|
About IMMR
About IMMR
Changing the way money is created to serve society
We are a coalition of organisations and people from across the world, campaigning to change the way money is created.
The organisations campaigning for monetary reform in each country are shown below.
You can also read our statement of purpose and you can contact us here.
Statement of purpose
Statement of purpose
Changing the way money is created to serve society
We are a coalition of organisations and people from across the world, campaigning to change the way money is created.
This Statement of purpose describes what the IMMR does, and also doesn’t, do.
You can also see our member organisations here and you can contact us here.
The Problem
The IMMR believes that our money system has mutated over the years in response to technology, regulation, de-regulation, and globalisation. The result is an unfair system which does not work in the public interest.
The IMMR has identified the following problems with the current money system:
Unsustainable indebtedness: Because all money is issued as credit, debt increases at the same rate as the money supply.
Financial instability: Money creation is pro-cyclical – too much is created in a boom, and too little in a recession, causing the pronounced boom and bust cycle.
Anti-democratic: Because the government relies on commercial banks to create money, the government has to borrow more, and we have to pay higher taxes.
Perpetual expansion: In order to service large amounts of debt the economy has to grow, even when markets are saturated and resources depleted.
Unbalanced and unproductive economy: Banks choose where new money is spent on the basis of their own profits rather than the needs of the economy.
Inequality and the concentration of wealth: Interest payments on the entire money supply suck wealth out of the economy in to the banks.
Bank runs, subsidies and bailouts: The banking system is unstable and unprofitable without government subsidies and guarantees.
Unfair, monopolistic and anti-competitive: The right to create money gives banks an unfair and damaging advantage over all other parts of the economy.
The IMMR believes that the money system is not fit-for-purpose and needs updating. A well-functioning money system will provide more stable economies, which will benefit everybody.
Our Goal
The IMMR is supportive of ideas and policies which move towards our end goal. We are not dogmatic about our proposals or the way they are implemented and the detail will vary from country to country. We do believe that our end goal can only be reached when these three things have been achieved:
New money to be spent in to the economy by the Government.
A transparent and independent process for the creation of new money, which regulates the money supply according to the needs of the economy.
Stop the banks creating new money when they make loans (full-reserve banking).
The IMMR is
IMMR is a collaboration of not-for-profit organisations set up to campaign to reform the money system, both nationally, and internationally. IMMR believes that private banks should not be able to create new money when they make loans. This is an extraordinary privilege which gives the financial sector an unfair and damaging advantage over other businesses. Banks should be restricted to providing current accounts, payment services, lending, and investing money on behalf of their savers. This will lead to a reduction in personal and Government debt, and will help to prevent another financial crisis occurring. The IMMR maintains a very clear and specific aim, namely to change the way the money system works.
The IMMR is not:
The IMMR does not subscribe to any conspiracy theories about the money system. The IMMR does not act on the behalf of any particular lobby or interest group. The IMMR is not a political organisation. We don’t campaign for either a bigger or a smaller role for government. We campaign for changes to the money system which would be to the benefit of all political parties. The IMMR is not against privately owned banks. Privately-owned banks have an important function in providing payment services, a secure place for our money, investment opportunities, and to lend us money. The IMMR is not against bankers. Most people who work in banks do not understand the money system and its effects, and are simply trying to provide a service for customers and earn a living. Undoubtedly some bankers have abused their power, but this is not the root cause of our financial crisis; the root cause is our current money system. The IMMR is not against lending, or charging interest on loans where an investor is lending their money to somebody else. The IMMR does not believe that regulation alone can solve the problems with banking or the money system. Regulation has been shown to be ineffective, and easily reversed, but furthermore it does not alter the root causes of the problem. What is needed is legislative change. The IMMR is not a campaign for general financial reform, alternative economics or complementary currencies. While there are many other reforms that also need to take place, the IMMR has a specific and narrow purpose – to change the national money systems in order to create fairer and more stable economies. The IMMR does not support the use of illegal or violent means to bring about change. We campaign for the money system to be changed with minimal social and economic upheaval. Find your national movement for monetary reform
Picture_of_map May2013
Forum
Join the discussion
FAQs
FAQs
Changing the way money is created to serve society
We are a coalition of organisations and people from across the world, campaigning to change the way money is created.
How can I get involved?
Contact the group in your country to learn more about the movement in your country. No group yet? then click here to start the process to a new national movement.
What is the International Movement for Monetary Reform?
The IMMR is a hub to connect all the national movements who are not-for-profit campaign and research organisations. We work together to raise awareness about how money is created, why it is a problem, and how we should change the monetary system so that it benefits society, business, and the environment.
Where does the idea for IMMR’s reforms come from?
Our reforms are based on ideas that date back to 50-75 years ago from economic thinkers including Irving Fisher, Frank Knight, and Frederick Soddy.
Our proposals have then been developed further and adapted to take account of the fact that money, the payments system and banking in general is now electronic and there are some other significant differences.
What is the problem with the way money is created?
The vast majority of money is created by commercial banks and comes into circulation when banks make loans. Since all of this money is based on debt and has to be borrowed from banks, to get more money into the economy, we have to increase the amount of debt. A further problem is that when banks decide whether or not to make loans, they are also effectively deciding how much money will be created and where it will go. Since banks are corporations, they will always choose to lend money where they can get the most profit, which is not usually into the job-creating part of the economy. Furthermore, because banks profit from making loans, they have a real incentive to create too much of it. This happened in the financial crisis that started in 2007, and led to the current global recession.
What are our proposals
We propose returning the power to create money to the state and allowing the quantity and direction of new money to be determined democratically. Today the creation and allocation of money into the economy is completely undemocratic, as commercial banks determine the direction and amount of new money in the economy. Rather than leaving these decisions in the hands of the banks it should be in the hands of a body with transparency, oversight and accountability.
|
