Economy ---- Interview with Lloyd Chris Blake ...
We are now aware that
we are each uniquely One with each other.
Together, we can do anything.
An interview with Lloyd Chris Blake
by Irénée Sikora
Bonjour Chris. You are an economist. It is one of your specializations.
From your point of view, what is the current economical situation of our civilization
on a planetary scale ?
LCB: For a very short period of time, about 150 years now, we have embraced a rather strange and controversial way of creating and disseminating money. The system that
was chosen is called "debt money" and has benefited the company making the money,
the International Bank of Settlements, Inc. along with the Central Banks, Inc and their member banks. I will refer to the above as the Bank Company, since that is what it is. There is now a large amount of debt money which needs to be paid for by paying interest to the Bank Company. It means that currently, over 60% of the price of goods: food, housing, clothing, transport, is "debt", the amount needed to serve the debt
to the Bank Company.
How could we explain for example the phenomenon of deflation and inflation ?
What do these terms mean ?
Money is basically a place we store value. Then we trade the money for goods and services we want and need. Inflation is when there is more money than the value of the goods and services available at a give moment. In a market system that is now used, it means a good or service will now take more money to purchase. The price of those things rise. That is called Inflation. On the other hand, if there is more value than money, the prices of the goods and services will decline since the money available can buy more.
The prices of the goods and services will fall. That is called Deflation.
Money is basically a place we store value. Then we trade the money for goods and services we want and need. Inflation is when there is more money than the value of the goods and services available at a give moment. In a market system that is now used, it means a good or service will now take more money to purchase. The price of those things rise. That is called Inflation. On the other hand, if there is more value than money, the prices of the goods and services will decline since the money available can buy more.
The prices of the goods and services will fall. That is called Deflation.
Who decides about inflation and deflation ? Are they under control ?
The Banking Company has been given the right to "print money" and is in charge of
the amount of money there is in the global monetary system. By adding money
to the system by loaning money at interest, or taking money out by retiring interest
baring notes, the circulation of money is controlled by them.
It might be noted that "money" is made up of two factors, Amount and Velocity
(how fast the money changes hands). When either of these two factors are controlled,
the amount of money changes.
Well, let's point out the term ‘Money’. What does mean this energy ? What is ‘Value’ ?
and what is ‘the value of money’ ?
Value is made by the interface of humans and their endowments with the environment. When people work, correspond, create : cultivate the soil, make bread, build, sing,
make art, teach school, have a social gathering, Value is created.
Unfortunately, our current economic system, some call 'managed capitalism', fails to capture the majority of the value that is created. So only a small percentage of the value is captured or stored in money. That means that the system has created winners and losers not based on their worth or the value they create but on the narrow boundaries of the system used to turn their value into money.
The "rich" know how to use the system to their economic advantage even though some of the value they create is questionable in regards to the betterment of the human race.
The "poor" suffer from a lack of money, even though the value they create is often
more valuable than the money they receive.
Does it mean that Money has honestly no value ?
Money is not Value. Money is only a Store of Value.
Just like a bank vault, when empty it is valueless. If there is too much money,
then the money is worth less. Money itself has nothing but the faith of the people
who trade it for the value they create and the things they need.
So "money" in and of itself is nothing.
Yes, our reality results from our belief system.
Let's point the taxes. Who benefits from the taxes ?
What could we do in order to diminish or even delete the taxes ?
Taxes are a way for governments to raise money to pay for things that are for the public good. Unfortunately, current a large percentage of most governments spending is on paying the debt service on the debt money they have authorized the Banking Company
to create and now needs to be paid for.
There are also a large number of things that governments have done that do not benefit the public that also paid for. The people in most countries have given the power to buy and pay for public goods to representatives that work in their behalf in government. In many current governments, those representatives no longer work for their constituents but for large corporations and banks. So the purchases are not made for the public good but for the enrichment of both those entities and the representatives themselves.
Taxes could be substantially reduced if = we used Debt-Free Money,
so no interest would need to be paid to the Banking Company.
We took back the power to buy things for the public good and either did the purchasing ourselves collectively or appointed representatives that did not work
for the corporations and banks.
So, as far as we can see, you confirm that in the current economical unprecedented crisis, DEBT is the main or central involutionary trigger. More and more citizens upon Earth
can feel and understand that Debt is somehow virtual. What is debt ?
Debt is when money is borrowed and needs to be paid back.
When the Banking Company loans money into existence, they create debt.
Those loans become debt and need to be both repaid in terms of the capital (value) of
the loan and the interest charged on the load at the time of creation.
Currently there is no way of knowing how much "debt" there is in the world,
since the Banking Company has never been audited and much of the money
loaned by their member banks is not accounted for.
Some estimates run in the neighborhood of 1000 Trillion US dollar equivalents,
but that is a very iffy number. What is known is that by 2050, over 50% of most government's tax collections will go to pay their "national debt". That figure is unsustainable and will eventually lead to monetary collapse within the foreseeable future. It might happen within years, within months or weeks, but the "if" is no longer in question. When it happens, there needs to be another system that can handle
global monetary needs.
Very interesting. How can we stop the increasing worldwide indebtedness ?
Return the power to print money to the governments and put the Banking Company out of business. Then the governments can create Debt-Free money, like the UK did for over 700 years and the US did during the Civil War, by printing money and spending it into the economy instead of loaning it into existence.
But the important thing is that the representatives must be working for the good of the public and not the good of the Bank Company as they are now.
The other issue is the nature of the debts created by governments.
Since much of the debt was not created for the public good but for the enrichment of the Bank Company and corporations along with the government representatives, this portion of debt needs not be repaid. It is called Onerous Debt, specifically created in the name of the people but not for their benefit.
In Ecuador, the people did an audit of the national debt and found that nearly 80% of
the money owed by the government was not for things that actually benefited the people. So the government refused to pay that portion of the national debt. This is called Default. The Bank Company and the representatives are very much against this way of handling debt, since they will be required to “write-off” these “bad” loans and not get the interest or principle back. But since the money used was used for the enrichment of certain corporations, as well as of banks and of representatives, it is their job to pay off
this portion of the national debt.
What the current banking system is based on ?
Of what nature are the connections with the worldwide network of corporations ?
As stated earlier, The Bank Company runs the global monetary system with the permission of the world's governments. It is in itself a global corporation and like them, enjoys limited liability and is driven by the profit motive. The product/service it creates is Debt Money.
All of us do know that the Wall Street system is based on manipulation.
What is this system supposed to become ?
I would say that it is more based on speculation than manipulation. Wall Street houses some of the largest stock exchanges in the world. People are able to invest in publicly traded companies and make or loose money on the price of the stocks and the profit (dividends) that are paid to stock holders. The system allows for corporations to borrow money from people without interest on the hopes that the stock price will go up and the company will use the money to create more profit. When that happens, the capital value of the corporation rises, the stock price goes up and dividends are paid to share holders.
The problem with this system isn't the intent but the way it is run and for whom.
The system requires "perfect knowledge" through transparency, so everyone knows everything about the market and the corporation before they invest. That is not possible and "insiders" are benefiting from knowledge that not everyone knows.
The other serious problem is that the corporations that are traded have limited liability. Therefore, the money accumulated is used in a way that only benefits the corporations
and not the general public.
What is the meaning of unlimited liability ?
What are the consequences of unlimited liability ?
And what is the meaning of limited liability ?
Why does the limited liability seem to be so important ?
About 100 years ago, corporation that were doing public projects like building dams and other dangerous undertakings, asked the governments to give them some protection
if what they did created damage beyond their ability to pay for the results.
Governments granted to corporations "limited liability" relieving the company employees and the corporate shareholders from the liability for the damage
the corporation created. It covered only specific projects at first but over the last
100 years it has spread to all "incorporated" entities, from one-man companies
to major conglomerates.
What is has done is make it so incorporated entities no longer have any moral
or ethical responsibility for the products and services that they produce or the results
of their production.
In fact, the letters of incorporation specifically state that the only reason
for a corporation to exist is to create and distribution of profits to the share holders.
Although limited liability has substantially increased capital creation, it has created
an unintended problem that can only be resolved by the rolling back of the limits on liability and returning liability to both the workers and the shareholders of all entities.
Like the soul proprietor who when he creates damage risks loosing all he owns including his personal possessions and savings, corporate shareholders and employees must have the same risk when creating goods and services. Then, the shareholders will have a vital interest in what is done at the corporate level and the employees
will be more willing to guide the daily operation of companies in an ethical path.
As I said, the current situation is quite different. The money accumulated is used in a way that only benefits the corporations and not the general public. In fact, through negative externalities, the public is forced to pay for the social costs related to the production of goods and services while the corporate executives and share holders enjoy the profits. Let’s underline that the liability is needed for all without exception.
That means that the proprietors and all the share holders must be submitted
to the perfectly same risk. No one will save them. Any corporation, any bank, any government. The concept of privilege is not intelligent, it is a mistake, a blind alley.
How can we stop the increasing worldwide indebtedness ?
1) Default on all debt that was not taken on for the public good,
2) close the Bank Company and
3) return to Debt-Free money printed by the government and spent,
not loaned into the economy.
The public must also realize that "Consumerism" is not Utopia and that goods do not bring happiness. They need to stop being beguiled into spending money that they have not made to buy things that cannot afford and that they do not need. We need to return to a more cooperative society where value is traded and human do not depend totally
on a monetary system for their livelihood. Much of what has been done since the end of World War II has been to create needs from wants through the use of advertising and media. The main source has been the use of mass-media, television and music,
that have created the "need" for products that are not required to sustain human life.
According to what you point out, in each case, the free debt money solution seems
to be the most appropriate because it is urgent. Who will emit, who will make
this free debt money ?
What are the inevitable consequences of the introduction of free debt money
on the world market ?
Currently governments have the right to print money, but they have given that right
to the Bank Company. The governments have also guaranteed most member bank accounts for a certain amount of money depending on the country and the standard of living.
In most western countries, those guarantees are in the neighborhood of 100, 000 banking units of the country. When debt money disappears, the numbers in all those accounts will return to Zero and it will appear that all the "money has vanished". In fact, it will have.
At that moment, governments will print debt-free money and replace the money
in those accounts to the guaranteed amounts. If the account had 50,000 units,
it would again have 50,000.
Business would go on as usual. The government would then take on the task of controlling how much money is circulating in the monetary system by printing and Spending money into the economy.
The money would have no interest to pay and could be loaned by
government-based
service facilities paid for by service fees. If there
was too much money in the economy, the government would withdraw money and
reduce spending.
The massive national debt would be eliminated and there
would be no debt service interest to be paid. If an individual had an
account with more than the guaranteed limit,
the government would not replace
all the money and those individuals would be no longer what we might call
"rich".
Materialistic richness is not inevitably
a synonym of being more happy and/or more intelligent.
Exactly. More and more people all over the world acknowledge that manipulation
and lie are particularly dense energies. Does it not mean that without transparency
there is no future for humankind in this three-dimensional Earth world ?
Mankind has never had the ability to be transparent. Most systems have been established expressly on the notion that perfect information is never known and that the difference between parties creates the ability to benefit from another person's ignorance.
It is only quite recently, with the use of global information systems that transparency
is finally possible.
In a perfectly competitive market with perfect information, there is no economic profit.
If in fact, we are on the verge of transparency, it has come just in time
to save humankind from oblivion.
Are the young generations as interested in consumption way of living
as the older ones ? What is your feeling in this point ?
Younger generations seem to be less obsessed with materialism
in some more developed countries. They have not suffered the ravages of global war
and appear to be more interested in personal happiness than material and consumer "success". That being said, this varies greatly and although there appears to be some hope for a more sustainable lifestyle, only time will tell.
In constructive terms, what is the current direction that our societies take
while opening wider and wider the horizons of our collective consciousness ?
In order to close our conversation, let's find some constructive advices.
What kind of encouragement could you address to all of us, to humanity ?
Humankind has the benefits of a vast source of information and the knowledge of
how to use that information for the betterment of all.
We have begun to realize that we are the creators and that it is our free will and creative abilities that will save humanity as well as promote a more equitable
and cooperative future. We are now aware that we are each uniquely One
with each other and together, we can do anything.
This 100 year mistake can be rectified and our path can return to peace,
cooperation and creation for the good of humankind.
Thank you Chris for this very interesting interview.
Merci beaucoup.
You're welcome
Photography by Harm Kuijers
Economy - Interview with Lloyd Chris Blake
Post Scriptum questions from readers
Ian leC from BC Canada #1:
In general, governments do not have a wonderful track record and it is not clear
that will change any time soon. Will assigning money creation to governments prove
to be the best idea ?
LCB #1:
If you look carefully at the history surrounding the use and abuse of debt-free money,
you will find that in each case, its detractors plotted and successfully overthrew
its use though war, counterfeiting and outright murder.
The Green Back was plotted against by the German Central Bank (a member of
the Bank Company). Great quantities of green backs were counterfeited
to discredit it and finally President Lincoln was assassinated in order to stop its use.
Governments of and by the people, representing the people, have had a good record
of controlling the money supply. It is only when those governments have been
subverted by outside lobbyists and the representatives subverted have
those governments appeared to loose control.
Ian leC from BC Canada #2:
In recent years it has become clear to more and more people that our debt based financial system was designed to serve a ruling elite, not the people.
What is less clear is whether the ruling elite remains "in control" or whether they are
"out of control". It seems futile to attempt direct confrontation so we are left waiting
for opportunities that may arise as outmoded structures "self-destruct".
We may have to wait a long time for governments that truly serve "the people".
Do you know of any alternate economic models (local for example)
that could be introduced in parallel with the existing system,
without waiting for top-down transformation ?
LCB #2:
This is an age-old problem. The government of the USA has already purchased
450 million hollow-head bullets to protect itself from its own people
as the economy reaches collapse. FEMA camps are ready with rail cars equipped
with arm and leg shackles. Confrontation is not a viable option.
The best we can do is to begin a person to person value exchange program.
Since the current monetary system cannot monetize value effectively,
the use of black markets, barter and regionally-based debt-free money is
the best current option.
In both the UK and in Germany, as well as many universities around the world,
these are working well to both monetize value and serve as "money".
As the current monetary system weakens and appears to be dissolving,
the majority of the world's population can continue a needs-based existence.
Once the major default occurs, the remaining governments will be
more amine-able to human and not corporate control.
An interview with Lloyd Chris Blake by Irénée Sikora FlorRaison, September 2012
Economy - Interview with Lloyd Chris Blake
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