Page 15 - Reflexions of African Bishops and Priests

Thus, under a Social Credit system, there could when machinery wears out and is replaced. In short,
be no public debt. What a country produces is real prices are affixed that do not reflect the true costs of
wealth, not debt. It is illogical that wealth be repre- producing that particular good or service.
sented as a debt. How is it possible for a country to There is also the situation where money that was
be burdened with debts for the production of roads, saved by consumers is invested in production. The
aqueducts, sewers and public buildings when assets savings are included in prices but were not distrib-
were, indeed, created by this construction? Debt uted as purchasing power to access the particular
would only be a consideration if these public amen- set of goods and services.
ities were built by a foreign country. The repayment of short-term bank loans, which
Depressions and other miseries, in a society full removes money from circulation, further increases
of potential, are the fruits of a false financial system the gap between prices and purchasing power.
which dominates instead of serving. These condi- Hence the accumulation of goods, unemployment,
tions would disappear under the sound financial and the problems that ensue.
system of Social Credit. Social Credit would correct this chaos. Prices
Financing Distribution Adequately and purchasing power would be adjusted so that
Financing production is not enough. Goods and they corresponded to each other. Straightforward
services must also reach those who need them. accounting procedures would be used to make
In fact, the only value in production is to meet the these corrections.
needs of the public. A Dividend to Buy the Fruits of Progress
Therefore, products must be distributed. We will Currently, the system does not distribute pur-
consider how goods are currently distributed and chasing power to everyone. Only people employed
how they would be distributed under a Social Credit in the process of production earn money and have
system. purchasing power. With automation, less human
Today, prices are established and goods are labour is required and production even increases as
purchased by those who have the money to make the number of jobs decrease. The effects of auto-
these purchases. mation, and the reduced demand for labour, are in
Social Credit would not upset this method of dis- direct conflict when considering the need for the
tribution. The method is flexible and works well pro- distribution of purchasing power.
vided that individuals have the purchasing power to We can agree that everyone has the right to live
select the goods that meet their needs. and is entitled to the basic necessities of life. After
For this method of distribution to be successful, all, earthly goods were created by God for all men,
purchasing power must be placed in the hands of whether employed or not.
those who have needs. This is where the present This sphere is where Social Credit would ac-
system fails, and this is the defect that Social Credit complish what the present system does not. It
would correct. would distribute an income, a social dividend, to
When production is correctly financed, it flows in every person. Earnings from work would not be
a manner required to meet consumers’ needs. When impacted by the dividend, and workers would con-
money is correctly distributed, and consumers can tinue to receive wages and salaries.
access production, the system, in fact, works. As automation frees more people from the pro-
Currently, money is distributed as wages, profits cess of production, the dividend’s contribution to
and industrial dividends, and constitutes purchasing total purchasing power would increase. The divi-
power. With Social Credit, recipients of purchasing dend would allow everyone to enjoy the fruits of
power would be every person, by virtue of the na- progress, and all citizens would be considered
tional dividend. shareholders who would enjoy the rewards of a
Price Adjustment commonly-owned capital.
Presently, industry does not distribute purchas- Imagine the freedom for each person to de-
ing power at the same rate that it generates prices. velop his personality and potential when freed from
the obligation of working; for instance, to produce
A price is affixed to every good or service. But superfluous products or products used in wars.
part of the cost included in this price was actually Goods would always be available in a country
spent earlier, before the goods or services reached with abundant potential. This situation would bring
the market place. Another portion of the price rep- much relief and permanently end individuals and
resents costs associated with the retailer, such as families’ fears for the future. v
his profit. Still another portion represents consump-
tion that will occur over a longer period, such as Louis Even

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