177 results for author: Dave Svetlik


WEALTH AND MONEY PART VII: PUBLIC BANKING AT THE CITY AND LOCAL LEVEL

Saving banks at any cost, making the public pay the price, foregoing a firm commitment to reviewing and reforming the entire system, only reaffirms the absolute power of a financial system, a power which has no future and will only give rise to new crises after a slow, costly and only apparent recovery. The financial crisis of 2007-08 provided an opportunity to develop a new economy, more attentive to ethical principles, and new ways of regulating speculative financial practices and virtual wealth. But the response to the crisis did not include rethinking the outdated criteria which continue to rule the world. - - Pope Francis - June 2015 Encyclical ...

WEALTH AND MONEY PART VI: BANKING AS A PUBLIC UTILITY

“The vast amount of money paid to Wall Street by America’s cities, counties, and states has profound impacts on our lives and local economies.” “It’s a staggering amount: Hundreds of billions of dollars move from taxpayer pockets into private Wall Street hands each year in the form of interest payments on bonds, loans, fees, and financial product costs” “The debt load is squashing local economies, ruining our school systems, letting our infrastructure crumble, and so much more.” “Breaking our dependence on Wall Street usury means reclaiming control of our money through publicly-owned, public-interest banks.” - - The Public ...

WEALTH AND MONEY PART V: THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK

“The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity.” - - Abraham Lincoln "We have what is known as the Federal Reserve Bank System. That system is not owned by the Government. Many people think that it is because it says “Federal Reserve.” It belongs to private banks, private corporations. So we have farmed out to the Federal Reserve Banking System - that which is owned ...

WEALTH AND MONEY, PART IV: THE CREATION OF MONEY AND DEBT

The prescient fears of Jefferson and Stamp have come to fruition. In America and around the world, governments are crippled with debt. Nation upon nation is said to have overspent and now must pay the price.

WEALTH AND MONEY, PART III: PHYSICS VERSUS MONEY

  Imagine yourself an intergalactic traveler visiting Earth. You land in a place called America and notice the crumbling infrastructure. You wonder, “Why would a people who had built such magnificent highways, bridges and airports allow them to fall into such disrepair?” You question: “Does America have sufficient cement, sand and gravel to rebuild its infrastructure? Yes. Is there adequate structural steel and other needed materials? Yes. Is there construction equipment? Yes, it sits idle. Is there fuel for the equipment? Certainly, America currently exports energy. Do Americans have the knowledge? They’ve built roads, bridges and ...

WEALTH AND MONEY PART 2: PRODUCTIVE CAPABILITY VERSUS MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE

WEALTH AND MONEY PART 2: PRODUCTIVE CAPABILITY VERSUS MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE One cannot eat money. It cannot be used as clothing. A house or chair cannot be built out of money. One cannot ride to work in a dollar bill or use it to mow the lawn. This is because food and clothing, a furnished house, a car, and a lawnmower are wealth. Money is the claim to wealth, a medium of exchange accepted as valid by a society. It has no value in and of itself. In fact, the overwhelming majority of “money” doesn’t exist. It is simply an entry on a computer screen or in a ledger representing credit or debt. But the manipulation of money exerts great power ...

WEALTH AND MONEY: PART I

PART I: THE DESTRUCTIVE/CONSTRUCTIVE CONTRADICTION   Born in the late 1800’s, Frederick Soddy and R. Buckminster Fuller led extraordinary lives. Soddy won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1921 and Fuller became well known for his work in architecture and the development of the geodesic dome. Soddy was a British citizen, Fuller an American. Both were deeply rooted in science and the laws of physics, and both spent the latter half of their life trying to apply their knowledge of physical reality to making the world work for everyone. Inevitably their quest led them to the field of economics and the study of monetary systems. Remarkably, though ...

THE RIFLE

Born in the late 40’s, I grew up in a family of hunters. Fair shots most of them, I remember standing next to my father when a spooked buck crossed our path at a dead run. Dad shot twice, hit twice, and the buck went down. It was near Hatfield, in central Wisconsin. Dad’s rifle was an old, iron sight, pump action, 30 Remington. It has killed (we kill deer – corn and oats are harvested) a few deer since my father died in ‘94. My sons have used the rifle. It was never a popular caliber and bullets are no longer manufactured for it. I have about 35 left – should last me until I no longer hunt. The rifle is a treasure to me. It is easy for ...

WISDOM FOR JUSTICE

Religion at its very best is universal. It knows no boundaries, transcends all divisions and labels, judges not, excludes none. It is the ancient and eternal quest for a decent humanity, for caring societies and communities, for seeking unity with others. It accepts. It knows the human acts of thinking, questioning, doubting, of fearlessly seeking the truth, as deeply moral endeavors. It moves convictions to actions. The Wisconsin faith based organization known as Wisdom is the embodiment of religion at its best. A member of the international network known as the Gamaliel Foundation, Wisdom is dedicated to improving the lives of the people of ...

The Rifle

Born in the late 40’s, I grew up in a family of hunters. Fair shots most of them, I remember standing next to my father when a spooked buck crossed our path at a dead run. Dad shot twice, hit twice, and the buck went down. It was near Hatfield, in central Wisconsin. Dad’s rifle was an old, iron sight, pump action, 30 Remington. It has killed (we kill deer - corn and oats are harvested) a few deer since my father died in 94. My sons have used the rifle. It was never a popular caliber and bullets are no longer manufactured for it. I have about 35 left – should last me until I no longer hunt. The rifle is a treasure to me. It is easy for an ...