The Populist Revolution: Bernie and Beyond

The world is undergoing a populist revival. From the revolt against austerity led by the Syriza Party in Greece and the Podemos Party in Spain, to Jeremy Corbyn’s surprise victory as Labour leader in the UK, to Donald Trump’s ascendancy in the Republican polls, to Bernie Sanders’ surprisingly strong challenge to Hillary Clinton – contenders with their fingers on the popular pulse are surging ahead of their establishment rivals.

Today’s populist revolt mimics an earlier one that reached its peak in the US in the 1890s. Then it was all about challenging Wall Street, reclaiming the government’s power to create money, curing rampant deflation with US Notes (Greenbacks) or silver coins (then considered the money of the people), nationalizing the banks, and establishing a central bank that actually responded to the will of the people. Continue reading

Charles Eisenstein on “It’s Our Money”

eisensteinEllen joins her daughter Jamie Brown in interviewing Charles Eisenstein, a highly popular visionary re-thinker of the nature and future of economics. The author of “Sacred Economics,” Eisenstein shares insights into some of the core flaws in our economic thinking and helps us to see that we have the power and the responsibility to choose the priorities of the system we want. Co-host Walt McRee also speaks with Santa Fe public banking leader Nichoe Lichen of Banking on New Mexico, which saw the release this past week of a highly positive  feasibility study supporting the creation of a new Santa Fe public bank. Listen here.

The Citadel Is Breached: Congress Taps the Fed for Infrastructure Funding

In a landmark infrastructure bill passed in December, Congress finally penetrated the Fed’s “independence” by tapping its reserves and bank dividends for infrastructure funding.

The bill was a start. But some experts, including Congressional candidate Tim Canova, say Congress should go further and authorize funds to be issued for infrastructure directly.

For at least a decade, think tanks, commissions and other stakeholders have fought to get Congress to address the staggering backlog of maintenance, upkeep and improvements required to bring the nation’s infrastructure into the 21st century. Countries with less in the way of assets have overtaken the US in innovation and efficiency, while our dysfunctional Congress has battled endlessly over the fiscal cliff, tax reform, entitlement reform, and deficit reduction. Continue reading

“Bail-ins Begin”: Interviews with Greg Hunter and Thom Hartmann

My Dec. 29th article “Bail-ins Begin” prompted two video interviews, with Greg Hunter on USAWatchdog.com, and Thom Hartmann, below.

 

 

Les Leopold on “It’s Our Money”

les leopoldEllen speaks with noted author and co-Founder of the Labor Institute, Les Leopold, about how the market mechanics of inequality have succeeded over the past 40 years and what we can do collectively to bring about real change. She also discusses her latest article about the looming crisis that could be triggered by the new practice of bailing-in depositor money to save failing banks. And Matt Stannard delivers some words about money from the mouths of historical figures. Listen to the archive here.