We were very sad to learn of the death on February 4 of Bernard Lietaer, a leading monetary reformer who had a great influence on members of Feasta’s currency group. He was the author of The Future of Money and Money and Sustainability: the Missing Link. Our good wishes go out to his family and friends. …
reform
Land Taxation & the Renewal of Growth in the Irish Economy
Report by Fred Harrison: "Ireland’s lower corporate tax rate is a two-edged sword: it attracted foreign capital, but the net gains were either (i) capitalised into disruptively higher land values, which helped to fuel the property boom/bust, or (ii) were repatriated. Hong Kong’s much lower income tax heightened incentives to work, save and invest. Hong Kong is recognised as the most competitive economy in the world. We only need to compare the skyline of Hong Kong with Dublin to appreciate that something remarkably different was, and is, driving the Asian Tiger’s economic engine."
Derivatives: Weapons of mass destruction
For Adam Smith, “Goods can serve many other purposes besides purchasing money, but money can serve no other purpose besides purchasing goods.” Banks and financial traders have other ideas. They are now running a parallel economy in which money makes money out of money. The volume of this trade is ten times the volume of trade in goods and services, and traders extract money that other mortals can’t possibly aspire to. No wonder it causes havoc.
