Move the money
By Ken Parks, Groundcover vendor No. 490
Cartoon by Izzy Hedin-Urrutia
“Money talks, bullshit walks” is a common expression in bars and on the street. It says something about the centrality of money in our life. It may be on your mind so much that you look forward to happy hour if you have a few bucks to spare.
In the debates on the wording of the Declaration of Independence, “pursuit of wealth” was replaced by “pursuit of happiness” as the best expression. Happiness won the debate as capitalists knew the accumulation of wealth is happiness. Gold is god as the Spanish told indigenous peoples about their disease that only gold could cure.
We see the rise of gold again as currencies explode in the war-based financialization and sanctions economy of the “rules based order,” also called the Washington consensus. Wall Street is the temple of global financial flows and “War Is A Racket” as Major General Smedley Butler taught us in 1935. When we realize that public money funds the war system at the expense of health care, education and infrastructure, the shock may be so great that we will be tempted by denial and scapegoating. Even the refugees at the border may not fully understand how their economies were destroyed, but they do know how to follow the money trail to the United States. Noam Chomsky and Michael Hudson teach us a lot about the global financialization in this epoch of neoliberal imperialism and the drive to turn conflicts into war. The money trail to war is astronomical. The waste is legendary. That is public money. What is our responsibility? If we succumb to fatalism we will face apocalypse together.
I was fortunate to get a ride to the Hamtramck Library for the first meeting of the Move The Money Coalition. It began from conversations with Veterans For Peace, Michigan Peace Council and Peace Action. Some 30 persons responded to the invitation and committed to a new level of struggle. It’s time to stand up and organize for responsible use of public money. Imagine if the military budget was used to clean up the toxins that result from bases and operations. Many reparations have not been paid as the war plays out in other ways.
Think of all the agent orange and more that was dumped on southeast Asia. The number of unexploded devices on the ground in all war zones is incalculable. Imagine if America began to clean up the mess.
When we are ready to understand money and take responsibility for its creation and use, we will begin to Move the Money from war to peace. The Youtube channel “Untold Histories” with historian Dr. Jeff Rich is a good summary of the Cold War and its aftermath. Diplomacy and negotiation are important skills. They begin with listening which may mean walking a mile in someone else's shoes.
I listened to Lavrov’s presentation at the UN Security Council. It was an insightful look at how Russia understands the multilateral world as it emerges from Western hegemony and American exceptionalism. The NATO-driven war in Ukraine has the expressed purpose of regime change in Russia and the domination of the Eurasian landmass by Western investors. The CIA-backed Maidan coup in 2014 began the war that leapt forward in 2022 as Russia began military action to support the Russian-populated areas and its only naval base on the Black Sea. NATO covets this base in Crimea. So we have another forever war as the American military financial complex increases its declared full-spectrum dominance which begins with information control and the compliance narrative of good versus evil. We are now in the apocalyptic imagination which tempted President Reagan. His declaration of Star Wars was supported by many apocalyptic Christians, some of whom welcome nuclear war and the rapture of true believers into heaven.
I wrote “People’s Peace Bank” in the May 17 issue of Groundcover. Political economy is the most obvious context of our lives. I focused on the work of Richard Werner who did the experiment showing how loans create money out of nothing. I also reccommend his video on the deep state. The main point is whether the loan promotes useful projects. There are many ways to waste money. The war system specializes in spectacular waste. “Vietnam War, The Last Secrets” is a YouTube video that chronicles the devastation of that war and the ongoing work to repair the damage.
International Day of Peace will be commemorated on September 21 on the commons next to the downtown Ann Arbor library. “End the whole war system” is the theme which will focus on the move to peace. We support Move the Money Coalition, a new formation of existing peace groups and activists who feel the urgency of the world at risk. It is said that cockroaches will be the last survivors of nuclear war. “On The Beach” is a great movie about the last humans after a nuclear war.
The belief that we can learn to take responsibility for our actions and change our behavior and to mature, faces the fatalism and habitual patterns of submission to the masters of violence. The power of the central planners and especially their bosses comes from the power we give them. If we use our power in more creative ways we can support a peaceful society. Our defense would be based in educated awareness of health and the mindful awareness of what needs to be done. In order to be reality-centered we need training in mindful mind and to give birth to calm and clear as our basic state of mind — the Olympic training to be who you really are.
A happy inner child and mature inner adult mentor. Everyone is smiling. When the student is ready the teacher will appear. This belief that we can learn and change is the core of Move the Money Coalition. Veterans for Peace, Peace Action and Michigan Peace Council (part of the U.S. and World Peace Councils) are together in this new formation that you can join. The next meeting is Saturday August 24 at noon, at the Hamtramck Library. We will report on plans for a public event. International Day of Peace will have updates.
The Ann Arbor Coalition Against War has been active since the Vietnam War. We do regular vigils at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays at Liberty and Fifth. We support International Day of Peace and Move the Money Coalition. We will work together for an October forum with candidates and movement leaders as we all learn to be fully engaged in living for peace. No more genocide. No more mass shootings. No more beating of honor students to teach them a lesson. Love can flow from our hearts as a habit for every situation. Righteous anger can be an expression of great love.
It’s good to remember the peace sign which was created in 1958 using semaphore symbols for N and D, Nuclear Disarmament. South Africa and Israel were both provided assistance to develop nuclear weapons. One of the U.S. conditions for majority rule in South Africa was that they give up nuclear weapons. Everyone knows that Israel has nuclear weapons. Israel views Iran as their main enemy and wants to drag the United States into a war with Iran.
The doomsday clock is seconds from midnight. Now is the time to BAN THE BOMB and MOVE THE MONEY to peace. Let’s create beautiful peace signs as an expression of a peace culture. Politicians and candidates will be invited for Peace Day. Prepare for a Question and Answer session as we move the discussion to ceasefire and negotiations. Visualize Peace.
Ongoing education is available. Noam Chomsky's “The State and Corporate Complex, A Threat To Freedom and Survival,” a podcast with the Hart Institute, is excellent place to start.
As we learn to share our resources, we can start with our situation among ourselves and extend it to the public pot, whether it be personal taxes or sharing the wealth of production. There is much to learn and do. Let’s take one step together and celebrate with another one. The all good expanse of primordial purity, you may say Allah or God, the Clear Light of the Void, these are like fingers pointing at the moon. Let’s breathe together for a life well lived.
