James Robertson on the Reform of National Money Systems

Policy proposals by James Robertson, author of the book, Future Money:

“Governments are at the heart of the money system.

By deciding

• how the national money supply is created,
• what is taxed and not taxed, and
• what public expenditure is spent on and not spent on, governments largely determine where money goes as it flows through the economy, thereby influencing the impact of our activities on other people and the Earth’s resources.

The proposed reforms can be summarised as follows.

(1) Money supply (Chapter 3):

Transfer the function of creating the national money supply

(a) from commercial banks as a source of private profit to themselves,

(b) to a public agency – the central bank – as a source of debt-free public revenue to be spent into wider circulation by the government for public purposes.

(2) Taxation (Chapter 4):

(a) take taxes off incomes, profits, value added and other financial rewards for useful work and enterprise,

(b) put taxes on to value subtracted by people and organisations for private profit from common resources (such as land) and from the environment’s capacity to absorb pollution and waste (such as carbon emissions); and

(c) reduce the present opportunities (through tax havens, etc) for rich people and businesses to avoid paying their dues to society.

(3) Public expenditure (Chapter 4)

(a) reduce public spending on perverse subsidies, and on some of the dependency-reinforcing services now provided directly by big government or by expensive contracts to big business and big finance, and

(b) transfer that money to the distribution of a Citizen’s Income directly to all citizens, enabling them to decide how more of their rightful share in the value of common resources should be spent.

6. Development of the international money system (Chapter 5)

It should follow broadly the same lines as national money systems.

(1) Create a genuinely international money supply, based on a new International Currency. It should replace the use of national superpower currencies for international trade and other international transactions, and operate in parallel with the continuing use of national currencies for transactions within their own boundaries.

(2) Develop arrangements for international revenue collection by taxing and charging:

(a) for the use of global commons, including ocean fishing, sea-bed mining, sea lanes, flight lanes, outer space and the electromagnetic spectrum, and

(b) for activities that pollute and damage the global environment, or cause hazards beyond national boundaries, such as emissions of CO2 and CFCs, oil spills, and dumping wastes at sea.

(3) Rationalise and develop international public spending (from international revenue):

(a) to meet the costs of the expanding activities of the United Nations and its organisations, including international disaster relief and peacekeeping; and, if enough extra revenue is available,

(b) to distribute it on a per capita basis to every nation.”

1 Comment James Robertson on the Reform of National Money Systems

  1. AvatarAndrew Bransford Brown

    All good analysis.

    One suggestion is to break the word “government” up. In the US, “government” is comprised of Congress, President, and Judicial (Constitution), plus entrenched administrations of all varieties, plus military, plus intelligence agencies, plus a central bank.

    This is kind of kidding here, but there is no King of the US who can cut through and dictate a solution.

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