We, citizens of Concord, Massachusetts, do hereby petition our Board of Selectmen to include the following resolution/warrant article in the next Town Meeting.

To determine whether the town of Concord will petition its state and congressional representatives to submit legislation in order to establish a process, whereby Concord and other local governments will be able to fund their duly authorized public works projects publicly ­ that is from monies created and loaned directly out of the US Treasury in accordance with the power of Congress "to coin Money [and] regulate the Value thereof." (Art. 1, Sec. 8, Par. 5, United States Constitution). Or to take any other action relative thereto.

If we as a nation can issue a dollar bond, we can issue a dollar bill (and we have). The basis of either is the productive enterprise of the people. The difference between the bond and the bill is that the bonding process introduces a middleman who collects "interest" charges, whereas the currency pays only those who offer a useful contribution to the project being financed.

The public loans proposed by the "Concord Resolution" will save us from having to resort to the private bond market, middleman, where (as with mortgages on our homes) communities all too often are unable to shore up their aging infrastructure, due to the compounding interest charges on the bonds. New Orleans with its crumbling levees, Minneapolis-St.Paul with its aged bridge, are but the most recent and widely publicized examples. These compounding interest charges are reflected in communities' increased taxes. Over the 5-year period (2008-2012), Concord will pay 8 and 1/2 million dollars in interest alone on current projects. These interest payments are reflected in our escalating tax rate.

Behind the warrant article stands a principle. That principle is: Once We the People, via our elected representatives, lose control over our nation's monetary authority to create, issue, and control our money supply, we lose our independence as a nation and become indebted and, thereby, beholden to other private interests.

To remedy this loss of independence, the law requires that we, the citizenry, direct our town officials to petition our congressional representatives to submit legislation, authorizing our public U.S. Treasury to issue funds to Concord and other communities for the purpose stated. This legislation is, as noted, in accordance with our U.S. Constitution, as well as with earlier acts of both Massachusetts' legislative body and our U.S. Congress, itself. In 1690, Massachusetts became the first government in the Western world to issue paper money, "Bills of Credit", that were not attached to gold, interest-bearing bonds, or to other privately-controlled "backing." During the Civil War, Lincoln's issuance of "U.S. Notes" pulled us through the crisis and provided the foundation for the rebuilding of our nation.

At a time when communities across the nation face stark choices concerning how to fund our deteriorating infrastructure, the benefits of this constitutionally rooted and historically established approach are:

1. We will have reestablished the principle of funding our duly authorized public works projects publicly, as opposed to through the private bond market – i.e. not to mix the funding sources at considerable and unnecessary expense.


2. This will result in reducing, dramatically, the cost of our public works and, thus, in tax savings for citizens and the community.


3. Concord will thereby be able to proceed with public works projects sought by the voters and, thus, with renewing our foundations – physical and social – as communities and as a nation.


4. Therewith, a cornerstone will have been laid for a revitalized economy in which money serves people, as opposed to the current system in which people are often obliged to serve money.


5. Through these steps we will have lived up to the heritage of our town and carried its legacy on in service to our children and to the generations to come.

In such a spirit, citizens are encouraged to initiate this article on behalf not only of Concord, but of other communities, in service to the common good.