Good morning, I’m still reporting on: Swiss to Vote on State Money June 10, 2018 Synopsis: How long has it been since there was a development in the monetary reform area? A long time. But here is a huge development. The 7-member Swiss Federal Council has decided that the notion of Sovereign money – or State money – is important enough to put it to a vote in Switzerland on June 10th. Switzerland has always had a very robust group of monetary reformers, and the concept of State money – or money created in the public interest – fits in exactly with the Swiss tradition of a little more decentralized constitutional democracy than is at the foundation of American government, the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution in the world. It led the way out of rule by monarchy and tyranny and into the brand new notion that we, the people, could rule ourselves. Our constitution was adopted in 1789. The Swiss Constitution was based on the U.S. Constitution, but came into being with the wave of populist revolutions that swept Europe in 1848. Instead of a unitary head of state – a president – the Swiss opted for collective head of state – an elected, 7-member council where the presidency rotated among them every year. So, the Federal Council has decided to be the first nation to put monetary reform to a vote. What is monetary reform? The old, current system is known generally as the debt money system. Typically, the only money that is actually issued by the state are the paper currency and coin money. Commercial banks are given the privilege of creating the rest of a nation’s money by lending it into existence. That’s why macroeconomists call it “bank money.”