Page 19 - A Social Dividend: An Income Guaranteed to Each Citizen
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to the National Credit Office. MICHAEL depicts
this operation. 1
76. When must money be added?
The amount of money in circulation should
normally increase each year. But for there to
be more money in circulation, it must be added
somewhere.
77. Money must be added somewhere, but
where?
It must be noted that the volume of money
is increased in order to recognize an increase in
productive capacity.
What causes products to be made? Consum-
er demand. When do consumers give orders or
direction to producers? When they have money
with which to choose and pay for goods and ser- tion while at the same time allowing the product-
vices. ive capacity to be mobilized. How the Dividend
Increasing the purchasing power of consum- is distributed is a matter for technicians to settle.
Dividends could be distributed by a simple ac-
ers, so that directions to producers might be in- counting entry made to the account of each cit-
creased, requires that (new) money be placed izen.
directly into the consumers’ hands.
Presently, there are obstacles to the satisfac-
Each time new money is created, citizens tion of basic human needs caused by a financial
will receive a Dividend. This is their share of the system that was established by men. As the sys-
common good. tem was established by men it can be modified.
78. Who can create this new money? This is the goal of the monetary proposals of So-
The creation of new money, by issuing Social cial Credit and its Social Dividend.
Dividends to all members of society, can only be 80. But again, where will the money come
done by society itself since it is a common good from?
that must be distributed. To those who ask: “Where will this money
Will banks be the institution that does this for come from?” we would like to ask: “Where will
society? the products come from?”
Banks were not established to give grants to Entering an amount in a bank account is easy
consumers. A bank is an institution established to do. It is much easier than making the products
to facilitate financial operations by receiving, in- that are to be sold in the marketplace. It is easier
vesting and manipulating money that is already to distribute a Dividend than to make the goods
in circulation and it seeks to make a profit while that the Dividend will purchase. The money
carrying out these operations. issued as Social Dividends does not come from
Only the government, as society’s trustee, taxation. It is new money that will be added to
or an agency it appoints with a clearly defined the bank account of each citizen.
purpose has the social authority to increase the 81. Did you say “new money”?
amount of money in circulation. Yes, new money. This is nothing out of the
79. In what amount and how often will Divi- ordinary. Money is created day in and day out.
dends be issued? The birth of money takes place in every bank.
An increase in the amount of cash credits in 82. Is money born in a bank?
the hands of consumers will be justified as long Yes. When someone brings money he saved
as maximum productive capacity has not been to the bank, the cashier places it in the bank
reached. Their amount and frequency must be drawer and adds the amount to the customer’s
decided to prevent sudden increases and infla- bank account. It is not new money. It is “pocket
money” that was turned into “bank account”
1 https://www.michaeljournal.org/articles/social-credit/item/how- money.
to-finance-production u
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