Relieved of Debt

When the decision finally came that the Green Party would be adopting a policy that cuts the link between money creation and the parallel creation of debts it came as a huge relief. Following more than a decade of pondering, discussing, educating and campaigning the party's activists were convinced that they could believe in the possiblity of public credit creation to end the centuries of capitalist privatised money and replace it with money produced for the common good. The motion was passed on Sunday at the annual conference in Brighton by 110 votes to 90.

Key to the change of heart of the Green Party have been two members of Kent Green Party, both of whom might be described as 'outraged of Tonbridge'. Brian Leslie has been a campaigner for monetary reform all his life and he recently recruited to the cause Andrew Waldie, who is a tall, softly-spoken accountant with a Scottish accent - exactly the sort of person you want to be on your side in a debate about money. From this most unlikely centre of radicalism has come what Andrew called the final part of the trinity of radical economics policies, taking its place alongside Land Value Tax and Citizens Income on an economic platform that has the potential to liberate working people from the oppression of wage slavery.

I am reproducing Andrew Waldie's proposal speech in full here: read and rejoice!

'This motion strikes a blow at the heart of financial capitalism by removing from banks their power to create money - and restoring the supply of our national currency to democratic and public control. Through their lending, banks create 97% of the money we use in the form of credit.  This gives them enormous power to direct the economy and shape our society - without any form of democratic accountability.

'Our banking system is also unstable.  History shows that debt-fuelled booms and speculative bubbles inevitably turn to bust.  Governments bail out banks that have become “too big to fail” – and the price of these bail outs are savage cuts in public services. The burden of servicing the debt on which our money is based also increases inequality and drives unsustainable growth.  These are issues which are of fundamental concern to the Green Party.

'Simply bringing the banking system under "Social Control" is not enough - more radical reform is required.  Leading green economists have advocated reform based on the principles set out in this motion. The motion avoids the fundamental conflict of interest that has corrupted the current banking system.  It separates the power to create money from the power to decide how that money is first used.  A National Monetary Authority – NMA - appointed by Parliament, would manage the supply of national currency.  Its decisions would be protected by law from influence by financial or other special interests.

'Elected governments would decide how currency created by the NMA is first spent.  This currency would then circulate freely at all levels of society.  Saving and borrowing would continue.  Local currencies could circulate alongside the national currency.  The major benefit of the system we propose is that people would no longer need to go into debt to keep money circulating in the economy.

'Over a transition period of 20 years, the NMA would convert the stock of debt-based money by issuing the same amount of national currency to the Government as additional revenue.  The value from transferring the endowment of our currency to public control has been estimated at £50 billion per year – that’s enough to fund the construction of 300,000 new homes – for each year of the transition period.

'Restoring the supply of our currency to public control would deliver a huge prize that could finance the transformation of our society.  Today, we have the opportunity to commit our party to seizing this prize by passing this motion.'

.

Tweet