Page 20 - Michael Journal 2020 March

tem towards the satisfaction of the needs of all who person has this right from birth, why is it absolutely
live therein. necessary that money be earned in paid employment
How much should each individual receive? In a alone? A right does not have to be earned; it exists
country like Canada, which is capable of satisfying already. This is evident in the case of the capitalist
more than just the essential needs of its people, the who bequeaths his money to another: the heir has
amount should be sufficient to obtain the essentials. a natural right to the inheritance which he has in no
It could even be more so that each person could de- way earned. Why then deny this same right to all the
velop his or her full potential. co-heirs of the tremendous wealth which has been
The individual would use this sum as desired. We handed down from the progress in development
from past generations?
can consider it a guaranteed income, or National Divi-
dend, as some French economists are calling it. The One who works directly in the labour force and
term National Dividend reminds us that each person further develops this common heritage in some cap-
has a legitimate claim to a share of the country’s great acity has a right to wages or salaries for their efforts.
common capital since each person is its co-heir. But he and others also possess a right from birth to a
As for public needs, the designated agency will share in the fruits of the common heritage.
obtain from the country’s productive capacity, via a The monetary system is not rightly a system of
National Credit Authority, the necessary credits to rewards and punishments. When correctly ordered it
meet the general community’s needs. Citizens must is a system of service which makes possible the mo-
be able to determine, through their government rep- bilization of our productive capacity and our capacity
resentatives, what portion will be dedicated to meet to distribute products.
society’s needs. These decisions will not be based on In order for the monetary system to be in har-
taxing the public, or borrowing, but be based solely mony with the productive system, it must closely fol-
on the urgency of the need and the availability of ne- low its rhythm. New credits (money) must be issued
cessary resources. for new production, and money must be recalled as
Where to get the money? products are consumed or are depreciated.
The objection will surely be raised: “This is all Justifiable demands
very nice, but where is the money to come from, This is why Social Crediters who read the journal,
money for those Dividends and for public spending MICHAEL, ask that the Bank of Canada — the national
so that production can be mobilized?” agency established for this purpose — advance new
The answer is “From a National Credit Office credits without interest for new production, such as
which will provide funds according to the country's developments for provinces, municipalities, school
productive capacity.” It will work this way: the Na- boards, etc. Repayments of loans so issued would be
tional Credit Office will supply producers with money spread out over a period of years, as is presently the
to provide goods and citizens with money to ensure custom, but without the addition of ruinous interest
goods are distributed and thereby utilized. rates which increase the amount to be paid consider-
ably.
Changing the mindset The same method of financing should also be
In order to correct these conditions, the prevail- applied to the production of goods for private con-
ing mindset regarding money must be changed. sumption. The producer should automatically be
To this point in time, the money system, rather supplied with the credits (money) necessary to pro-
than serving the population, has the population as duce what the consumer requires, presuming the
its servant. It has been considered as something of a physical capability of producing. Then the consumer
sacred cow before which all must genuflect. In real- should be financed so that he can acquire from avail-
ity, it is nothing more than a system of accounting able goods what he needs. The money should return
which can and should faithfully reflect the realities of to the source from which it came, whether this is the
production and consumption. Bank of Canada, or another Credit Authority.
We also see money as wealth, whereas it is noth- With money thus adjusted to production and
ing in itself. All the money in existence in Canada consumption, cycles of inflation and deflation would
could be burnt today without diminishing by one iota no longer plague economies. The existing system
the wealth of the country. Now, burn down a forest creates price inflation even though prices should
and you have destroyed real wealth! A simple deci- decrease due to more efficient methods of produc-
sion to manage our money system as described can tion. The existing system also creates unemployment
restore the burnt money but it would take sixty to one when there still remains many unmet public and con-
hundred years to replace a forest. Money is simply sumer needs. v
a title or ticket to real wealth. It is a claim on goods; Louis Even
it is the goods which satisfy our needs. Since each Vers Demain, April 15, 1959

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