-081102-40.html
[3] Rosenthal, Susan (10/09/2008). "Why I'm NOT Voting for Obama". World Prout Assembly. http://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2008/10/why_im_not_voti.html
[4] Cook, Richard C. (10/10/2008). "How to Save the U.S. Economy". Global Research. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10508
[5] Friedman, Ann (08/20/2008). "The Generation Trap". The American Prospect. http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_generation_trap
[6] Alone (11/01/2008). "Michael Moore's Top Ten Things the President Needs to do in 2009". OpEdNews. http://www.opednews.com/articles/MICHAEL-MOORE-S-TOP-TEN-TH-by-ALONE-081101-733.html
[7] Cook, Richard C. (11/04/2008). "Global Research Articles by Richard C. Cook". Global Research. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=listByAuthor&authorFirst=Richard%20C.&authorName=Cook
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