MAY 6
2012 – GREEK PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION RESULTS IN 60% SUPPORT FOR PARTIES OPPOSED TO AUSTERITY MEASURES
The elections resulted in a coalition government led by the New Democracy Party. The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) came in second. They and other parties, agreed, however, that the austerity terms of the bailout agreement with the European Union (EU), European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund must be renegotiated. When Greece joined the European Union (like other nations), it gave up completely its monetary sovereignty. It no longer had the ability to create and distribute its own money as a means of economic health – including using democratic money creation to help its own people. It transferred that authority to the EU when it began accepting the euro. The U.S. still technically possesses monetary sovereignty since it possesses its own currency – the dollar. The problem is that is still lost its sovereignty when it transferred to corporate interests, namely the Federal Reserve and banking corporations, the ability to create and circulate money – as debt via loans.
MAY 7
1873 – DEATH OF SALMON P. CHASE, US TREASURY SECRETARY/US SENATOR FROM OHIO
“My agency, in procuring the passage, of the National Bank Act, was the greatest financial mistake of my life. It has built up a monopoly that affects every interest in the country. It should be repealed. But before this can be accomplished, the people will be arrayed on one side and the banks on the other in a contest such as we have never seen in this country.”
[NOTE: The National Bank Acts of 1863 was known originally as the National Currency Act and was updated the following year. The Act established chartered national banks that could issue bank notes, which were backed by the United States Treasury. These notes existed side by side to public “Greenbacks” (directly issued by the government). Bankers supported the Bank Acts as a means to eventually replace Greenbacks and, thus, gain full control of the US money system.]
MAY 8
1884 – BIRTH OF HARRY TRUMAN, 33RD PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.
‘”There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.”
[NOTE: Why the monetary arena (problems and possible democratic reforms) seems new is because we never learned its history – in school, through the media, even in our activist organizations. Many activists still don’t – believing it too complicated, unrelated to other economic concerns or associated with political ideologies unlike their own. Social change activists, thus, ignore this arena at their peril.]
MAY 9
2014 – “WHO SHOULD HAVE THE POWER TO CREATE MONEY?” ARTICLE BY ANDREW JACKSON OF POSITIVE MONEY
“Who should have the power to create money? In Modernising Money we argue that the power to create money should be removed from the banks and transferred to a democratic, transparent, and accountable body. Martin Wolf recently backed these proposals, but Ann Pettifor describes them as ‘deeply flawed’ and ‘outlandish’.
One of Ann’s main concerns is whether a committee can correctly make decisions over how much money should be added to (or removed from) the economy.
Let’s approach this by considering the different options for who could be given the power and authority to create money:
• Banks – as per the status quo
• Banks – heavily reformed (as Ann would suggest)
• Elected politicians
• The Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England (as proposed in Modernising Money)”
Full article at http://www.positivemoney.org/2014/05/power-create-money
MAY 10
1775 – CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ISSUES “CONTINENTALS”
The Continental Congress voted to issue $200 million in paper money, “continental currency” or “continentals”, to finance the American Revolution. The money was essential since British pounds were in short supply. The currency lost much of their value during the war due to the flooding of British counterfeit “continentals” as a means to destroy the colonial economy. Inflation was also due to continentals being used to fund war purchases rather than socially and economically useful goods and services. Nevertheless, the colonial currency served its purpose in allowing the colonies to economically and militarily resist and defeat the most powerful nation on earth.
1837 – US FINANCIAL PANIC
Banks limited credit and starting calling on debtors to repay. This ignited the Financial Panic of 1837. Urban worker faced rising unemployment and food prices. A prolonged economic depression followed, including hundreds of bank failures. The economic depression that followed lasted nearly five years. This is the inevitable result of a debt-based money system – the lessons of which we never seem to learn.
1915 – BIRTH OF ROBERT HEMPHILL, CREDIT MANAGER, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA
“If all the bank loans were paid, no one could have a bank deposit, and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in circulation. This is a staggering thought. We are completely dependent on the commercial Banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the Banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a permanent money system. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon.”
MAY 11
2007 – PUBLISHED ARTICLE, “MONETARY REFORM AND HOW A NATIONAL MONEY SYSTEM SHOULD WORK” BY RICHARD COOK
“[T]he solution lies with the federal government taking back its constitutionally-authorized control of the credit of the nation from the financiers and managing it as previously stated—as a public utility… It is essential to realize that the central government of a sovereign nation has the right, the ability, and the responsibility to introduce ALL new credit into existence. This is totally different from having the central bank “print money” by relaxing lending policies, resulting in an infusion of cheap loans, which must still be repaid.
Sovereign creation of credit is not based on debt. It is and should be based on direct spending of money into circulation by the government itself. Obviously the government should do this in a way that promotes the best interests of the members of society while respecting the varying degrees of contribution by those of different levels of skill and achievement. It is quite possible to enact such a program with due regard to all established conventions of private property and the private ownership and control of existing wealth.”
MAY 12
1933 – THOMAS AMENDMENT BECOMES LAW – GIVES FDR POWER TO CREATE MONEY
Attached as Title III to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of May 12, 1933, the Thomas Amendment, drafted by Oklahoma Senator Elmer Thomas, provided New Deal relief to farmers suffering from low prices due to the Great Depression. The solution was to expand the currency.
“The amendment granted the president broad discretionary powers over monetary policy. It stated that whenever the president desired currency expansion, he first must authorize the open market committee of the Federal Reserve to purchase up to $3 billion of federal obligations. Should open market operations prove insufficient, the president had several options. He could have the U.S. Treasury issue up to $3 billion in greenbacks, reduce the gold content of the dollar by as much as 50 percent, or accept $100 million dollars in silver at a price not to exceed fifty cents per ounce in payment of World War I debts owed by European nations.”
http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=TH007
1948 – THE FORMATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL IS PROCLAIMED
Solomon, the son of David, was an early King of Israel from 970-931 BC. He was also the author of the Book of Proverbs in the Bible. From Proverbs 22:74: “The borrower is servant to the lender.” What was true nearly 3000 years ago is still true today for individuals and organizations — including governments.
2009 – BLOOMBERG ARTICLE: NY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK CLAIMS IT IS A PRIVATE INSTITUTION
“The New York Fed is one of 12 regional Federal Reserve banks and the one charged with monitoring capital markets. It is also managing $1.7 trillion of emergency lending programs. While the Fed’s Washington-based Board of Governors is a federal agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act and other government rules, the New York Fed and other regional banks maintain they are separate institutions, owned by their member banks, and not subject to federal restrictions.”
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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 the original 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. It is currently updated by Greg Coleridge. 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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