Gannaway's streams: Things we make. Money we spend.

["John Gelles" <jjgelles@xxxxxxxx>]

            "Everyone acts as if the only reason to produce
            anything is to get money."
                    -- Bob Gannaway, July 28, 1999

            With all the abstract comment on circular logic
            what a pleasure to read Bob Gannaway tell the
            straight story of production for profit that cannot
            ever meet the full needs of society because when
            radical increases in the supply of needed things,
            like food, occurs, the money the hungry need to
            be able to buy it is not created in time.

                    Price and profit then fall and production is
            cut off. The hungry go hungry and the stupid sit in
            their ivory towers with nothing to say but that
            the money would be there if only labor, business
            and government knew how to create it without
            losing personal freedom in the process.

                    Food stamps would do it, as would
            stamps for all the needs of the poor that are
            easily produced yet hard to sell.

                    But stamps are like rocket science and
            brain surgery, beyond the ken of ordinary
            people. And these are the ones who voted
            for Thatcher and Reagan. -- and Clinton too.

            Bob Gannaway hints that money is the
            bottom line. Yet he knows this is only the
            case when deflation is king. If inflation comes,
            real things, not money or debt will be desired.

                    Are we willing to admit that under our
            system of production, government is responsible
            for maintaining a balanced flow in Ganaway's
            two streams?  If so, how is it best done?

                    For starters, if inflation is on, raise
            the output of things and put a control valve
            on the money stream (to divert necessary
            amounts away from present spending into
            a pool for future spending.) This is the savings
            valve. It can be made voluntary by
            guaranteeing that the pool of diverted
            spending will hold its purchasing power
            and receive an extra bonus beside.

                    This guarantee can be part of private
            property law -- aimed specifically at private
            saving done in the public interest.

                    If deflation is on, no problem. Just let
            contracts that ensure production of affordable
            housing, water, environmental and national
            security, etc., and anything else we need badly,
            as though they were weapons systems for war.
            Stop buying when unemployment and poverty
            are ended, etc., or deflation ends and
            we have to prepare for inflation.

            How simple it all is when the Gannaway
            streams are looked at and circular logic
            as a passionate topic for thought is
            ignored. So why are all the voices here
            so still? Why do they allow the President
            to moan we won't have the money for
            medicare with no mention of the Gannaway
            stream of doctors, medicine, beds, nurses,
            machines, etc., that Canada closed for lack
            of money -- who is nuts if not Clinton and
            all of Canada!

            Canadian Action and Hellyer see things
            more or less in this light. But their solution
            has to do with Hummel and his reserve
            banking concerns. Canadian Action wants
            governments to create half the new money
            with government contracts instead of by
            present reliance on credit worthy private
            parties wanting to borrow cash.

            They have a point. Hummel might go for it.
            For myself, I'd let the banks lend what
            they want, but pay what it costs for audit
            and inspection to keep them honest.

                    Government contracts, by my lights,
            might exceed half the new money creation --
            as long as audit and inspection kept it
            honest, and voluntary savings worked to
            keep inflation under control.

            I can forsee a Gannaway stream of real
            economic output pouring into the economy.
            It has all of our needs -- largely made from
            sand, coal, air, water and sunshine. And the
            money stream to buy what's made (and save
            even more for tomorrow) would be just as
            powerful in the opposite direction.

            Who is to say it can't happen and why?
            Only those who argue that so much wealth
            would spoil the rotten among us -- and that
            these easily spoiled types are crucial to
            production.  Well who are they?

                    Not the great producers of today who
            are both rich and workaholic!  It must be
            somebody else. Somebody we don't like.

                    Somebody whose tasks can be done
            by automated systems who needs a new
            job that pays well and may be easier to
            do. Just who are we keeping poor and
            why?  More and more, it looks like the
            one we're screwing is us.

              John Gelles   jjgelles@xxxxxxxx
                                  http://www.1944.org
                                  http://www.rain.org/~jjgelles/