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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	1104
Proposal	2022 Platform Amendment: Chapter IV, Introduction
Presenter	Platform Committee Sponsor: Banking and Monetary Reform Committee
Floor Manager	Tony Ndege
Phase	Closed
Discussion	09/05/2022 - 10/02/2022
Voting	10/03/2022 - 10/09/2022
Result	Failed
Presens Quorum	32 0.6666
Consens Quorum	56 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

The title of Chapter IV of the platform includes Economic Justice. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the current introduction that identifies the main cause of economic injustice and our position on the means of correcting that injustice.

The main cause of economic injustice is the extraordinary grant of power and privilege by Congress to private banks to create money when making loans. Private banks create 97% of the money in circulation. They also choose the recipients of these loans. Great wealth has accumulated to the private banks and financial institution as a result of their collection of interest on what is basically the entire money supply in the US.

This wealth has been used by the banks and financial institutions to collectively acquire controlling interest in most of the largest corporations, and use their wealth to influence the election of politicians of their choice in order to gain control of the government and influence policies adopted by the government.

Government policy in creating unnecessary weapons of mass destruction, interference in foreign elections and carrying on a state of perpetual war – while ignoring climate change and destruction of the planet – can all be traced to the wealth, power and influence of the banks and financial institutions. This also results in extreme wealth inequality – not only in the US – but also globally.

The introduction to Chapter IV needs to be amended to include this omission. BMRC considers the omission of all information about the primary cause of economic justice in the Introduction to be a serious omission.

Proposal

Amend Chapter IV. Economic Justice and Sustainability, to replace the current introduction with the following new text:

"Green economics is rooted in ecological economics. Our economy should serve us and our planet. Our economy should reflect and respect the diverse, delicate ecosystems of our planet.

Our current economic system is gravely flawed and it externalizes environmental and social costs, such as climate change. It is unjust and unsustainable because it requires endless economic growth and destruction of nature. This economic growth is a treadmill driven by our privatized debt-based monetary system. In this system banks create our money supply (not the government as is commonly believed) by creating deposits in borrowers’ accounts when a loan contract is signed. The goal of those who privately control our money system is increasing their own power over our government and public policy. The banks reap enormous profits from interest upon interest, and they set the economic direction of the nation at the expense of us and our environment.

Green economic policy places value not just on material wealth, but on the things which truly make life worth living — our health, our relationships, our communities, our environment, and building peace and justice throughout our nation and the world. We aim to maximize our quality of life with a minimum of consumption. We aspire to less “stuff” but more happiness. We propose a shift away from materialism to help people live more meaningful lives as we save the planet from climate change and ever-larger mountains of waste. We need to acquire the ability to distinguish between need and greed.

We must also end the colossal waste of taxpayer funds for armaments and war, reduce our nation’s federal debt, and fund our environmental and social needs.

Greens intend to provide a green job to anyone who wants one. We support using the tax system and debt-free, sovereign money created by Congress to bring more equality to our nation. In the event the current system totally crashes, local and regional currencies will be essential. In the long term, the best way to close the wealth and income gaps is to adopt a democratically controlled sovereign money system (see Greening the Dollar, Section N). Rising income inequality makes us all poorer. More equal societies are happier, healthier, safer, and greener.

Greens support strong local economies and regional trade. The best model of economic security is for a community and region to be largely self-sufficient in the production of its necessities. We support not the corporate control of “free trade” — which, through the machinations of the World Trade Organization places the enrichment of multinational corporations above the level of national laws — but “fair trade,” which protects communities, labor, consumers, and the environment. Local economic vibrancy and regional trade keep more money in the community and the region, rather than going to distant corporate headquarters. This is the most sensible model for economic security.

The giant multinational corporations, funded and directed by the international banking system, are the world’s most potent force for environmental and social destruction. Greens will change the legal design of the corporation so that it does not maximize profits at the expense of the environment, human rights, public health, workers, or the communities in which it operates.

Unlike other political parties in the modern era, the Green Party views economics not as an end in itself but as a service to community development through the building and strengthening of community bonds that constitute the social fabric.

Greens are defenders of the commons — the vast trove of wealth owned by the people, the social and tangible assets we inherit from generations past. Most people living in this country yearn for a more vibrant and lively commons, such as a richer community life, more parks and protected wilderness, clean air and water, more silence, better access to information and knowledge, and a more nourishing culture. We must stop big business from undermining and stealing our common wealth, such as our public forests and minerals, the fruits of federal research, the public airwaves and the Internet. To stop the theft of our common wealth, we must end the special privilege of private banks to create money and restore that sovereign power to the people."

Resources

Approval of this proposal will amend the 2020 GPUS Platform (https://www.gp.org/platform).

Contacts:
Contact liaison: Rita Jacobs, GPMI, rjacobs@arq.net

BMRC Co-chairs:
Howard Switzer, GPTN, hmsarchitecture@gmail.com
Mary Sanderson, GPWI, mhsanderson@hotmail.com

References

This proposal is also available in strikethrough format to easily understand changes, as well as for comment, at: https://gpus.org/other/platform-2017/new-introduction-to-chapter-iv-economic-justice-and-sustainability/

References:

https://greensformonetaryreform.org/

https://workableeconomics.com/the-debt-based-economy/

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2014/11/senate-report-scale-of-wall-street-holdings-are-unprecedented-in-u-s-history/

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2014/01/wall-street-mega-banks-own-tankers-pipelines-utilities-mines-metal-warehouses-%E2%80%93-and-that%E2%80%99s-not-the-worst-of-it/

https://theconversation.com/who-owns-the-world-tracing-half-the-corporate-giants-shares-to-30-owners-59963

https://covertactionmagazine.com/2021/02/10/who-are-the-ultimate-war-profiteers-u-s-air-force-veteran-removes-the-veil/

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/blackrock-vanguard-own-big-pharma-media/?utm_source=salsa&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=eda6fc30-9805-418e-8618-1b233623ee51

https://news.littlesis.org/2020/06/18/corporate-backers-of-the-blue-how-corporations-bankroll-u-s-police-foundations/

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