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Re: Local Currency Article



Mike,

What's wrong with the total system proposed in  How to Save the Social Security System ?  It is designed to radically reduce taxes of working people.

Norm

Mbindnerdc@aol.com wrote:

Norm,

That is exactly the effect of higher social security taxes, which is why I would lower them and divert the difference to employee-ownership.  Giving employees a significant stake will allow them to demand a just share of the profits due to them do to their labor, as well as receiving profits as owners of capital (as well as capital homesteading, no reason not to do both).

Mike

In a message dated 12/10/2002 2:30:58 PM Eastern Standard Time, "Norman G. Kurland" <thirdway@cesj.org> writes:

>Mike,
>
>I agree.  Profits are included in prices, and therefore dividends are also derived from the prices charged by a company for the goods and services sold.  The difference in channeling dividends to repay Capital Homesteading loans is that such dividends reflect the private property rights in productive assets (i.e., the assets are the new owner's contribution to the overall wealth-production system), while higher Social Security taxes do nothing to
>increase the productive capacity of a company or the worker who pay those taxes.  As a matter of fact, with the good intention of redistributing incomes from producers to non-working beneficiaries of Social Security and Medicare checks, higher Social Security taxes add to fixed labor costs, destroying jobs or inducing companies to shift their capital assets and operations to countries with lower fixed labor costs.
>
>Norm
>
>Mbindnerdc@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Norm,
>>
>> I am still not grasping a part of your approach.  Assuming all of what you seek is passed, the cost of repayment of capital credit loans using dividends must still be figured into the cost of the product (just as diverting a portion of social insurance payments would, as I propose).  Either way, for ownership to be transferred and society sustainable, some part of the cost of any product sold must be diverted to this purpose - all else is accounting.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> In a message dated 12/10/2002 11:36:45 AM Eastern Standard Time, "Norman G. Kurland" <thirdway@cesj.org> writes:
>>
>> >There is nothing illogical or unjust about all these proposals for local
>> >currency.  But none of them has any impact on the global economy and the growing
>> >wealth gap occurring on a daily basis within all national economies and among
>> >developed and subsistence economies around the world.  Only by transforming the
>> >money-creating and capital credit systems at the nation-state level and evolving
>> >global level will this wealth gap be closed. (See
>> >http://www.cesj.org/homestead/reforms/moneycredit/centralbankfunding-nb.htm)
>> >Balkanization did not work in the Balkans and it won't work very well in the
>> >global economy.
>> >
>> >Norm Kurland
>> >Center for Economic and Social Justice
>> >Web: http://www.cesj.org
>> >
>> >"Maria B. Pellerano" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi,
>> >>
>> >> I used to live in Annapolis, Maryland in a section of town called Eastport.
>> >> There once was a boatyard in Eastport that made PT boats during World War II
>> >> and then luxury yachts.  The boatyard owner was trying to make a point about
>> >> how much his local payroll helped the local economy so for a period of time
>> >> he paid his workers with two dollar bills (rare even then).  Anyway he
>> >> proved his point when the workers started spending their two dollar bills.
>> >> Local currencies are very useful for showing how much local money circulates
>> >> and how it helps the local economy.  The following URLs will give you an
>> >> idea about how different systems work:
>> >>
>> >> http://timedollar.org/
>> >>
>> >> http://www.lightlink.com/hours/ithacahours/
>> >>
>> >> http://www.ithacahours.com/otherhours.html
>> >>
>> >> http://www.gmlets.u-net.com/
>> >>
>> >> -- Maria
>> >> =====================================================
>> >> Maria Pellerano, Associate Director
>> >> Environmental Research Foundation
>> >> Rachel's Environment & Health News
>> >> P.O. Box 160, New Brunswick, NJ  08903-0160
>> >> Phone: (732) 828-9995; Fax: (732) 791-4603
>> >> E-mail: maria@rachel.org; Web site: http://www.rachel.org/
>> >>
>> >> Member of National Writers Union / UAW Local 1981 / AFL-CIO
>> >> =====================================================
>> >>
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: "David Spitzley" <dspitzle@gw.wash.k12.mi.us>
>> >> To: <EOsubnat@cog.kent.edu>
>> >> Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 5:13 PM
>> >> Subject: Re: Local Currency Article
>> >>
>> >> David
>> >> >>> Mbindnerdc@aol.com 12/09/02 14:35 PM >>>
>> >> As a private product it is perfectly legal.  However, to be clear, the
>> >> city cannot issue scrip, because local governments exist as a unit of
>> >> state government (even though they are independently elected) and states
>> >> cannot print or coin money.
>> >> ----------------------------------
>> >>
>> >> Ok, that's a useful clarification.  However, that begs the question of
>> >> how involved a local government could get in establishing such a system
>> >> of currency without overstepping the bounds of the law.  For example, at
>> >> the end of the article, it is mentioned that the local legal system has
>> >> ruled counterfeiting of the bills a crime.  I expect this could be
>> >> viewed as more a matter of copyright infringement than anything else,
>> >> but it still acts to preserve the value of the currency.  Could
>> >> government offices accept local currency?  Require it for payment of
>> >> fines (as a form of "privatized" community service)?  To what extent
>> >> does local government action to establish the currency as legal tender
>> >> overstep the lines?
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>> >
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