C O N C O R D     R E S O L U T I O N





A Column on a
New View on Money



     Contents
  1. A Personal Introduction
  2. A Disturbing Image From the Past
  3. Where Does Our Money Come From?
  4. The Problem of "Interest"
  5. Where Does Our Money Go?
  6. Recap of the Loan Transaction
  7. Anniversary of a Bridge Collapse
  8. Ford & Edison on the Financing of Public Works
  9. The Concord Resolution
  10. Massachusetts, 1690; Birth of a Revolution
  11. Massachusetts, 1690; Redux
  12. Some American Voices on Money & the Revolution
  13. The Credit Card Swipe
  14. The Revolving-Door Trap
  15. Frontline Credit Card Report
  16. Credit Cards: View into the Heart of the System
  17. "Revolvers" & "Deadbeats"
  18. Credit Cards & the American Revolution
  19. McCain & Obama
  20. What the Candidates Don't "Get"
  21. Why Taxing & Spending Adjustments Cannot Eliminate "The Deficit"
  22. What About Ron Paul?
  23. What About Dennis Kucinich?
  24. What About the Greens & Ralph Nader?
  25. The Forms of "National Debt"
  26. What Causes a "National Debt" to Arise?
  27. To Whom Is This "National Debt" Owed?
  28. Is the "National Debt" a Real Debt?
  29. Can the "National Debt" Ever Be "Repaid"?
  30. What Is the Solution to the "National Debt"?
  31. Solution to the "Balance of Trade Deficit"
  32. The Lessons of Flint, Michigan
  33. Why the Value of the Dollar Remains So High
  34. The Matter of "Cheap Labor"
  35. The Maquiladoros: Mexico's "Flint"
  36. What Could the Executives at GM Have Been Thinking?
  37. The Lesson for Labor from "Flint"
  38. The United States as a Business
  39. What Office Are Obama & McCain Running For?
  40. How Can We Help the Candidates?
  41. Post-September 11 Reflections
  42. The Wrong Answer to the Mortgage Crisis
  43. A Proposed Breather
  44. Where Did All That Money Go?
  45. Deflating the "Debt" Bubble Via Bankruptcy
  46. The Fractional Reserve of the Goldsmith Banker
  47. "Fractional Reserve" in Modern Banking
  48. The "Fractional Reserve Formula" & the Instability of the Banking System
  49. The "Fractional Reserve" Pyramid
  50. Base Courses of the "Fractional Reserve Pyramid"
  51. Middle Courses of the "Fractional Reserve Pyramid"
  52. Top Courses of the "Fractional Reserve Pyramid"
  53. The President's Address to the Nation
  54. My Solution to the "Debt Crisis"
  55. Presidential Debate – Sept. 26, Part 1: The "Financial Recovery Plan"
  56. Presidential Debate – Sept. 26, Part 2:
          The Real "Cost" of the Iraq & Afghan Wars
  57. Monetary Crisis – The Recent History of How We Came to This
  58. Monetary Crisis – Taking Stock of Where We Are Now
  59. Why We Cannot Have Another Depression
  60. Kindling a Flame
  61. American Mode of Creating & Issuing Money
          Postscript – Note from a Colleague
  62. The Concord Resolution Revisited
  63. "What Can I Do About Money?"
  64. To Borrow, or Not to Borrow: That Is the Question
  65. To Borrow, or Not to Borrow: That Is the $700 Billion Question
  66. Why Don't the Candidates Talk Sense About the "Debt"? – Part 1
  67. Why Don't the Candidates Talk Sense About the "Debt"? – Part 2
  68. Why Our Children Will Not Inherit the "National Debt" – Part 1
  69. Why Our Children Will Not Inherit the "National Debt" – Part 2
  70. Why Our Children Will Not Inherit the "National Debt" – Part 3
  71. Why Our Children Will Not Inherit the "National Debt" – Part 4
  72. Private Bank Money: The Strange Superstition of Our Age
  73. Election Day: Day of Decision, or Ratification?
  74. A Poetic Thought for Election Day
  75. Election Night Musings
  76. What Now?
  77. Planting Time
  78. Regaining Control of Our Destiny
  79. A New Rotation
  80. The A.I.G. "Bailout Package"
  81. The Monetary Aspects of Insurance
  82. The Supposed "Raiding" of the Social Security Trust Fund
  83. The Counter-Productive Aspect of Retirement Accounts Funded with
          "Debt"-Based Money
  84. Monetizing Social Security
  85. Making Sense of Private Retirement Funds
  86. Playing Poker, Federal Reserve Style
  87. "Not Worth a Continental"?
  88. The Economic Imperative of Christmas Shopping
  89. Money – The Paradox of Our Time
  90. What Do the Big-Three Automakers Really Need?
  91. The Seventh-Generation Law
  92. Seven Generations After the American Revolution: A Historical Perspective   
  93. Beyond the Seventh Generation
  94. Beyond Capitalism
  95. The Degrading of Collateralization
  96. Money As Video Game
  97. A Winter Solstice Poetic Interlude
  98. Now It's Toyota
  99. Money, Economic Life & the Garden
  100. Two Economies – Micro (Private) & Macro (National)
  101. Money At Two Levels: Micro (Private) & Macro (National)
  102. The "Cost" of Health Care: Micro vs. Macro
  103. Further Thoughts on the "Cost" of Health Care
  104. Why Public Money Is Not Inflationary
  105. The Root Cause of "Inflation"
  106. Micro-Taxation & Macro-Taxation
  107. Further Thoughts on Micro- & Macro-Taxation
  108. Value-Added
  109. Value-Added Monetization
  110. Lincoln's Lesson for Obama
  111. Recalling America's Monetary Roots
  112. The Monetary Providence of American History
  113. Final Thoughts Before Taking a Hiatus


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Comments

Some time ago a close working colleague approached me about the possibility of putting out a short daily message, a "column" he called it, which offered my take on the economic news of the day. He wanted something to circulate amongst people he had been working with on a monetary-reform initiative. In concept he envisioned a slightly extended economic thought for the day that could act as a counter-perspective to the seemingly endless stream of dire stories pouring forth from the media. Ideally, it would not be lengthy, perhaps 400 to 500 words; just long enough to convey a meaningful thought, and short enough to read "over morning coffee," or some such break in people's hectic day.

I am a self-taught layman who has been pursuing an independent inquiry into the field of money and economics for almost three decades. In my present life, I travel around the country full-time responding to invitations to have conversations on the subject. I have discovered many things that are for the most part not being discussed elsewhere, whether in academia, media or the culture in general. This column will be one fruit of that quest.

My purpose is not to offer a Polyannish "bright side" to balance the gloomy realities. It is, rather, to offer an alternative economic worldview that is thought out from a wholly different taproot. Hopefully, there will be real answers here to our economic dilemmas. If this sounds abstract for now, or perhaps even a bit arrogant, the reader is invited to judge for him or herself the truthfulness of this proposition in the unfolding of the dialogue.

The first six installments were sent out to people with whom I have met face-to-face over the years. Many have expressed, often adamantly, an interest in continuing the dialogue. I have often expressed an intention of "someday" putting out a written piece on a frequent periodic basis, and many have indicated that they would welcome receiving such an offering. With the initiation of this series of columns, the day of making good on that promise has arrived.

That said, I would also state that for me the purpose of this column is not to replace personal interaction, but rather to augment and expedite it in a phase of my work where the number of people I have tried to remain in communication with has become high. In addition, it is my hope that it will kindle an ever greater scope and depth of conversation amongst others.

Due to limitations of technical resources and having to be on the road for much of the time, I regret that these columns may be subject to a somewhat irregular timing.

Richard Kotlarz
richkotlarz@gmail.com


P.S.
The complete set of columns from this series is also posted at the following website:
http://economictree.blogspot.com/




www.concordresolution.org/column.htm

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