JANUARY 29
1737 – BIRTH OF TOM PAINE, US REVOLUTIONARY
Commenting on the value of colonial-issued money, the “Continental”…
“Every stone in the Bridge that has carried us over seems to have a claim upon our esteem. But this was a corner stone, and its usefulness cannot be forgotten.”
1956 — DEATH OF H.L. MENCKEN, US JOURNALIST
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace in a continual state of alarm (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing them with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”
JANUARY 30
1835 — ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST US PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON
In 1832, Jackson called on Congress not to renew the charter of the Second National Bank of the United States. He vetoed a bill to renew the bank’s charter, saying the bank was guilty of fraud, corruption and controlling the money supply (expanding and contracting the supply of money to economically and politically benefit the bank). He stated, “beyond question…this great and powerful institution had been actively engaged in attempting to influence the elections of the public officers by means of its money.” Jackson ordered the US government to move its money out of the Second Bank. In response, the bank called in all its loans and ceased issuing new loans. An economic panic followed. In 1835, Richard Lawrence fired two guns at Jackson but both misfired. He claimed his assassination attempt was because, in part, “money would be more plenty.”
1882 — BIRTH OF PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
Roosevelt missed a chance to fundamentally improve our economy, if not democracy, during the Great Depression when he chose to go into debt to pay for his many “New Deal” programs. A group of prominent economists from across the nation had urged him in what was known as “The Chicago Plan” to pay for his programs by issuing debt-free money, based on the previously issued Greenbacks during the Lincoln Administration. Instead, FDR added to the government debt, which enriched bankers and all others who purchased U.S. Treasuries.
1948 – ASSASSINATION OF MOHANDAS GANDHI
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” One of his “7 Deadly Sins” was “wealth without work.” He also said “[a] small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”
JANUARY 31
1609 – FIRST CENTRAL BANK IN WORLD ESTABLISHED
The first central bank in history, which was publicly owned, was established in Amsterdam.
2013 – PUBLICATION OF “MODERNIZING MONEY” BY ANDREW JACKSON AND BEN DYSON OF POSITIVE MONEY IN THE UK
“When a bank makes loans it increases both the quantity of money in the economy as well as the quantity of debt.”
“The overriding principle when we are deciding who should have the authority to create money is whether or not the ‘creator’ can benefit personally from creating money…this requires the separation of the decision on how much new money is to be created from how that newly created money is to be used.”
FEBRUARY 1
1913 – NATIONAL CITIZENS LEAGUE FOR THE PROMOTION OF A SOUND BANKING SYSTEM SENDS LETTER TO MEMBERS
Backed by bankers and other businesspersons, the League was established to promote a national private central bank. Their letter to their members on this date stated:
“Congress is wavering over the question of banking reform. The Democratic leaders are undecided whether to bring in a currency bill at the special session in the Spring or defer action until the regular session next December …
President-elect Wilson has been quoted as holding the view that public sentiment as to banking reform has not yet crystallized.
Write to Mr. Wilson if you know him. If you don’t know him, it is a good way to get acquainted.
The National Citizens’ League has 10,000 members and a million friends. If every member of the League and every friend of banking reform does his duty, Congress will have substantive evidence that the business world is not indifferent…”
FEBRUARY 2
2015 – GROUNDHOG DAY
The 1993 film, Groundhog Day, tells the story of a TV weatherman who is caught in a time loop — repeating the same day over and over. This is similar to how most nation’s respond to being in debt: by borrowing more money and going into more debt — over and over. It’s an economically destructive loop that forces nations to impose austerity on the majority of its citizens while enriching the elite. Only when the weatherman in the film acts with compassion is the loop broken. And only when nations understand that money can be created not as debt but as assets interest- and inflation-free to meet the physical and human needs of people will the debt loop be broken.
FEBRUARY 3
1690 – FIRST PAPER CURRENCY IN BRITISH COLONIES ISSUED
Massachusetts becomes the first British colony to issue paper money. The money was used to facilitate economic transactions in the absence of British money.
1913 – RATIFICATION OF THE 16TH AMENDMENT, ESTABLISHMENT OF THE US FEDERAL INCOME TAX
The income tax provides a guaranteed and consistent source of income for the payment of any federal government function, including payment of interest on national debt. It was ratified earlier in the same year as passage of the Federal Reserve Act, which turned over the nation’s money power to a private central bank. Many economists believe the dollar holds its value better than the Euro in times of economic crisis since US interest payments from debt can be covered by US income taxes. There is no equivalent European income tax to cover Euro debts. This provides investors greater confidence in the dollar over the Euro.
1924 – DEATH OF WOODROW WILSON, 28TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND SIGNER OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE ACT
“A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men, who, even if their action be honest and intended for the public interest, are necessarily concentrated upon the great undertakings in which their own money is involved and who necessarily, by very reason of their own limitations, chill and check and destroy genuine economic freedom. (1911)
[Note: Despite such misgivings, Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act two years later]
FEBRUARY 4
2013 – BANKING REFORM BILL INTRODUCED IN UNITED KINGDOM
The “Banking Reform Bill” was introduced in the House of Commons. It “would provide regulators with new authority to break up a bank if its investment activities put deposits at risk. The legislation goes a step beyond previously proposed policies that would merely require banks to separate retail banking from investment banking. Under the proposed legislation, in addition to requiring that institutions ring-fence deposits, the Bank of England could force an institution to sell off certain businesses if it determines that the institution has failed to protect retail banking activities from high-risk investments. The bill also would, among other things, provide depositors preference if a bank becomes insolvent, and set new leverage caps.”
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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt? Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice. This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini, Deb Jose and Greg Coleridge helped in its development. Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, email monetarycalendar@yahoo.com
To see the calendar year-to-date, go to https://monetarycalendar.wordpress.com/
A second historical calendar, the REAL Democracy History Calendar, in many ways complements this calendar. For information, go to https://realdemocracyhistorycalendar.wordpress.com/about/
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