Financial Times: Strip private banks of their power to create money

Jay OwenReforming Global Finance

Ethical Markets fully supports Positive Money .  Congratulations on this breakthrough into mainstream media – Hazel Henderson, Editor

Another major breakthrough in the monetary reform debate!

 

Fantastic news: The debate on money reform goes mainstream! Last week has the leading UK economics commentator, the Financial Times’ Martin Wolf, argued that “the power to create money should be stripped from private banks”. His article has sparked a major debate in the mainstream media and among economists, including Paul Krugman – one of the most influential economists today, in the New York Times. There has been a significant backlash from critiques and many misunderstandings (see below). But it is fantastic that this issue is finally getting attention and is being debated!

1) Financial Times’ Martin Wolf endorses Positive Money’s proposals for reform

Martin Wolf, the chief economics commentator at the Financial Times: “Strip private banks of their power to create money

“Printing counterfeit banknotes is illegal, but creating private money is not. The interdependence between the state and the businesses that can do this is the source of much of the instability of our economies. It could – and should – be terminated.”

The article includes a concise summary of our proposals and a reference to our book Modernizing Money.

2) Paul Krugman – New York Times


Paul Krugman, American economist, ranked among the most influential economic thinkers in the world today, has written a commentary on Martin Wolf’s article:

Is A Banking Ban The Answer?

“OK, a genuinely interesting debate on financial reform is taking place. I’m not even sure where I stand. But it’s certainly worth talking about.”

Here you can read our response to his commentary:
A Response to Paul Krugman on “Is Banning Banking the Answer?”


3) More debate

Ann Pettifor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), Honorary Research Fellow at the Political Economy Research Centre at City University (CITYPERC) and a fellow of the New Economics Foundation, London:

Why I disagree with Martin Wolf and Positive Money

Here’s our response:
A reply to Ann Pettifor: Why there will be no “shortage of money”


Josh Ryan Collins, Senior Researcher at New Economics Foundation:
Sovereign money: what it is and why it matters (nef)

Izabella Kaminska, financial reporter at FT Alphaville discusses the issues in two articles:

Martin Wolf on funny money creation 

On the elimination of privately issued money


Joe Weisenthal, executive editor at Business Insider has written an article with a somewhat misleading title, but addressing the “gross misconception about what a bank does that people tend to have”:

Ban all the banks: Here’s The Wild Idea That People Are Starting To Take Seriously

Our responses coming shortly. Keep an eye on our blog.

 

3) Upcoming Events


London – Walthamstow, Fri 2nd May
Positive Money meetup


Cardiff, Tue 6th May
Regulation, Risk and Reform


London – Greenwich, Wed 7th May
Positive Money Meetup

Leicester, Sun 11th May
Money: Impacts, Perceptions, Actions – Workshop


London – Hackney, Mon 12th May
Reading ‘Modernising Money’

London – Lambeth, Mon 12th May
Positive Money Meetup 

 

Huddersfield, Wed 21st May
Positive Money Meetup

4) More from the Blog

From negative to positive: Money without the debt

The Revolution in Economics?

Economics textbooks teach a “mythological” story about what banks do, claims former bank regulator Lord Adair Turner
(VIDEO, Full transcript)


Best wishes,

Ben and the rest of the Positive Money team

www.positivemoney.org

Ben Dyson,
Founder of Positive Money

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