BRADBURY POUND: the historic precedent for public or green credit

The Bradbury Pound is the UK equivalent to the US Greenbacks: ‘government’ or ‘treasury‘ rather than ‘bank‘ money.

On 18 November 2013, Austin Mitchell MP tabled Early Day Motion 748: 100th Anniversary of the Bradbury Pound. MPs can now show their support by signing it. The more signatures, the more likely the media will take an interest. Eventually, it may become a Parliamentary debate.

UK Column published this video with Justin Walker, together with this online petition.

Green Credit for Green Purposes is exactly what is possible with the Bradbury Pound!

To go even deeper into the historic significance and economic relevance, please note:

• the Economic Research Council published Government Debt and the Creation of Credit – with the Bradbury Pound as its cover – in 1981
• John Bradbury and Thomas Paine is a 6,000 word article by the author of History of Usury
• Warmongers, Newspapers and the Ruling Class is another historic article by the same author that links WWI with the Bradbury Pound.

Altogether I published these articles so far – in chronological order:

TWO THIRDS of our Earth are desertifying – but this Process can be Reversed!

This video is one of the many excellent TED Talks:

Biologist Allan Savory is talking here about how to green the world’s deserts and reverse climate change.

It is clearly not ‘authorised knowledge’ but ‘the unthinkable’:

1. to address climate change and desertification
2. to demystify the effects of animal herds
3. to use holistic management and planned grazing of animals
4. by using livestock to mimic nature.

Twenty-two minutes worth watching to give hope to the our world’s most challenging problems:

• desertification
• climate change
• feeding the world.

Green Credit for Green Purposes – a four-year old idea whose time has come?

Green Credit for Green Purposes was a submission to the Treasury Select Committee that formed the basis for this blog in February 2008.

Recently, the Bank of England came up with ‘doing it by QE’, or quantitative easing – as if there was no difference between ‘credit’ that requires ‘interest’ and ‘cash’ that is interest-free.

Besides the fact that nobody issues the interest necessary for all credit, the other aspect is who has the privilege of

• issuing interest-free Cash: National Governments
• issuing interest-bearing Credit: virtually all financial institutions
• and who controls the issuers???

What is particularly sad is the fact that National Governments have let the financial institutions virtually take over the privilege of issuing money as Credit and thus the power of control.

What’s so dishonest about our money explains these arguments on another site.

Robin Hood Tax to be launched on Wednesday at 0.05am

The Robin Hood Tax is the UK version of the Tobin Tax which was at the beginning of ATTAC in France ten years ago.

As an anti-poverty campaign, it is more pragmatic than the economic theories of Tobin Tax definitions or the political demands of the Attac network.

Supported by a coalition of 48 organisations, the Robin Hood Tax campaign spells out what the income should be spent on.

And in the spirit of our times, it uses Twitter and YouTube.

The video is set to private until the launch which is set to 0.05am in parallel with the 0.05% tax that Robin Hood wants to take.

However, Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, dismissed the idea of a Tobin Tax only recently, according to the FT.

Of course, this tax doesn’t get to the root of all evils, but at least it’s bound to capture people’s imagination!

Updates can be found here.

Blog Action Day for Climate Change

“Money for Climate Change” is effectively what we’re asking with Green Credit for Green Purposes.

Blog Action Day is an effort to focus on climate change collectively in the blogosphere.

Tackling the oppression of Her Majesty’s subjects

Raising awareness of a deep seated systemic problem means informing the ‘victims’ and the ‘oppressors’.

With our history of Early Day Motions (EDMs) we’ve been addressing the monetary causes since 2002, trying to educate MPs.

Based on our latest EDM, we’ve now created a website that brings MPs and victims together: www.edm1297.info.

Some of the questions one has to ask oneself are:

• are institutions achieving what they are supposed to?
• if not, why not?
• what on earth can I do?
• what is worth doing?
• which side am I on?
• am I coping and staying positive by doing SOMETHING?

From Right-Left to Person-Planet dichotomies

I saw this slide in a remarkable presentation by a civil engineer from Arup – We shape a better world the other day.

Instead of the usual political right – left divide, it pictures what the world might become, depending on our human development and the degree to which we care for the health of our planet!

Obama appoints climate change team

This article in the Guardian must give us reason for hope as Obama’s choice of experts is one of significance:

1. Harvard physicist John Holdren as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy takes a position on climate change that is remarkably serious
2. Climatologist Jane Lubchenco is to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
3. Nobel prizewinner Steven Chu heads the Department of Energy to lead the development of alternative energy sources

Computing and the Future of the Planet

This is the title of 42 excellent slides with most interesting content, produced by Conrad Taylor who is a multi-media expert and knowledge producer par excellence.

The Petition in the Hands of John McFall MP

John McFall MP is the Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee and our Chairman Austin Mitchell MP has given him a copy of our online petition at long last. So he now knows what we’re asking him and his committee. My next steps are Early Day Motions in support of the petition – after the Queen’s speech.

On December 22nd, 1964, Henry Kerby MP requested that the emission of all the means of exchange should be returned to the Crown.

We’ve been asking for Public Credit since 2002. May the net, the web and the magic of blogging robots help all of us to achieve what Henry Kerby MP asked for at the time. As one of the steps I sent our key documents to the Queen and the Prince of Wales.

Do you feel like adding your name to the signatures of the petition Stop the Cash Crumble to Equalize the Credit Crunch?