Page 10 - A Social Dividend: An Income Guaranteed to Each Citizen
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u not equal total prices. The reasons cited earlier to introduce into the system the distribution of a
— delays, investments, etc. — would continue to source of money that is not factored into prices
create the conditions in which there is a collective and that is not tied to employment.
lack of purchasing power. 33. Do you propose that the Social Credit
Furthermore, in today’s system prices cannot Dividend will correct the lack of purchasing
be lowered to the level of purchasing power with- power?
out negatively affecting the producers who have Yes! Since maintaining an adequate volume of
costs to cover other than wages. production no longer requires all available work-
What is needed is additional money obtained ers an increase in the Social Dividend would make
apart from salaries. The source would not be up for the decrease in wages and salaries.
owners. This would ensure that the additional 34. Did you say that the sum of salaries will go
money would not be factored into prices. down?
31. What if we created more jobs? Major Douglas, the founder of Social Credit
We have unemployment for the precise rea- stated:
son that there is a glut of goods. Why would pro- “The distribution of cash credits to individuals
ducers make more goods? The goal of industry is shall be progressively less dependent upon em-
not to create work but to make products. ployment. That is to say that the dividend shall
32. How then can the problem of insufficient pur- progressively displace the wage and salary, as
31
chasing power be corrected and increased? productive capacity increases per man-hour.”
The solution must be found outside of the Douglas contended this because the contribu-
conventional system. We need an answer which tion of commonly-owned assets accounts for a
will increase purchasing power without increasing greater part of production while labour accounts
prices. for a correspondingly smaller and smaller part.
The price-income gap demonstrates that the If the notion of commonly-owned capital had
current system only distributes purchasing power been better understood and applied in 1917, when
to those who are employed.
3 Douglas, C.H. Monopoly of Credit, Bloomfield Books, 1979,
The only way to correct the lack of purchasing p. 151. https://alor.org/Library/Douglas%20CH%20-%20Monopo-
power in an economy of free-flowing products is ly%20of%20Credit.pdf
The Social Credit Dividend would increase incomes without increasing prices, salaries or taxes.
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