Sunday, August 2, 2020
Monday, May 11, 2020
Webinar: Can Black People Survive Post COVID?
Come advocate for change!
SPECIAL GUESTS:
- CONGRESSMAN HANK JOHNSON (D-GA)
- DR. CHARLES STEELE, JR., PRESIDENT AND CEO, SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
- WILLIAM MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM, FOUNDER - CREATIVE INVESTMENT RESEARCH
Wednesday May 13, 2020 6:00 pm ET. Zoom Webinar.
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Conscious Investing International Institute of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Economic and Social Costs of "Reopening" America
Asking "mainstream" economists about reopening the economy in the face of the current crisis is unlikely to generate useful advice. These are the same people who missed the 2008 financial crisis and were unable to predict the election of Donald Trump in 2016.
An independent view on the economic impacts of the Coronavirus, informed by relevant insight from American history – in this case, Black Wall Street/Tulsa, Oklahoma, may better explain the exact nature of the problem the country now faces.
The Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma was one of the most prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States. It was razed to the ground in the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, in which white residents massacred as many as 300 black residents, injuring hundreds more. Our analysis starts by comparing the economic devastation wrought by this incident to that of the coronavirus, since, like the virus, business properties were rendered uninhabitable. In addition, broad swaths of the population were instantaneously unemployed. Wealth, for both Blacks and whites, was destroyed on a massive scale, .
Our analysis shows social costs from the virus total $30 trillion. The economic costs are $15 trillion. (Note: these are NOT the actual impact numbers from our analysis. They are correct ordinally, however. For more, email us at info@creativeinvest.com and see https://www.onefpa.org/journal/Pages/September-2018%20-%2010-Questions.aspx.)
The bottom line: economic impacts pale in the face of human pain and suffering. This mandates a focus on the human, not the economic.
The rush to open the economy reveals the greed and inability to operate in the public interest that is the cause of the unethical financial institution behavior observed in recent decades. Mainstream economists missed this. This exposes larger issues about the true nature of the economy and western economists. The celebrity veneration, money worship and focus on shareholder wealth maximization that dominate business strategy dictates the economy be reopened as soon as possible.
In the push for short-term profits to meet the demands of investors - a small, nonminority, nonrepresentative group - human considerations are subordinate. (A Former Wells Fargo CEO wants people to go back to work and 'see what happens.' He said 'Some may even die, I don't know.' The ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs wants “those with a lower risk to the disease return to work,” in a few weeks. These are simply greedy, unpatriotic institutions and individuals whose lack of empathy, in the midst of this crisis, is the textbook definition of a psychopath.) Regulators and policymakers have been excessively deferential to this group of investors, to the exclusion of human needs.
Cost reductions, the main tactic used to maximize shareholder wealth, eliminated excess financial capacity across the economy. This is what various fiscal and monetary programs have attempted to replicate. They have failed so far.
This is key. The interruption in revenue that is the main result of the shutdown has driven many firms out of business, but, in the face of a highly contagious virus, reopening the economy now makes little sense. In addition to the human suffering this will cause, it will eventually lead to a second or third shutdown. Thus, a focus on the economic is not only inhumane but inefficient.
In order to address the current crisis, efficient monetary and fiscal demand side stimulus is required. Monetary policy operates through banks, a small set of privately owned, profit maximizing institutions. These lower both social and financial return. Fiscal policy is suspect as well, as proven by the failures of the Paycheck Protection Business Loan (PPP) program. As we indicated, and as the head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank confirmed, U.S. small businesses alone may need $6 trillion on an annual basis to ensure their survival through the coronavirus crisis.
As with much of the current situation, rational planning focused on human needs is absent. Such a plan would involve global coordination, with global virus testing and synchronized global fiscal and monetary stimulus. Current political, cultural and economic practices are completely unsuited for this level of cooperation. (We note that this stimulus could be generated efficiently, at a very disaggregated level through a widely held cryptocurrency.)
Until we have a rational plan, any attempt to reopen the economy will, in the long run, generate massive social and financial costs.
It will, in other words, fail.
An independent view on the economic impacts of the Coronavirus, informed by relevant insight from American history – in this case, Black Wall Street/Tulsa, Oklahoma, may better explain the exact nature of the problem the country now faces.
The Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma was one of the most prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States. It was razed to the ground in the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, in which white residents massacred as many as 300 black residents, injuring hundreds more. Our analysis starts by comparing the economic devastation wrought by this incident to that of the coronavirus, since, like the virus, business properties were rendered uninhabitable. In addition, broad swaths of the population were instantaneously unemployed. Wealth, for both Blacks and whites, was destroyed on a massive scale, .
Our analysis shows social costs from the virus total $30 trillion. The economic costs are $15 trillion. (Note: these are NOT the actual impact numbers from our analysis. They are correct ordinally, however. For more, email us at info@creativeinvest.com and see https://www.onefpa.org/journal/Pages/September-2018%20-%2010-Questions.aspx.)
The bottom line: economic impacts pale in the face of human pain and suffering. This mandates a focus on the human, not the economic.
The rush to open the economy reveals the greed and inability to operate in the public interest that is the cause of the unethical financial institution behavior observed in recent decades. Mainstream economists missed this. This exposes larger issues about the true nature of the economy and western economists. The celebrity veneration, money worship and focus on shareholder wealth maximization that dominate business strategy dictates the economy be reopened as soon as possible.
In the push for short-term profits to meet the demands of investors - a small, nonminority, nonrepresentative group - human considerations are subordinate. (A Former Wells Fargo CEO wants people to go back to work and 'see what happens.' He said 'Some may even die, I don't know.' The ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs wants “those with a lower risk to the disease return to work,” in a few weeks. These are simply greedy, unpatriotic institutions and individuals whose lack of empathy, in the midst of this crisis, is the textbook definition of a psychopath.) Regulators and policymakers have been excessively deferential to this group of investors, to the exclusion of human needs.
Cost reductions, the main tactic used to maximize shareholder wealth, eliminated excess financial capacity across the economy. This is what various fiscal and monetary programs have attempted to replicate. They have failed so far.
This is key. The interruption in revenue that is the main result of the shutdown has driven many firms out of business, but, in the face of a highly contagious virus, reopening the economy now makes little sense. In addition to the human suffering this will cause, it will eventually lead to a second or third shutdown. Thus, a focus on the economic is not only inhumane but inefficient.
In order to address the current crisis, efficient monetary and fiscal demand side stimulus is required. Monetary policy operates through banks, a small set of privately owned, profit maximizing institutions. These lower both social and financial return. Fiscal policy is suspect as well, as proven by the failures of the Paycheck Protection Business Loan (PPP) program. As we indicated, and as the head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank confirmed, U.S. small businesses alone may need $6 trillion on an annual basis to ensure their survival through the coronavirus crisis.
As with much of the current situation, rational planning focused on human needs is absent. Such a plan would involve global coordination, with global virus testing and synchronized global fiscal and monetary stimulus. Current political, cultural and economic practices are completely unsuited for this level of cooperation. (We note that this stimulus could be generated efficiently, at a very disaggregated level through a widely held cryptocurrency.)
Until we have a rational plan, any attempt to reopen the economy will, in the long run, generate massive social and financial costs.
It will, in other words, fail.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Why the US Should Nationalize LIBRA
Mark
Zukerberg’s October 23rd testimony before Congress on LIBRA,
Facebooks’ proposed digital currency, has garnered much attention. I attended
the hearing (I'm in the blue tie in the picture below) and thought both
legislators and
Zuckerberg missed the real solution to the problem.
To
understand why, let’s start with what’s really going on. Facebook created Libra
in response to competitive pressure. Imagine a social networking platform with the
four functions of money (store of value, means of payment, unit of account and
a means of social control) imbedded. A social media platform with this
functionality has the potential to significantly reduce Facebook’s reach, if
not immediately, then ten years down the road.
For more, see: Why the US Should Nationalize LIBRA https://link.medium.com/hUhQ43wFt1
For more, see: Why the US Should Nationalize LIBRA https://link.medium.com/hUhQ43wFt1
Saturday, March 25, 2017
US Black Chamber/Liberty Bank Credit Card
With interest rates set to increase throughout 2017, we think it a good idea to apply for credit now. In that vein, we recently reviewed the US Black Chamber/Liberty Bank VISA credit card.
Key features of the card are:
- Rates as low as 9.96% APR (for qualified borrowers)
- Limits from $1,000 - $10,000 UNSECURED
- Travel accident and auto rental insurance
- Worldwide ATM Access
Apply online at: http://www.libertybank.net/personal/card_services/affinity_welcome.cfm
Use code - USBC2
For a video describing our perspective on the card, click on the image above or see: https://youtu.be/XlZJ8N780J8
Use code - USBC2
For a video describing our perspective on the card, click on the image above or see: https://youtu.be/XlZJ8N780J8
Monday, March 13, 2017
Atlanta Fed Names Bostic New President and Chief Executive Officer
"ATLANTA—Raphael W. Bostic will become the 15th president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta effective June 5, 2017, announced Thomas A. Fanning, chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Bostic, age 50, succeeds Dennis Lockhart, who retired from the Atlanta Fed on Feb. 28, 2017. The appointment was jointly approved by eligible directors of the Atlanta Fed's board of directors, all nonbankers by law, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C.
Bostic is currently the Judith and John Bedrosian Chair in Governance and the Public Enterprise at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California (USC), a position he has held since 2012.
"We are very pleased that Raphael will join the Atlanta Fed as its president and chief executive officer," said Fanning, who is also chairman, president and chief executive officer of Southern Company. "He is a seasoned and versatile leader, bringing with him a wealth of experience in public policy and academia. Raphael also has significant experience leading complex organizations and managing interdisciplinary teams. He is a perfect bridge between people and policy."
From 2009 to 2012, Bostic served as assistant secretary for Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In that Senate-confirmed position, Bostic was a principal adviser to the secretary on policy and research, with the goal of helping the secretary and other principal staff make informed decisions on HUD policies and programs, as well as on budget and legislative proposals.
Bostic arrived at USC in 2001. There, he served as a professor in the School of Policy, Planning and Development. His work spans many fields, including home ownership, housing finance, neighborhood change and the role of institutions in shaping policy effectiveness. He was director of USC's master of real estate development degree program and was the founding director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast. He served the Lusk Center for Real Estate as the interim associate director from 2007 to 2009 and as the interim director from 2015 to 2016.
Bostic worked at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 1995 to 2001, serving as an economist and then a senior economist in the monetary and financial studies section, where his work on the Community Reinvestment Act earned him a special achievement award. While working at the Federal Reserve, he served as special assistant to HUD's assistant secretary of policy development and research in 1999, and also was a professional lecturer at American University in 1998.
Bostic was born in 1966 and grew up in Delran, New Jersey. A high school valedictorian, he graduated from Harvard University in 1987 with a combined major in economics and psychology—disciplines he believes are intimately interrelated. After a brief stint in the private sector, Bostic earned his doctorate in economics from Stanford University in 1995.
Bostic serves as a board member of Freddie Mac, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Abode Communities. He is a fellow of the National Association of Public Administration, vice president of the Association of Public Policy and Management, a member of the board of trustees of Enterprise Community Partners, and a research advisory board member of the Reinvestment Fund.
As president of the Atlanta Fed, Bostic will lead one of the 12 regional Reserve Banks that, with the Board of Governors, make up the Federal Reserve System, the nation's central bank. The Atlanta Fed is responsible for the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida and Georgia and portions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. As its key functions, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous banking organizations and provides a variety of payment services to financial institutions and the U.S. government. Bostic will have overall responsibility for these functions and will represent the Sixth Federal Reserve District at meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee, the policymaking body within the Federal Reserve that sets monetary policy for the nation."
Bostic is currently the Judith and John Bedrosian Chair in Governance and the Public Enterprise at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California (USC), a position he has held since 2012."We are very pleased that Raphael will join the Atlanta Fed as its president and chief executive officer," said Fanning, who is also chairman, president and chief executive officer of Southern Company. "He is a seasoned and versatile leader, bringing with him a wealth of experience in public policy and academia. Raphael also has significant experience leading complex organizations and managing interdisciplinary teams. He is a perfect bridge between people and policy."
From 2009 to 2012, Bostic served as assistant secretary for Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In that Senate-confirmed position, Bostic was a principal adviser to the secretary on policy and research, with the goal of helping the secretary and other principal staff make informed decisions on HUD policies and programs, as well as on budget and legislative proposals.
Bostic arrived at USC in 2001. There, he served as a professor in the School of Policy, Planning and Development. His work spans many fields, including home ownership, housing finance, neighborhood change and the role of institutions in shaping policy effectiveness. He was director of USC's master of real estate development degree program and was the founding director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast. He served the Lusk Center for Real Estate as the interim associate director from 2007 to 2009 and as the interim director from 2015 to 2016.
Bostic worked at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 1995 to 2001, serving as an economist and then a senior economist in the monetary and financial studies section, where his work on the Community Reinvestment Act earned him a special achievement award. While working at the Federal Reserve, he served as special assistant to HUD's assistant secretary of policy development and research in 1999, and also was a professional lecturer at American University in 1998.
Bostic was born in 1966 and grew up in Delran, New Jersey. A high school valedictorian, he graduated from Harvard University in 1987 with a combined major in economics and psychology—disciplines he believes are intimately interrelated. After a brief stint in the private sector, Bostic earned his doctorate in economics from Stanford University in 1995.
Bostic serves as a board member of Freddie Mac, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Abode Communities. He is a fellow of the National Association of Public Administration, vice president of the Association of Public Policy and Management, a member of the board of trustees of Enterprise Community Partners, and a research advisory board member of the Reinvestment Fund.
As president of the Atlanta Fed, Bostic will lead one of the 12 regional Reserve Banks that, with the Board of Governors, make up the Federal Reserve System, the nation's central bank. The Atlanta Fed is responsible for the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida and Georgia and portions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. As its key functions, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous banking organizations and provides a variety of payment services to financial institutions and the U.S. government. Bostic will have overall responsibility for these functions and will represent the Sixth Federal Reserve District at meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee, the policymaking body within the Federal Reserve that sets monetary policy for the nation."
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