WEALTH AND MONEY PART XX: SOLUTION

  • printing money

“There was a house made of dawn. It was made of pollen and of rain, and the land was very old and everlasting. There were many colors on the hills, and the plain was bright with different-colored clays and sands. Red and blue and spotted horses grazed in the plain, and there was a dark wilderness on the mountains beyond. The land was still and strong. It was beautiful all around.” – – N. Scott Momaday

The picture painted by Momaday is of grace and dignity and beauty. It is a picture of what was and what might be. It is a picture of us and our planet Earth, our home.

But we the people of planet Earth face great crisis at this moment on our evolutionary journey. Global warming and the growing threat of nuclear war cast doubt on humanity’s continuing participation in Earth’s cosmic travels. Both are the result of flawed economic models and guidance by ideology rather than intellect. Both are the result of manmade constructs that can be changed.

As is often the case, the way forward has been lit by those who have gone before. Following one of Buckminster Fuller’s cardinal rules – – “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete” – – we find new models are waiting in the wings.

Returning momentarily to earlier articles in the Wealth and Money series, we recall that wealth is not money. One cannot over-emphasize this concept because understanding the difference determines whether we the people of planet Earth will be governed by the laws of physics and the universe or by the manmade gimmicks of private banking cartel monetary systems.

When we choose to be governed by the laws of the universe we find that wealth is the product of Earth’s available physical resources and cosmic energy income multiplied by the current and ever-growing level of human knowledge to utilize this matter and energy in life sustaining, environmentally sound capacities. When we choose to be governed by the laws of the universe we find the people of planet Earth to be wealthy beyond imagination. We find we can “afford” to do whatever is needed to care for all members of our human family.

When we choose to believe that money is wealth and allow ourselves to be governed by the corruption and fraud of the Wall Street/International banking cartel, we are told we and our nations are hopelessly in debt. We are told we are broke. We are told we must endure austerity, that many must live in poverty, suffer and die. We are told we must war over who gets what, though we are surrounded by the physical resources and knowledge which, if intelligently directed, can provide wonderfully for us all.

Humanity and Spaceship Earth are not broke. Our banking, monetary, and economic systems are. Solutions – “new models” – abound, but three are critical to implementing the many others.

New model # 1 – Public Banking: The public Bank of North Dakota (BND)has kept Wall Street predation out of that state since it was chartered by caring citizens in 1919 (a wonderful history of BND on Prairie Public Television here). An epidemic in public banking is now taking root in America. The Wall Street/International banking cartel is being rendered obsolete. Bondage to fraud and corruption is coming to an end. Across the nation cities, counties, and states are well along in plans to utilize public assets to capitalize public banks where the public’s money is used to finance local needs and all interest on loans is returned to the citizens rather than financial parasites in the East.

All of the groundwork for developing and chartering public banks has been laid. The Public Banking Institute (PBI) provides a wealth of information, conducts courses and seminars, and provides advisors for communities and states that are in the process of forming public banks (a short Introduction to public banking here). The website of the public bank of Santa Fe, Banking on New Mexico, is also an inspirational source and an example of how concerned citizens can free their communities from endless debt. Books by lawyer and Public Banking Institute founder, Ellen Brown (Web of Debt and The Public Banking Solution) provide a history of how the banking and financial industries have kept communities, states and nations in debt for centuries and how public banking can break us free.

Implementing the public banking model is the single most critical step to be taken in moving us from governance by corruption and fraud to governance by the laws of physics and the universe.

New model # 2 – Alternative Energies: Fully developed and ready to perform, alternative energies are begging to take center stage. The future of humanity depends on giving it to them. Nothing is more important. Nothing is more critical to ending both global warming and the threat of nuclear holocaust. The fossil fuel cartel, and all of the horror it perpetuates, is obsolete. Solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal, and small scale hydro are the future.

Cities, states, and nations around the world are taking action to end fossil fuel bondage. The price per kilowatt of solar and wind electrical production is now competitive with coal and gas and promises to go much lower. The business community has invested heavily in alternative energies. Warren Buffet himself is a major financial backer. Germany and China are among the largest producers of photovoltaic panels (an excellent documentary by Dutch Public Television here). Studies by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Union of Concerned Scientists indicate 80 percent U.S. electrical needs could be met with renewable energy before 2050 using existing technology. Renewables are going to replace fossil fuels. They are the voice of collective human sanity.

New Model #3 – Universal Guaranteed Basic Income: Virtually every day we hear politicians and economists give us their recipe for attaining “full employment,” totally oblivious to the fact that business and industry is doing everything in its power through computers and automation to attain “full unemployment.” The elegant technologies that might free us, the product of millions of humans over thousands of years, the birthright of all humanity, are held captive by the greed of modern day robber barons. If the true wealth humans are now capable of generating through technology were spread equitably, none would go in want.

“Full unemployment” and the massive wealth to be generated as ever more humans are free to pursue their genetic strengths and the work they love, must ultimately be our goal. A universal guaranteed basic income is a giant step in this direction. Fortunately, the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) has already completed much of the research and planning needed to begin implementation. Cities, states and nations around the globe are looking at the possibilities.

Whether we will or not, we are all citizens of the world. We are all crew members on Spaceship Earth. It is not an option. We must choose to make the enlightened decision that we are going to make our home work for everyone. We must choose to live in “A House Made of Dawn.”

Part XXI will be: The Declaration of Independence of the People of Planet Earth