Greens for Monetary Reform

Over time, whoever controls the money system, controls the nation.

Stephen Zarlenga, American Monetary Institute

The Problem

THE MYTHS

Part of the problem is the myths people believe about money which contributes to confusion about it. Many people believe that the government creates and issues our money and that banks lend existing money. It is also believed that money is a form of a commodity often representing gold or silver or some other commodity. Neither myth is true.

Our government does not create or issue money except for the coins in our pocket which represents only a very tiny portion of the money created. All the coins and cash bills printed represent only 3% of the total money created, 97% of the money today is in the form of numbers in computers created by the private banks, at the instant of a loan. They reap enormous power and profit from creating money out of thin air and lending it at interest. Such profits should belong to the society that gives the money its value.

While a commodity can be used for money, which the rich have long favored because they could control any commodity, it would only exist as money if law makes it so. Money is a social agreement based in law. If we regard money as a thing, it becomes a given, something we cannot change, when in fact it is a human agreement that can be changed.

THE PRIVATIZED MONEY SYSTEM

The critical problem is in how and by whom our money is created, which has caused untold suffering, poverty and wars and now even threatens human existence on our planet. Our money system has been privatized. In the current system, money is created as a debt at the instant a bank makes a loan, by simply adding an entry in the ledger -- in other words, created out of thin air. In the current system, this DEBT-MONEY must always be paid back with interest. However, only the money representing the principal of the loan is created; the money for the interest is NEVER CREATED. The money to pay the interest must come from the principal of someone else; therefore, there is no way to pay off all debt. This creates a highly competitive economy with "1%" winners and "99%" losers. Debt must always increase.