Monetary and Tax Reforms
Economics and Politics
"The greatest problem in the world is too much money." Andy Xie, Morgan Stanley economist, quoted in Der Spiegel 13/2005.
Financial wealth has exploded far beyond the growth of real wealth - yet we are told that there is not enough money for urgently needed reforms. We tax human labour until it is often unaffordable - yet subsidise and discount the use of scarce resources. We need to understand much better how money is created. There is an urgent need to regulate the financial system to meet the needs of people and to respect natural limits.
How is real wealth best measured? What role can local and regional currencies play? How can urgent reforms be funded? Should governments reduce their sovereign right to issue money in favour of debt-based money created by private banks? What are the pros and cons of a banking system based on interest? Is the Islamic financial system a viable alternative? Is the Jubilee Year concept of periodic debt forgiveness of highly indebted countries enforceable? What kind of tax reforms can assure the efficient and clean use of resources?
