There was a basic flaw in the Vollgeld “sovereign money” proposal rejected by the Swiss in a referendum last Sunday. An arrangement that gives the state or its agencies exclusive power to create money,  oversee bank accounts and direct lending to the economy  is hostile to capitalism. It cannot produce the assurance needed to allow the process of rational monetary calculation that is the essence of capitalism. This was pointed out by the sociologist Max Weber in 1922. Geoffrey Ingham of Christ’s College Cambridge sums up Weber’s conclusion as follows:

In 1993, the health insurance industry funded the legendary “Harry and Louise” campaign to mobilize public opinion against the Clinton healthcare reform proposal. The strategy worked. Despite enormous investment of political capital, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives never voted on the Clintons’ reform legislation. It “died in Committee.”

Shortly after publishing Market vs. Medicine: America’s Epic Fight for Better, Affordable Healthcare in June 2016, I met with my former investment banking colleague, Jullia Quazi. Jullia arrived with a very funny story regarding her precocious and freaky-smart 6-year-old son Kairan.

As Jullia was leaving home, Kairan asked her to ask me who won. When Jullia asked what he meant, Kairan responded, “Dave wrote Market vs. Medicine. Who won, “Market” or “Medicine?” Out of the mouths of babes…

I would like to share with you my just published article on the  unfolding crisis in Nicaragua and its significance for the US and the region, with recommendations for U.S. policymakers. 

This article was originally published by Global Americans.

Having been expelled from Nicaragua in June 2016 by the Sandinista government, the struggle of the Nicaraguan people for dignity, democracy and a decent livelihood against a corrupt authoritarian regime is a theme particularly close to my heart.