The Single Global Currency - Common Cents for the World

Transcription

1 P.O. Box 390, Newcastle, ME 04553, USA "A global economy requires a global currency." (Paul Volcker, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair.) The Single Global Currency - Common Cents for the World Presentation by Morrison Bonpasse at the Pot and Kettle Club Bar Harbor, Maine 26 July 2007

2 IMAGINE ON MEDITERRANEAN BEACH IN 1985 (CLOSE EYES?) - BERLIN WALL STANDING UNTIL RONALD REAGAN SWORN INTO 2D TERM: MICHAIL GORBACHEV GENERAL SECRETARY DEUTSCHMARKS, FRANCS, LIRA, GUILDERS ALONG COMES SOMEONE WHO SAYS - 12 CURRENCIES WILL BE GONE IN 17 YEARS, TO BE REPLACED BY ONE CURRENCY BY THE EURO INTO PEOPLES' HANDS IN 12 COUNTRIES. NOW (OPEN YOUR EYES) HERE WE ARE IN 2007 ALONG COMES SOMEONE WHO SAYS CURRENCIES SHOULD BE GONE IN 17 YEARS.

3 ANNUAL WORLDWIDE FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTION COSTS DAILY TRADING: $2.5 TRILLION FOR 260 TRADING DAYS ANNUAL TOTAL TRADING: $650 TRILLION (USED BY PRE-EURO EUROPEANS) $1.95 TRILLION ESTIMATE USED IN BOOK 1/5 THAT, OR.062% FOR $400,000,000,000 PER YEAR (400 BILLION OR.4 TRILLION) IS THIS CLOSE? NEEDS ADDITIONAL RESEARCH.

4 THE SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY: NOT A NEW IDEA JOHN STUART MILL "Let us suppose that all countries had the same currency, as in the progress of political improvement they one day will have... So much of barbarism still remains in the transactions of the most civilized nations that almost all independent countries choose to assert their nationality by having, to their own inconvenience and that of their neighbours, a peculiar currency of their own." Principles of Political Economy with Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy PAUL VOLCKER, Former Chair of the Federal Reserve, "A global economy requires a global currency." 2000(?). JOSEPH STIGLITZ, Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Underlying the current imbalances are fundamental structural problems with the global reserve system. John Maynard Keynes called attention to these problems three-quarters of a century ago. His ideas on how to reform the global monetary system, including creating a new reserve system based on a new international currency, can, with a little work, be adapted to today's economy. Until we attack the structural problems, the world is likely to continue to be plagued by imbalances that threaten the financial stability and economic well-being of us all. New York Times, 6 October 2006

5

6 NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO "MORNING EDITION" 11 JANUARY 2007 "IS A WORLD CURRENCY REALISTIC?" INTERVIEW BENN STEIL, AUTHOR OF ARTICLE IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS, APRIL 2007: "THE END OF NATIONAL CURRENCY"

7 THE CURRENT MULTI-CURRENCY FOREIGN EXCHANGE WORLD. GLOBAL IMBALANCES U.S. CURRENT ACCOUNT - ANNUAL RATE $800 BILLION. RISK OF CURRENCY CRISIS PAUL VOLCKER PREDICTION: 75% CHANCE W/IN 5 YRS. TRANSACTION COSTS - $400 BILLION PER YEAR UNDERVALUED ASSETS IN COUNTRIES WITH CURRENCY RISK VAST FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES: $4.3 TRILLION CHINA, $1.2 TRILLION, JAPAN $800 BILLION VALUES OF CURRENCIES FLUCTUATE UNPREDICTABLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY. AS NOBEL PRIZE WINNER ROBERT MUNDELL CALLED IT AN "ABSURD CURRENCY SYSTEM".

8

9 THE SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY DEFINITION A COMMON CURRENCY, MANAGED BY A GLOBAL CENTRAL BANK WITHIN A GLOBAL MONETARY UNION, THAT PEOPLE CAN USE WITHIN MEMBER COUNTRIES AS LEGAL TENDER AND FOR INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS. "DO YOU MEAN LIKE THE EURO?" YES! AND OTHER COMMON CURRENCIES, TOO.

10

11 BENEFITS OF A SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY FROM THE BACK COVER OF THE BOOK "In a 3-G WORLD with a SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY managed by a GLOBAL CENTRAL BANK within a GLOBAL MONETARY UNION: - Annual transaction costs of $400 billion will be eliminated. - Worldwide asset values will increase by about $36 trillion. - Worldwide GDP will increase by about $9 trillion. - Global currency imbalances will be eliminated. - All Balance of Payments problems will be eliminated. - Currency crises will be prevented. - Currency speculation will be eliminated. - The need for foreign exchange reserves will be eliminated. Such gains are realistic and attainable if the world decides to pursue them." ARE THE ABOVE CLAIMS REALLY REALISTIC? IF THEY ARE DISPUTED, RESEARCH SHOULD BEGIN IF THEY ARE CLOSE TO CORRECT, THEN PLANNING FOR IMPLEMENTATION SHOULD BEGIN

12

13 WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM HAVING A SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY? EVERYONE IN THE WORLD, CORPORATIONS TRAVELERS INDIVIDUALS PURCHASING/SELLING ANYTHING IN GLOBAL ECONOMY (ALMOST EVERYONE) PEOPLE LIVING IN COUNTRIES WHERE CURRENCY VALUES FLUCTUATE (EVERYONE, IN BRIEF) PEOPLE IN COUNTRIES SUBJECT TO CURRENCY CRASHES EXCEPT FOR THOSE WHO MAKE THEIR LIVING OR FORTUNE FROM THE EXISTING SYSTEM CURRENCY TRADERS CURRENCY SPECULATORS HEDGERS AGAINST CURRENCY RISK HOW MANY SUCH PEOPLE? UNKNOWN GUESSTIMATE: 200,000 FULL TIME (GOOD TOPIC FOR FURTHER RESEARCH)

14

15 GLOBAL STANDARDS NUMBER SYSTEMS (DECIMAL, BINARY) TIME (CALENDAR, 24 HOURS, 7 DAY WEEK...) COMPUTER (INTERNET, PROGRAMS...) MEASUREMENTS (METRIC SYSTEM: WEIGHT, VOLUME, LENGTH, TEMPERATURE...) RADIO FREQUENCIES (MEGAHERTZ, KILOHERTZ) BAR CODES OTHER? WHY NOT A STANDARD CURRENCY TO MEASURE VALUE?

16 STABLE CURRENCY: A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT? The world has made considerable progress in identifying fundamental human rights, such as the right to own property. Article 17, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. Needed: wordwide acceptance of a fundamental human right to a stable currency, where people have the ability to Earn, Save, Invest and Spend stable money.

17 THE WORLD IS MOVING TO MONETARY UNIONS 1967 BRUNEI-SINGAPORE. DROP ONE CURRENCY 1983 EASTERN CARIBBEAN MONETARY UNION - DROP 5 CURENCIES 1994 CENTRAL AND WEST AFRICAN MONETARY UNIONS - DROP 11 CURRENCIES 2002 EUROPEAN MONETARY UNION - DROP 11 CURRENCIES DROP 1 (SLOVENIA) 2008 DROP 2 (CYPRUS, MALTA) - DROP 8 ANOTHER CURRENCIES WITHIN 10 YRS THEN ICELAND? ISRAEL? TURKEY? RUSSIA? FUTURE MONETARY UNIONS? 2010 [ARABIAN] GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL - DROP 5 CURRENCIES EAST ASIA, SOUTH ASIA, EAST AFRICA, SOUTHERN AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA, NORTH AMERICA? THE BENEFIT OF A MONETARY UNION IS THAT A CENTRAL BANK IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STABILITY AND VALUE OF MONEY AND NOT A NATIONAL GOV'T

18 INEVITABILITY OF A SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY AFTER THE END OF COLONIALISM AND THE SOVIET STATE, THE NUMBER OF U.N. MEMBERS HAS RISEN TO 192. In 2000, THE COUNT PEAKED AT 158 CURRENCIES 189 COUNTRIES MINUS: CARIBBEAN (5 = 6 COUNTRIES - 1 CURRENCY) WEST AFRICAN MONETARY UNION (6) CENTRAL AFRICAN MONETARY UNION (5) COMMON MONETARY AREA, S. AFRICA (3) SINGAPORE/BRUNEI (1) IZED (7) ECUADOR EL SALVADOR SWITZERLAND BECAME U.N. MEMBER COUNTRIES (12 EMU MEMBERS - 1 CURR) WITH SLOVENIA JOINING EMU MALTA, CYPRUS MORE EUROPEAN UNION 2004 ACCESSION COUNTRIES GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (BURUNDI, RWANDA, KENYA, TANZANIA UGANDA) (SOUTH AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL)

19

20 ONLY TWO QUESTIONS SHOULD REMAIN 1. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO MOVE TO A SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY? - 17 YEARS TO 2024? - 27 YEARS TO 2034? - 37 YEARS TO 2044? (I'll be 97) 2. HOW COSTLY WILL THE JOURNEY BE? - $400 BILLION ANNUAL TRANSACTION COSTS - CURRENCY CRISES? - LOST ASSET VALUES? - LOST GDP?

21 ROUTES TO THE SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY ("YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE") EXPAND EXISTING MONETARY UNIONS, ESPECIALLY THE EURO. CREATE NEW MONETARY UNIONS, E.G. GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL, ASIA, AMERICAS. "IZE" NATIONAL CURRENCIES TO ANY MAJOR CURRENCY, AS IN "DOLLARIZE","EUROIZE" INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND CREATES A CURRENCY AND OPENS IT TO WILLING COUNTRIES THROUGH "IZING" OR AS MEMBERS OF A MONETARY UNION. CONVENE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY CONFERENCES TO PLAN OR COMBINATIONS OF ANY OF THE ABOVE

22 ANALOGOUS ORGANIZATIONS - WITH AN INTERNATIONAL, MEASURABLE GOAL ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY, 19TH CENTURY - ESTABLISH INTERNIONAL LAW TO ELIMINATE SLAVERY GREENPEACE, SAVE THE WHALES - ESTABLISH INTERNATIONAL LAW TO ELIMINATE COMMERCIAL WHALING INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE TO ABOLISH LAND MINES - ESTABLISH INTERNATIONAL LAW TO ELIMINATE THE USE OF ANTI-PERSONNEL LAND MINES TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL - ELIMINATE CORRUPTION AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - ELIMINATE POLITICAL IMPRISONMENT AND TORTURE SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY ASSOCIATION - ESTABLISH SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY (AND THEREBY ELIMINATE MULTI-CURRENCY MONETARY SYSTEM)

23

24 "INVESTING" IN THE MOVEMENT TOWARD A SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY $100K ASSUME CONTRIBUTIONS/ BUDGET (current budget is about $5K) $1.7 MILLION (17 YEARS OF WORK UNTIL 2024) IF THROUGH ALL THAT WORK WE ACCELERATE THE MOVEMENT TO A SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY BY JUST ONE YEAR. (I.E INSTEAD OF 2025) $1.7 TRILLION (ASSUMED ANNUAL VALUE OF SGC) (conservative: $36 trillion, $9 trillion, $.4 trillion) RETURN TO THE WORLD ON "INVESTMENT" OF $1.7 $1.7 MILLION INTO $1.7 TRILLION = 1 million times (1,000 X 1,000) 100,000,000% RETURN OF A MILLION MULTIPLE HOW MANY "INVESTMENTS' IN THE WORLD CAN AIM FOR SUCH RETURNS? (more if SGC advanced by more than one year.)

25 IT'S COMMON CENTS.

26 LOOKING FOR SPONSORS/SUPPORTERS IF YOU NOW BELIEVE THAT THE SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY WILL BE... - GOOD FOR THE WORLD, OR - GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS, OR BOTH PLEASE CONSIDER SPONSORING OR SUPPORTING THE SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY ASSOCIATION OR IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED... IT'S COMMON CENTS.