Sustainable prosperity against the wind

["John Gelles" <indexed-savings@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gunnar Tomasson, Paul Davidson, James Robertson and
all of us in search of sustainable prosperity, (in the face of
current business cycle and ecological factors, as sand in the
gears that maybe could make it happen), look at (1) nations
who want to export to hard currency paying customers and
(2) nations who, in spite of wanting to export, create so
much hard currency debt---due to high imports---that the
debt puts them at risk of sharp declines in the value of their
currency :

        Looking squarely at these sets of countries, especially
        at the USA, (whose money is currently popular with
        most central banks and industries such as oil), the
        three above named scholars try to offer ideas and
        remedies good for both sets of nations---and good,
        especially, for developing nations (within the first set)
        looking for aid or advantageous trade.

        All three scholars hope to win over to their ideas
        and remedies these potentially antagonistic economic
        rivals---their governments and their consumers, voters
        and job-dependent work force.

Davidson sees part of the solution to be to convince hard
currency creditors to spend and lend more of the dollars
they tend to husband.

Tomasson notes that, in the USA, consumer credit has created
the hard currency buyers (and debt) that allowed the creditors
to accumulate as much as they have---to do this over the time
one might have expected the US dollar to decline more than it
has. He does not recommend that this go on forever. So he may
agree with some of Davidson's ideas---at least in the short term
---as protection for the dollar for as long as possible.

Robertson may want to inject some interest-free money into
circulation---somewhere inside the total system. Stiglitz' global
greenbacks scheme would inject them at very low interest into
the bloodstream of poor countries. They would be created by
a treaty bank---like those already in use---and it would be such
banks that had the advantage of interest-free money to lend.
            (He may want a lot more -- especially to sell his
             book on the subject, just written, where the 'more'
             will be found.)

There is a challenge in all the above:  can any of the authors
of ideas, remedies or books, together with this audience,
present their material in sufficient detail here (and on line to
the web) to make possible fruitful discussion---and possible
improvement on their expertise by this and other audiences?

We may note that such an approach works for Linux and
open software projects.  It works in economics and social
science---but through peer reviewed journals and books.

When books carry the project forward, like The General
Theory of Keynes or Das Capital of Marx, the project
unfolds as history;  and it is carried forward by active
politicians (and warriors) as a struggle for dominance and/
or survival.

The internet is yet a baby. But it is growing fast. Some of
us will live to see how long it will take to make a difference.
            Can it possibly speed up the time it takes
            to see our more profound faults, and, in
            fact, correct them?

John Gelles
--------------------------------------------------------------

>From Gunnar Tomasson's inspiring message in the matter:

"With 5% of US 'absorption' of goods and services being
  supplied by the rest of the world---in exchange for dollar
  balances---Excess Domestic Credit Creation has been the
  principal determinant of the US current account deficit on
  Chairman Greenspan's watch.

 "...[Thus]  US demand for goods and services from the
  Rest of the World [ is ] financed with Virgin Credit rather
  than "leakages" out of the US income stream as envisaged
  by Greenspan and Davidson.

 "Indeed, that is why US employment has been relatively high
  in recent years despite annual current account deficits of the
  order of $500 billion."