Begins Discussion to Make Monetary Policy Work to Rebuild Economy
Read the Act here!
Washington D.C. (December 17, 2010) –As the nation struggles with long-term unemployment at rates not seen in generations, contracted credit and the hoarding of public dollars by the banks, Congressman Kucinich (D-OH) today introduced a dramatic new proposal to establish fiscal integrity, reassert Congressional sovereignty and regain control of monetary policy from private banks. The National Emergency Employment Defense Act of 2010 would allow the federal government to directly fund badly-needed infrastructure repairs and fund education systems nationwide by spending money into circulation without increasing the national debt. The bill would end the current practice of fractional reserve lending, whereby the economy depends upon private financial institutions to lend money into circulation.
Congressman Kucinich stated, “The staggeringly bad employment and economic numbers represent a massive problem which cries out for bold action. Rather than crossing our fingers and hoping that banks will finally lend some of the billions of public dollars they haven’t thus far seen fit to lend, we can take action. My bill would replace the Federal Reserve System’s dependence on private banks to create credit. In its place, a Monetary Authority under the Treasury Department would directly inject liquidity into the economy by purchasing much needed public infrastructure repair. Today, we have idle capital, millions of able-bodied but unemployed workers, unused equipment, and record low interest rates. These conditions are the best possible time to make a long-term investment in our nation’s infrastructure. My bill would do exactly that.”
See a copy of the legislation here.
Please read through the proposed legislation and share your comments below.
American Money Scene 
QUESTION: Should not Japan move to adopt their equivalent of
H. R. 6550, in light of the tragedy and its scale, given its debt to GDP ratio of 2?
Further, given the fiasco in Wisconsin and recalling the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United does not the added pressure on trickle-UP economics and thus the increased instability of even greater wealth concentration at the top highlight the need for an HR 6550?
Quite frankly, it seems to me that this would be a beneficial move for societies across the globe!
Absolutely on both counts. By itself, NEED will reduce the power of money in elections because banks will no longer be able to create the money they use to sponsor candidates through campaign contributions and forgiving loans to officeholders. It is only the first step. We need campaign finance reform and abolishment of corporate personhood alongside the NEED Act. Aristocracy of wealth and democracy cannot coexist.
Jules Brouillet
This Act will be discussed in due time when it is reintroduced to the 112th Congress. No, it would get through this Congress if introduced tomorrow. Virtually every major reform in our government, from minority suffrage to the Civil Rights Act, came from the people, not from Congress. We would have succeeded in 1896 in having real monetary reform if Mark Hanna had not engineered the William McKinley’s triumph over William Jennings Bryan. That is why we are growing a nationwide grassroots campaign that will pass this reform.
Jules Brouillet
I wouldn’t blame Mark Hanna without considering that Bryan himself stuck his thumb in the eye of the People’s Party and real monetary reform when he took Arthur Sewall as his VP candidate, over the Populist, Tom Watson. Sewall was a financier and shipping magnate. The People’s Party pursued a fatal fusion strategy and Bryan destroyed the greenback soul of the party. He would not condescend to attend the party convention. The message is that the two party system is designed to destroy genuine grass roots, that is, populist reform.
Noncredit money as a gift is the only real money without inflation. Noncredit money is the necessary additional quantity of money in circulation (dM) as a percentage (k) of existing quantity of money in circulation (M).dM = kM ; k = (supply – demand)/demand ;
With noncredit money, we must have new system of national accounts.
Bravo Congressman,A bold much needed bill.the Monetary system should never been placed in the hands of private banking in the first place.Now lets reform the unfair trade agreements that allow us corps. to use cheap third world labor, then to import their own products back into the us for record profits.This practice brings no justice to to the american people or the third world countries being used as slave labor.
Please, is there anyone at AMI who can provide an update on this bill? Did it die during the lame duck session, was it shelved, or what?
I love enthusiastic websites and blogs, but it is usually difficult to find a timeline or dated wrap-up/update article on items about which I get announcements and emails. Often I get the trumpet blast on an issue but no follow-up, no suggestions on how to move something along, resurrect it, or plan ahead for the next attempt, and so on.
We will announce the reintroduction of this bill. Of course it didn’t stand a chance at being considered; it was introduced during the last days of our previous Congress.
Jules Brouillet
Dear Nora,
The bill is reintroduced by Congressmen Kucinich and Conyers, as HR2990.
See http://www.monetary.org
Stephen
It’s a start, and a good one. I read it; I don’t get it all, but here are my comments and a couple of questions: There are a lot of aging and unskilled workers who could not do hands-on heavy construction that seems to be implied as the lion’s share of job creation here, so where would they fit in? Would job training be a part of this? Who would be overseeing the jobs creation, ie, doling out of the infrastructure money? Wouldn’t this be rife with pork projects? Realistically, can it be passed?
Money spent on the infrastructure construction, would result in employment of workers and managers – manual and engineering talent, etc., etc. And then those salaries/wages would be spent into the economy via purchase of general goods and services – some of which might be provided by the less muscular, less skilled, and less ‘young’ 😉
BUT, it will never pass unless we, who support it, can make it understandable to our fellow citizens. Hence, my concern that we develop a short, succinct presentation, preferably using dynamic ‘framing’ which will create the ‘picture’ of what will happen when we do pass this bill.
So… to start the ball rolling….what about:
—“It’s finally time for an economy Of, By, and For the People – NOT Wall Steet!”
—“Let’s have banking Competition – NOT a Cartel!” (which is what the privately owned Fed Reserve System is – with owners who are largely unknown!)
—“There is no People Power without People’s Money – as our Founders knew!”
—“For the government to permit banks to issue money, borrow that money, and pay interest on it, is idiotic!” Bill Hixson (and, we might add, totally unnecessary!)
—“Greenspan trusted the ‘Invisible Hand’ of Greed! Maybe trusting OUR representatives would be better :)”
—“Letting banks multiply debt into dollars, requiring payback to them WITH interest, is the mythical ‘free lunch’ – a deadly delusion.”
—“Trading nothing (MBS’, CDO’s etc) for something (investment $), as Wall Street has just done, never ends well – including fractional reserve banking.”
… and our discussion always end with, “So, call your
rep’s in DC, and tell them to support the N.E.E.D. Act – 202 224 3121!”
More ideas on presenting main the basics of N.E.E.D. ? What kind of world will we create?
—“The money supply will be just right! Banksters will NOT control our interest rates (the price of money)!”
—“WE will have the money to build bridges, schools, hospitals, broadband, parks, water systems, medical and energy research, etc., etc. – which WE will own – NOT foreign investors, dinging us on every toll road, etc.”
—“And a simple accounting mechanism will painlessly convert the present financial parasites into community service providers!”
OK – your turn 🙂 We have a LOT of folks to turn on to the Answer! 😉
N
I hope moderators will correct typos:
… The bill explains it finances federal needs directly
… But my major point is my fear
… a monopoly over money creation and supply
==============
This landmark attempt a reform should not die for lack of support from the center right and left. It cries out for friends in business and labor. It can break the back of depressions overnight…
Great news! Two points:
1) On a quick reading of the Act, I did not find any provision for reduction of the money supply if/when needed.
2) Politically advisable, at present, but in the long term unsustainable: the aim of ‘full employment’. We are fast destroying the ability of the environment to support us, and we need to aim for a ‘leisure society’, in which we produce only for real needs, not financial reward. In the long run, we need ongoing Citizens’ Incomes, to distribute entitlement to essential needs independent of paid employment.
Brian,
1) Money will be spent into circulation by governments at the local, state, and federal level. The mechanism for removing money from circulation would be taxation.
2) Our debt-based monetary system requires an exponentially growing economy to stave off financial collapse. The NEED Act eliminates that inherent need for growth, allowing society to consciously, democratically decide if and when to transform our growth economy into a steady-state economy.
3) From the Act-
SEC. 507. INITIAL MONETARY DIVIDEND TO CITIZENS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Before the effective date, the Sec-
retary, in cooperation with the Monetary Authority, shall
make recommendations to the Congress for payment of
a Citizens Dividend as a tax-free grant to all United
States citizens residing in the United States in order to
provide liquidity to the banking system at the commence-
ment of this Act, before governmental infrastructure ex-
penditures have had a chance to work into circulation.
(b) STUDY OF EFFECTS OF CITIZENS DIVIDEND.—
The Secretary shall maintain a thorough study of the ef-
fects of the Citizens Dividend observing its effects on pro-
duction and consumption, prices, morale, and other eco-
nomic and fiscal factors.
Jules Brouillet
This bill is undoubtedly one of the most important pieces of legislation ever introduced in the history of the United States, and directly addresses the “root cause” of the most critical problem ever faced by the people of America.
If this bill does not pass, the U.S. – along with much of the free world – will face a rapid downward spiral that will ultimately result in the demise of the greatest country that has ever existed.
Kudos to Mr Kucinich for attempting to address the one critical issue that will truly make a difference for the future of America, and for having the balls to confront the ‘Money power’ and power-crazed bankers that own much of the U.S. government, and are responsible for destroying the lives of countless millions of good hard-working people.
Any thinking person who cares about their future and the future of their children, should get involved and demand that action be taken to end the Federal Reserve and the strangle hold that they have increasingly used on the American people over the past century.
Up The Revolution!!
This bill is undoubtedly one of the most important pieces of legislation ever introduced in the history of the United States, and directly addresses the “root cause” of the most critical problem ever faced by the people of American.
If this bill does not pass, the U.S. – along with much of the free world – will face a rapid downward spiral that will ultimately result in the demise of the greatest country that has ever existed.
Kudos to Mr Kucinich for attempting to address the one critical issue that will truly make a difference for the future of America, and for having the balls to confront the “Money Masters” and power-crazed bankers that own much of the U.S. government, and are responsible for destroying the lives of countless millions of good hard-working people.
Any thinking person who cares about their future and the future of their children, should get involved and demand that action be taken to end the Federal Reserve and the strangle hold that they have increasingly used on the American people over the past century.
Up The Revolution!!
I’m familiar with your monetary act. I support it completely.
I understand the problem of privately issued fiat currency as opposed to that which is issued debt-free, I have read The Lost Science of Money.
I hope that, against all odds, this legislation can be passed. That being said, given present circumstances, I see no way, no possible chance that it will be.
I’m truly sorry to be such a pessimist but I’ve been following our rush to self destruction since my junior high school days. That’s over fifty years. Things have simply gone too far. The bloody cycle of history just keeps repeating. Same as it ever was.
Please me wrong.
“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.”
These words, uttered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932, inspired Americans to step out of their own shadows to fight for what was right, to end the Great Depression. If we take the cheerful attitude of the Thirties to heart we can solve any and every single great problem of the twenty-first century.
Jules Brouillet
Dear Richard,
It will take time and work, but it will pass. Think of it as Kucinich’s and Conyers’s HR 676 for universal health coverage. It started with a few supporters but now has 87 co-sponsors. And every intelligent person in America has learned that this is the way to go. We envisage something similar with HR 2990 NEED Act (National Emergency Employment Defense Act).
Sincerely,
Stephen