Monetary Justice

"Financial Institutions ... create credit" - so sayeth Michael Reddell and Cath Sleeman in their joint article (Some perspectives on past recessions) in the latest Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin, June 2008 vol. 71 no.2. The full quote on page 14 is as follows: "Deregulation gave financial institutions the freedom to create credit, without much experience in actually doing so. A significant portion of the new credit, fuelled by the inflows of foreign funds attracted by New Zealand’s relatively high interest rates, was used to finance speculation in the share market and the property market." Imagine the benefits which could be gained if a financial institution had made such new credit available for productive purposes. And imagine yet again the further benefits that could've been gained, if that financial institution had made the new credit available at its cost of production - a mere 1% or less.

Food, housing, education and transport costs have increased. Easy access to affordable and timely health care remains a difficulty. Why is it, on the one hand, Business, Local Bodies and Government can increase their cost structures and our budget burdens with ease, while on the other hand, they struggle to increase our incomes? Any increase in income or reduction in our rates or taxes are merely token gestures - they never catch-up and the gap between increasing prices and our purchasing power gets ever wider. It is about time a political party discovered the answer! No - it is about time a political party with the answer, was supported by New Zealanders to become the government! Check out: http://www.democrats.org.nz/ and http://www.johnpemberton.co.nz/

Oil can be bought and sold many times over, even before it comes out of the ground, but eventually oil will run out. Its scarcity factor can be managed simply by turning on and off the taps. Other commodities have had their day in the sun but one by one are replaced by the next opportunity for speculation. Money, on the other hand, is different in one key way - it can be created out of thin air at very little expense and will never run out. Those who are in control of the money creation process have quietly gone about their business - Creating money; Turning the money taps on and off; Speculative buying and selling of money - for centuries.