Defining Money and Productive
page 6 of 7
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CHANGING THE RULES

Just as money rules are currently made up to benefit the few, the world's citizens can also change those rules.

Rules about money are "man-made"; they are not scientific like the law of gravity. We can't change the laws of gravity; we can change the rules about money, and it is urgent that we do so since the current rules do not differentiate between economic activity that is harmful or wasteful, and activities that are beneficial and essential.

Advocating that the money supply should be based on a warped and destructive definition of productive, only digs us deeper into the same economic rut that ultimately will destroy our environment, our health, and our relationships on all levels.

The current world wide money system is an enormous Ponzi scheme that can only have a few winners. Richard Cook, with twenty-one years in the U.S. Treasury Department, speaks about the need to "simply give away money" with a basic income:

"In my opinion, it would be much more effective for the Federal Reserve simply to give away money... It would be a simple, effective way to introduce liquidity into the economy, far better than the debt-based system of fractional reserve banking that leads to profits for the banks at the expense of everyone else... It is essential to have workable proposals ready as our economy continues to stumble into the crises that are inevitable given the huge problems that exist with income maldistribution ..." (Richard C. Cook, speech to the U.S. BIG Network Annual Conference, New York, Feb. 23, 2007, "The Basic Income Guarantee and Monetary Reform: A Tale of Two Ideas" )

People with money command those without. It is paradoxical that to neutralize the destructive power of money, we need to ensure everyone has money through a universal livable income. (Although at some point in the future, humanity may decide simply to abolish money.) A guaranteed income means that everyone can make political demands:

"Under the market system, there is demand for a product if a lot of people want it - but that demand counts for nothing if those people have no money. If they lack money, their demand essentially doesn't exist." ( Linda McQuaig, Canadian economic journalist and author, "All You Can Eat", 2002)

Next... In Conclusion