Show Me the “Monetary Reform” David Cunliffe!

Nov 19, 2011

 

Show Me the “Monetary Reform” David Cunliffe!

Following Phil Goff’s release of Labour’s Finance Manifesto today, David Cunliffe has said in a New Zealand Labour Party press release: “Labour is backing the drive for more high value exports with monetary reform ...”

I challenges David Cunliffe, Labour’s Finance Spokesperson, to front up and explain what he means by the term ‘monetary reform’.

If he means replacing toxic debt-based commercial bank credit with social credit, as the sole means of money coming into existence and continuing to exist – issued in the public interest, to serve the common good - then I would endorse his definition.

And if he accepts that it’s crazy for our government to borrow from foreign lenders, with interest, when we could use the publicly-owned Reserve Bank of New Zealand as an independent statutory monetary authority with the sole power to create, issue, and cancel New Zealand’s money, then I applaud his endeavours.

But if Mr. Cunliffe thinks ‘monetary reform’ means implementing a Capital Gains Tax; tweaking the objectives of the Reserve Bank Act; having exporters represented on the Reserve Bank Board; taking pressure off the official cash rate and relying on greater supervision tools; and encouraging more aggressive Reserve Bank interventions in the currency markets ... then he doesn’t mean monetary reform at all.

In fact, Labour’s Finance Manifesto is nothing more than ‘monetary orthodoxy – with lip gloss.