Banking Reform: Money and Credit Must Serve the People
Every country’s banking and monetary systems should serve its productive economy, protect people’s savings and help finance the nation’s future. They should not place essential national decisions beyond democratic scrutiny or allow private financial interests to exercise unreasonable power over the people.
Modern money is created through a combination of government-issued currency, central-bank operations and commercial bank lending. Credit can help build homes, businesses and productive industries, but excessive or poorly directed debt can also inflate asset prices, weaken families and leave governments dependent upon financial markets.
FuturePlan proposes a careful transition towards a sovereign national monetary system in each participating country. The objective is not to destroy useful banking services or pretend that all debt can disappear overnight. The objective is to ensure that each country controls its essential currency, payment infrastructure and public credit while maintaining price stability, financial security and public confidence.
A Sovereign National Monetary System
Each country should possess the lawful authority, technical capacity and financial institutions needed to operate its economy without depending completely upon foreign banks, overseas payment systems or international creditors.
A sovereign monetary system would be founded upon:
- public control of the national currency;
- a publicly owned National People’s Bank;
- secure domestic payment and settlement systems;
- independent limits on money creation; and
- published monetary and financial records.
- protection of savings and ordinary deposits;
- credit directed towards productive domestic activity;
- strict separation of banking, taxation and voting records;
- independent auditing and citizen oversight; and
- a gradual transition that protects wages, pensions, contracts and savings.
Any fundamental constitutional change would be developed through the constitutional congress process described in Step 3. The people of each participating country would examine the evidence, proposed safeguards and transition arrangements before deciding through a binding referendum.
The National People’s Bank
FuturePlan proposes a publicly owned National People’s Bank in each participating country. Its purpose would be to provide secure public banking services, manage national payment infrastructure and help finance productive projects that strengthen the country.
The National People’s Bank could:
- provide secure transaction and savings accounts;
- operate the AB Coin payment system;
- hold government and General Revenue accounts;
- provide payment services to regional governments; and
- protect access to essential banking in regional and remote communities.
- support housing and essential infrastructure finance;
- finance productive domestic industries on transparent terms;
- assist small businesses, farmers and cooperatives;
- maintain secure national settlement and backup systems; and
- return operating surpluses to the public rather than private shareholders.
The National People’s Bank would not become an unlimited source of politically convenient money. It would operate under published legislation, professional management, independent auditing and strict rules preventing ministers from ordering money creation for personal, electoral or party-political purposes.
Responsible Money Creation
Giving a public institution authority over money does not make money costless. Creating more currency than the economy can support may increase prices, weaken savings and transfer wealth away from ordinary people.
Any creation of new national money would therefore be limited by measurable conditions, including:
- available labour and skills;
- productive capacity;
- the supply of essential goods and services;
- existing inflation and cost pressures; and
- the country’s energy, food, housing and infrastructure capacity.
- population and demographic change;
- national production and income;
- foreign-trade requirements;
- the stability of the financial system; and
- the condition of the country’s reserves and public balance sheet.
An independent Monetary Stability Board would publish the evidence used to recommend changes in the money supply. Its members would be prohibited from holding conflicting interests in financial institutions, political parties or companies affected by their decisions.
The national legislature would establish the governing rules, but day-to-day money creation could not be directed secretly by a minister, political party, commercial bank or private corporation.
National Reserves and the Role of Gold
Gold can form a valuable part of a country’s national reserves because it is internationally recognised and cannot be created electronically. However, gold alone does not represent the entire productive strength of a modern nation.
A country’s monetary strength also depends upon its food, energy, minerals, industries, infrastructure, workforce, technology, productive capacity and ability to meet its obligations.
FuturePlan therefore proposes that each country maintain diversified and independently audited national reserves. These could include gold, strategic commodities, foreign-exchange reserves and other secure national assets.
The final reserve framework would be established only after independent economic modelling and public debate. FuturePlan would not promise that fixing every unit of national currency permanently to a particular quantity of gold would automatically prevent inflation or financial instability.
AB Coin: A Public National Payment System
AB Coin would be a secure national digital payment unit issued and administered through each participating country’s public banking system. It would be designed for ordinary payments, commercial transactions and national settlement rather than anonymous speculation.
During the transition, one AB Coin could represent one unit of the participating country’s national currency held or guaranteed within the authorised public system. Its value would not be permitted to rise and fall like a speculative cryptocurrency merely because traders were buying and selling it.
The AB Coin system would require:
- secure personal and commercial wallets;
- fast and inexpensive domestic payments;
- strong protection against theft and unauthorised access;
- independent cybersecurity testing; and
- backup systems for major network failures.
- simple recovery procedures for lost access;
- clear correction procedures for system errors;
- transparent transaction fees;
- protection against secret account manipulation; and
- continuing access to cash and ordinary banking alternatives.
Use of AB Coin by an ordinary citizen would be voluntary. People should not lose access to essential goods, services or democratic participation because they prefer lawful cash or conventional banking.
Financial Privacy and Protection from Government Abuse
A public payment system must not become a system for political surveillance or control. Financial technology should make payments safer and simpler without giving officials unrestricted knowledge of a person’s life.
The law would require:
- separation of personal, commercial, taxation and voting records;
- collection of only the information reasonably needed for a lawful purpose;
- judicial authority for intrusive financial investigations;
- strict limits on disclosure to government agencies; and
- prompt notice and correction where inaccurate information caused harm.
- criminal penalties for unlawful access or political misuse;
- independent investigation of privacy breaches;
- protection against money being programmed to control lawful personal choices;
- no connection between payment records and secret voting records; and
- the right to challenge an account restriction through a prompt independent process.
No person’s money should be frozen merely because they criticised the government, supported an opposition campaign, participated in a lawful protest or expressed an unpopular opinion.
The Future of Commercial Banks
FuturePlan does not propose closing every commercial bank or preventing private financial institutions from providing useful services. Commercial banks, credit unions, mutual organisations and responsible financial companies could continue operating under clear domestic law.
They would be expected to compete through service, efficiency and responsible lending rather than hidden charges, political influence or public rescue after reckless conduct.
Banking reforms could include:
- plain-language loan and account agreements;
- complete disclosure of interest, fees and penalties;
- responsible affordability assessments;
- fair treatment of borrowers experiencing temporary hardship; and
- prompt correction of banking errors.
- effective competition and account portability;
- protection of ordinary deposits;
- personal accountability for serious executive misconduct;
- independent dispute resolution; and
- strong penalties for fraud, manipulation and deliberate concealment.
Shareholders and executives should bear the commercial consequences of failure before ordinary people are required to fund a rescue. Essential deposits and payment services would be protected without automatically preserving executive bonuses or shareholder value.
Productive Credit Rather Than Speculative Debt
Debt is not automatically harmful. A responsibly assessed loan can help a family purchase a home, a farmer improve production, a small business acquire machinery or a nation build infrastructure that will serve several generations.
The real question is whether credit creates useful capacity or merely increases the price of existing assets.
Public and private credit should favour:
- new housing construction;
- domestic manufacturing;
- farms and food security;
- small and productive businesses; and
- essential electricity, water and transport infrastructure.
- research and domestically owned technology;
- regional development;
- medical and pharmaceutical capacity;
- defence and national-resilience industries; and
- projects that produce measurable long-term public value.
Public finance would not be used to conceal unproductive spending or protect politically connected businesses from ordinary commercial discipline.
Private Cryptocurrencies
People could continue to lawfully acquire and use private cryptocurrencies, subject to reasonable domestic laws against fraud, theft, money laundering and deliberate concealment of commercial income.
Private cryptocurrencies can provide useful payment technology and an alternative store of value, but they may also be highly volatile. They should not be described as risk-free, guaranteed or automatically secure merely because they use blockchain technology.
People should receive clear information about price volatility, lost passwords, fraudulent schemes, exchange failure and the absence of guaranteed redemption before placing substantial savings into a private digital asset.
AB Coin would serve a different purpose. It would be a stable public payment unit rather than a privately traded speculative asset.
General Revenue and Regional Funding
The National People’s Bank could securely hold and process General Revenue, but it would not decide taxation policy or determine how public money was spent.
Revenue collection would be administered under the National Prosperity Revenue System described in Step 4. The national legislature and the people’s elected representatives would approve budgets through open democratic procedures.
Regional funding would be distributed according to a published formula that considered population, remoteness, infrastructure, health, disability, disadvantage and the genuine cost of delivering essential services.
Budgets, contracts, actual spending and performance results would be published. Regions could retain authorised reserves for emergencies, maintenance and multi-year projects instead of being encouraged to waste money through “spend it or lose it” rules.
Independent Oversight and Protection Against Corruption
A financial system controlling public money requires stronger safeguards than promises of good behaviour.
The system would include:
- published monetary and lending rules;
- continuous independent auditing;
- public reporting of National People’s Bank performance;
- disclosure of executive interests and conflicts; and
- competitive procurement for banking technology and services.
- secure whistleblower protection;
- independent investigation of fraud and corruption;
- personal accountability for deliberate misconduct;
- a fair review process for disputed decisions; and
- citizen oversight through the democratic processes described in Step 1.
No government, bank or administrator would be permitted to hide corruption, reckless losses or political favouritism behind commercial confidentiality.
A Safe and Open Transition
A country’s banking system cannot be replaced safely through one sudden declaration. Mortgages, wages, pensions, deposits, business contracts, international trade and government obligations must continue during any transition.
- Stage 1 — Independent inquiry: Examine how money, credit and payment systems currently operate and publish the evidence.
- Stage 2 — Public design: Develop the National People’s Bank, AB Coin, reserve framework, privacy protections and monetary safeguards.
- Stage 3 — Limited trials: Test public accounts, payment systems and carefully selected productive-finance programs without disrupting ordinary banking.
- Stage 4 — Independent assessment: Measure security, inflation risk, operating cost, public acceptance and unintended consequences.
- Stage 5 — Public approval: Present the completed proposal, transition timetable and any constitutional changes for public debate and binding democratic approval.
Existing national currency, lawful contracts, wages, pensions and ordinary deposits would not simply be cancelled. Conversion rules would be published in advance, independently reviewed and introduced gradually.
Honest Limitations
- Public ownership does not guarantee good management: The National People’s Bank would still require professional administration, transparency and independent scrutiny.
- Money creation cannot replace production: Currency cannot create food, energy, housing, skills or machinery unless the country possesses the people and resources needed to produce them.
- Gold does not solve every monetary problem: It can strengthen national reserves, but a rigid gold-only system may restrict the economy during emergencies or periods of rapid productive growth.
- Debt cannot disappear overnight: Existing lawful obligations require a fair transition, while useful lending must remain available.
- Digital systems can fail: AB Coin would require strong cybersecurity, offline recovery procedures and continuing access to alternative payment methods.
The FuturePlan Banking Promise
FuturePlan proposes a sovereign national monetary and banking system in which public money, credit and payment infrastructure serve the people and the productive national economy.
A publicly owned National People’s Bank would provide secure banking, operate AB Coin, support productive domestic investment and return its benefits to the nation.
Money creation would remain limited by productive capacity, price stability, published rules and independent oversight. Personal financial privacy, access to cash and freedom from political financial punishment would be protected.
The transition would occur only after independent modelling, public testing, open debate and binding democratic approval.
This is how any country can begin building a financial system in which money serves people, productive enterprise is encouraged and the nation retains control of its economic future.
COMMON LAW ASSEMBLIES PROVIDE COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE:
|
Knowledge is Power!
Everyone has a fundamental Right to decide how we want to live our lives. This website explains what Common Law is and how to set up a government of the people, by the people, for the people |