[OSList] needed changes to Banking

[Brett Barndt]

Here is another system-wide alternative emerging in UK discourse. A
British financial regulator advocates for debt-free money spent into
existence to fill the gap caused by banks' inability to loan
sufficiently profitably at these 0% interest rates.

Concerning the US, he says there is $85B a month being created by the
Fed to buy bonds back from banks. They should have to hold them since
they created them. And, Treasuries they should also have to hold since
that keeps their skin in the nation's game.

He suggests this money could be spent directly as bailout money for
families instead. It could also be used to directly finance public
universities or universal healthcare, which he doesn't mention. It
could also be used to hire small businesses to re-build our
infrastructure, which the civil engineers estimate is now $3T in
potential economic activity, with all the knock on multiplier effects
so many paycheques would entail. Canada got their public universities,
health system, and national railroad through this kind of public
debt-free money.

"Consider the U.S. Federal Reserve. At present the Fed prints $85
billion of new money monthly and distributes it to banks and Wall
Street investors by buying government bonds. And the Fed has promised
to continue this monthly “quantitative easing” until such time as
unemployment drops and is clearly and sustainably declining to more
normal levels. Now suppose instead that the Fed divided its $85
billion monthly money production into 300 million checks of $283 each
and sent these to every man, woman and child in America. Suppose,
moreover, that the Fed promised to keep sending out these checks,
worth more than $1,000 a month for a four-person household, until the
United States reached its unemployment target – and the Fed chairman
added that he would increase the checks to $1,500 or $2,000 a month
for that household if $1,000 monthly proved insufficient. There can be
little doubt that this deluge of free money would stimulate consumer
spending and revive employment – and no doubt that it would be
infinitely more effective than distributing money to bond investors
and banks through QE."

http://blogs.reuters.com/anatole-kaletsky/2013/02/07/a-breakthrough-speech-on-monetary-policy/

On Sun, Feb 10, 2013 at 4:36 PM, Charles Fuller <chrlsful at aol.com> wrote:
> Good Day!
>
> Glad the conversation continues.  There certainly is need.
>
> Here in Berkshire County (Western Massachusetts) we have developed
> "berk-shares" a locally minted 'money'.  It creates local sustainable
> community.  The imputes was generated from a fantastic resource - an
> organization that is almost as old as the small is beautiful philosophy &
> based on the theories of the author of that book.  I forget the name of the
> organization which has recently changed.  (They are on Jug End Rd... in
> Great Barrington, I believe).  What a resource! library, lectures, grants,
> international scholar exchange, programatic outcomes (like berkshares, land
> trusts, etc).
>
> Not "banks" per se, alternatives:
>
> Socially Conscious Investment firms
> Coops
> Employee owned companies
> Time Bank (a 30 yr. old concept created by the attorney who started the
> legal aid programs in USA)
> Credit Unions (as above)
> Fellowship for Intentional Community's revolving loan fund
> Micro Loans
> stuff like Kickstart
> localized money (like berkshares)
>
> Can U add any more?
>
> - -Chad- -
>
>
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