AMI Conference 2025: Avarice, Power, and the Future of Money
Opening of the Conference with Introductions by Steven Walsh and Dennis Kucinich
Oct 14, 2025
This opening session of the American Monetary Institute (AMI) 21st Annual Conference traces the origins and legacy of AMI, founded in 1996 by Stephen Zarlenga to study the history and science of money. The speaker highlights the Institute’s foundational works—The Lost Science of Money and Kaoru Yamaguchi’s Public Money—and their contributions to understanding how monetary power shifted from public to private hands. Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich joins to reflect on his transformative encounter with Zarlenga, which inspired the drafting of the National Emergency Employment Defense (NEED) Act—legislation designed to reclaim the public’s authority over money creation. Kucinich shares how AMI’s research, coupled with the modeling of Yamaguchi and IMF economist Michael Kumhof, validated the potential for a debt-free public money system that serves people over profit. With gratitude to Zarlenga’s vision and Elizabeth Kucinich’s continued advocacy, this video celebrates AMI’s enduring ...
Kaoru Yamaguchi: The Birth of Public Money and Paradigm Shift in Economics as a Science
Sep 29, 2025
Kaoru Yamaguchi: The Birth of Public Money and Paradigm Shift in Economics as a Science. At the 2025 American Monetary Institute Conference, Professor Kaoru Yamaguchi presents his life’s work: a bold call for a paradigm shift from debt-based money to public money—an economic model grounded in sustainability, fairness, and transparency. Yamaguchi traces the evolution of his groundbreaking “Accounting System Dynamics” framework and its application to monetary reform through macroeconomic simulation. He explains how public money, unlike debt money, can eliminate national debt, prevent inflation, and promote full employment without recurring crises. Drawing from his collaborations with AMI founder Stephen Zarlenga and the Chicago Plan legacy, he critiques mainstream Keynesian and neoclassical theories as fundamentally flawed, arguing they ignore the structural failures that produce inequality and financial instability. The presentation also delves into Yamaguchi’s personal and academic journey, his dismissal for challenging economic orthodoxy, and his continued advocacy for ...
David Korten, Why Monetary Reform is Essential to a Viable Human Future
Oct 3, 2025
David Korten argues a viable future requires monetary transformation—democratize the Fed, issue debt-free sovereign money, protect pensions, and end Wall Street’s debt trap—so we can fund guaranteed living-wage jobs and an ecological civilization. He outlines a four-part agenda, cites New Deal precedents and greenbacks, critiques speculative finance and UBI, and urges localization, co-ops, and clear public education to reclaim money for people and planet.
Gretchen Morgenson These are the Plunderers How Private Equity Runs—and Wrecks—America
Oct 6, 2025
Private equity is reshaping America—and not for the better. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gretchen Morgenson exposes how a handful of powerful financiers—“the plunderers”—have quietly gutted industries, destroyed jobs, and deepened inequality while enriching themselves through debt-fueled buyouts. In this riveting talk hosted by the American Monetary Institute, Morgenson breaks down how private equity preys on health care, education, housing, and even retirement funds, leaving behind what she calls a “circle of pain”: workers fired, patients neglected, pensioners robbed, and communities hollowed out. Drawing from her book These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs and Wrecks America, she reveals how PE firms operate in secrecy, exploit tax loopholes, and lobby to protect their wealth while the public shoulders the cost. Morgenson’s reporting highlights real victims—teachers in Missouri, patients in nursing homes, families like the Watsons—and calls for accountability, transparency, and legislative reform like the Stop ...
Robert Hockett: The Socialization of Investment
Oct 14, 2025
Cornell Law Professor Robert Hockett outlines his vision for democratizing capital and restructuring finance to serve public, not private, interests. Drawing from his new book Making Capital Democratic, Hockett explains why decentralized production requires more centralized, publicly accountable finance. He identifies two key dynamics—the endogeneity of money and recursive collective action problems—that make unregulated markets unstable and speculative. Hockett argues that to sustain real production, finance must be “socialized” through practical, minimal reforms rather than revolutionary upheaval. He presents a five-part plan, including creating a National Reconstruction and Continuous Development Council, upgrading the Federal Financing Bank to invest in productive sectors, restoring the Fed’s pre-1935 development role, digitizing Treasury accounts to create a universal public payment platform (“digital greenbacks”), and sharing national growth dividends with all citizens. Hockett’s framework shows how modest policy shifts could redirect credit toward long-term prosperity, justice, and sustainability—reviving the public ...
Morgan Ricks Monetary System Design Some First Principles
Oct 7, 2025
In this thought-provoking lecture, Professor Morgan Ricks, a leading expert in financial regulation and author of The Money Problem, challenges the way we think about money, banking, and public finance. Drawing from his work at the U.S. Treasury and Vanderbilt University, Ricks argues that banking law is monetary system design—a central element of democratic governance rather than a technical afterthought. He explores the fundamental questions: What is money? Who should issue it? How should it serve the public? Starting from “first principles,” Ricks illustrates how our current system—dominated by private bank money creation—creates instability, inequality, and financial fragility. He proposes a return to a public-utility model of banking, inspired by New Deal frameworks, where banks operate as franchises of the state, ensuring universal access, accountability, and stability. The discussion expands to shadow banking, stablecoins, and the moral economy of money, offering a blueprint for rebuilding a ...
Bruce Woll Who is David Ciepley and Why He Matters
Oct 7, 2025
In this powerful lecture, Dr. Bruce Wall explores the groundbreaking work of scholar David Ciepley, unpacking his challenge to neoliberal ideology and corporate domination. Wall explains how Ciepley’s writings illuminate the deep connection between corporations, democracy, and monetary reform — revealing that the true problem lies not in technical economics but in ideology itself. Drawing from religion, history, and political philosophy, Wall describes the “Great Inversion,” when corporations transformed from public franchises under government authority into self-declared private masters, reversing their original democratic purpose. He urges reclaiming corporations as public creations meant to serve collective wellbeing rather than private greed. Ciepley and Wall both emphasize that democracy’s survival depends on redefining corporate personhood, reasserting public authority over the franchise relationship, and recognizing corporations as stewards — not sovereigns — of public power.
Leah Downey Our Money Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters
Oct 7, 2025
Dr. Leah Downey, a rising scholar in political theory, challenges the long-held belief that central banks must remain independent from democratic oversight. In this compelling talk, she argues that insulating institutions like the Federal Reserve undermines both democratic accountability and state capacity. Drawing from her forthcoming book, Downey proposes an iterative governance model—where elected legislators regularly review, steer, and re-charter central bank policy—to replace the outdated “guardrails and compliance” framework. She explains that monetary policy cannot be treated as a purely technical or neutral domain; rather, it shapes the real economy and people’s lives, making it inseparable from democratic decision-making. Using recent examples of political interference in the Fed, she warns that both authoritarian control and technocratic insulation threaten genuine self-rule. The conversation expands through insightful audience questions on the Fed’s bias toward private financial interests, global inequality, and the historic struggle to reclaim public authority ...
Mehrsa Baradaran on Money, Empire, and the Racial Wealth Divide
Oct 7, 2025
Neoliberalism and the Looting of America: How the Financial System increases the Racial Wealth Gap and Deepens Income-Based Class Inequality In this powerful lecture, Professor Mehrsa Baradaran exposes how neoliberalism and the modern financial system have fueled racial and economic inequality across centuries. She traces money’s origins in slavery, empire, and patriarchy—showing how law, capital, and ideology intertwine to sustain extraction and dispossession. Connecting the evolution of money from gold-backed empires to the rise of neoliberal capitalism, she argues that our current system—driven by corporate charters, privatization, and debt—is a continuation of colonial plunder by new means. Baradaran calls this the “quiet coup”: a capture of democracy by financial elites and market fundamentalism. Through historical and legal analysis, she reveals how neoliberal policies transformed banks into engines of profit rather than public service, worsening racial wealth divides and debt slavery. Yet, she ends with a challenge: ...
Sam Hummel - Building Multi-Issue Coalitions that Can Win Monetary Reforms
Oct 7, 2025
Monetary reform researcher Sam explores how social movements can gain political power by bridging the gap between monetary reform advocates and issue-focused campaigns like climate justice, debt relief, and human rights. Drawing from 45 in-depth interviews with activists, academics, and policymakers, he presents strategic insights on coalition-building, shared narratives, and the political opportunities that arise when movements recognize how the money system shapes every social and ecological struggle. Sam emphasizes that while reformers have deep institutional knowledge, broader movements bring political clout, grassroots energy, and policy influence—making collaboration essential for systemic change. The study reveals major barriers, from lack of awareness about money creation to limited dialogue, but also highlights successful cross-issue models like public banking coalitions. Ultimately, Sam calls for coordinated education, shared language, and a united push to transform monetary systems into tools for ecological balance, justice, and collective well-being.
From Glass-Steagall to Stablecoins: David Dayen on the Corporate Coup in Finance
Oct 7, 2025
How Wall Street Is Moving to Silicon Valley: How Financial Deregulation Led Wall Street to Monopolize the American Economy. Award-winning journalist David Dayen, Executive Editor of The American Prospect and author of Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power, explores how decades of financial deregulation allowed Wall Street to monopolize nearly every sector of the U.S. economy—and how Silicon Valley is now taking over finance itself. Tracing the story from the repeal of Glass-Steagall and the rise of “too big to fail” banks to the emergence of shadow banking and fintech, Dayen explains how consolidation in finance fuels monopoly power across industries—from airlines to healthcare to Amazon. He warns that deregulated crypto and private equity markets are paving the way for the next financial crisis, as Big Tech moves to dominate payment systems and private currencies through stablecoins and the GENIUS Act. Yet, Dayen also highlights ...
Michael Hudson Temples of Enterprise Debt, Finance, and Society from Antiquity to Today
Oct 8, 2025
In this wide-ranging lecture, economist Dr. Michael Hudson explores how ancient Bronze Age societies like Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria managed to build stable, balanced economies by treating money, debt, and credit as public utilities—a model he contrasts with today’s privatized, debt-driven capitalism. Hudson explains how early rulers used debt jubilees (clean slates) to prevent wealth polarization and maintain social stability, ensuring cultivators retained their land and independence. He traces how this system unraveled through climate crises, invasions, and the rise of creditor oligarchies, culminating in the inequality of Greece and Rome. Hudson connects these historical lessons to modern times, warning that today’s financialized economies mirror late-stage Rome, where oligarchs, banks, and monopolies dominate. He calls for restoring public control over money creation and credit allocation—akin to the Chicago Plan or China’s state-directed credit system—to prevent economic collapse and revive balance between labor, government, and ...
Spaceship Earth 101: How Public Money Can Save People and Planet, by Nick Egnatz
Oct 8, 2025
Nick’s presentation explores how our current banking system fuels inequality and environmental destruction—and how publicly created money could restore balance and justice. A Vietnam veteran, father, and long-time activist, Nick embodies the “everyman hero” who transformed from believing that money was created by governments to uncovering the truth: private banks create money as debt. He explains the historical roots of this system, from goldsmiths to the Federal Reserve, and contrasts it with the Chicago Plan and NEED Act—proposals for sovereign money issued by the people’s government. Drawing from his three books—Money Creation 101, History of Money 101, and Spaceship Earth 101—Nick connects monetary reform to social justice, climate action, and economic equality. He argues that a sovereign money system could eliminate debt dependency, fund social safety nets, and tackle climate change. The session ends with a passionate discussion on how reforming money creation is essential to democracy, ...
Adrian Kuzminski: A Monetary Theory You Never Heard of Classical American Populism and Public Bankin
Oct 8, 2025
This talk dives into the forgotten populist roots of American monetary reform, tracing the lineage from Jeffersonian ideals to 19th-century populism and the visionary work of Edward Kellogg. Scholar Adrien presents a reinterpretation of Kellogg’s “national public banking” concept — a decentralized, democratically run system of local public banks coordinated by a central public clearinghouse. Unlike modern fiat systems or private debt money models, Kellogg’s framework sought to end usury through fixed 1% loans backed by real collateral, creating a self-regulating, interest-limited economy rooted in justice and sustainability. Adrien situates this model within the populist vision of balancing private and public property — a “third way” between libertarianism and socialism — aiming to restore individual access to capital as a natural right. The presentation explores how such a system could achieve economic freedom, social fairness, and ecological stability, while audience members probe its historical grounding, practical implementation, and relevance to today’s ...
Joseph Arminio The Dire Perils of Stablecoin
Oct 8, 2025
In this thought-provoking discussion, Dr. Joseph Armenio—political scientist, defense consultant, and founder of the Statesman Debate Institute—traces his journey from advocating the gold standard to becoming a champion of public banking. Reflecting on his transformation, Dr. Armenio exposes how private central banking has long dominated U.S. monetary policy and warns that digital currencies, particularly stablecoins, could cement that control. He explains how stablecoins, though marketed as innovations, may serve as tools for deeper financial surveillance and economic bondage—effectively a “backdoor” to central bank digital currencies. Joined by moderator Stephen Zarlenga and Ellen Brown of the Public Banking Institute, the conversation explores bipartisan barriers to reform, the moral flaws of debt-based money, and historical precedents like colonial Pennsylvania’s public credit system. Together, they call for unity between conservatives and progressives to end corporate control of money and reestablish public monetary sovereignty before the window for reform ...
John G Root Jr Money Issuance The Primary Tool of the Sovereign
Oct 8, 2025
John Root delivers an illuminating and deeply human exploration of money as the primary tool of sovereignty. Drawing from thinkers like Rudolf Steiner, Michael Hudson, and Stephen Zarlenga, Root reframes money not as a commodity or debt instrument, but as a measure of value—a political and moral power that should serve humanity, not dominate it. He proposes renaming the unit of value “Juno” and the means of exchange “Moneta,” reviving their ancient Roman roots. Root envisions a world where banking operates as a public utility, unburdened by interest, enabling communities to issue money for the common good. Through concepts like “spontaneous order” and restorative justice, he argues that human cooperation—not coercion—naturally generates harmony and abundance. The talk transitions from economic theory to lived experience, weaving together ideas of sovereignty, equity, and moral purpose. Root challenges listeners to practice sociocracy, community banking, and volunteer-based economies, redefining wealth as ...
National Money – Shifting the Debate to the Next Level
Oct 8, 2025
This presentation features Hungarian economists Gergely and Gábor sharing their groundbreaking research on sovereign money reform and financial system redesign. They explain how the current global monetary architecture—dominated by private money creation through banks—produces systemic instability, inequality, and chronic underfunding of public needs. Drawing on years of empirical research, they illustrate how nations could regain monetary sovereignty by returning money creation to the public sector, potentially reclaiming 4–6% of GDP annually. Their work explores the structural flaws of the present system, including legal and ideological barriers rooted in IMF and central bank regulations, and offers pathways toward stability and equity through full-reserve banking and national electronic currencies. The speakers also stress the importance of education, legislation, and grassroots mobilization to achieve reform. The talk concludes with questions from the audience about GDP differences, interest rate disparities, and the transformative potential of full employment under a sovereign money system.
Richard Robbins: Mean, Stupid Money — How Debt Rules Our World (and How to Take It Back)
Oct 8, 2025
In this insightful lecture, Professor Richard Robbins—renowned anthropologist and author of Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism—traces the origins and consequences of our debt-based monetary system, arguing that it has become the central organizing principle of modern life. Robbins explains how the 1694 founding of the Bank of England institutionalized money creation as interest-bearing debt, locking the global economy into a cycle demanding perpetual growth, deepening inequality, and fueling authoritarian power. He examines how this structure drives environmental destruction, financialization of everyday life, the erosion of privacy through surveillance capitalism, and the consolidation of wealth and political control among a small elite. Drawing on thinkers like Michael Hudson, David Korten, and Thomas Piketty, Robbins connects economic theory with lived realities—illustrating how debt money sustains corporate domination and democratic decay. In closing, he offers potential paths of resistance, including a “party of the 99%,” strategic debt strikes, and reclaiming ...
Les Leopold: Building a Worker-Led Political Revolution
Oct 8, 2025
Les Leopold closes his talk by calling for a worker-led political realignment rooted in solidarity and economic rights. He challenges reliance on the Democratic Party, arguing that it is structurally tied to Wall Street and incapable of meaningful reform. Instead, he urges building an independent, union-based political movement to advance ideas like voluntary layoff buyouts, a 32-hour workweek, and public ownership of finance through public banking. Leopold connects monetary reform to job insecurity, linking mass layoffs, automation, and debt to concentrated corporate power. He draws parallels to MLK’s Freedom Budget and the New Deal, advocating for social democracy centered on economic rights—decent jobs, fair wages, and political power for workers. He calls for uniting unions, public banking advocates, and monetary reformers to create a broad, education-driven movement capable of confronting the billionaire class and democratizing the economy from the ground up.
Geoff Crocker - Rethinking Income and Money:Incorporating Technology Into Economic Theory
Oct 8, 2025
Economist Jeff Crocker argues that automation is shrinking labor’s share of income—especially for the lowest-income households—so welfare income (potentially a modest UBI) becomes a structural necessity. He reframes “affordability” for governments as a real-resources question (land, labor, materials, technology) rather than an accounting balance, and contends money is not debt at the moment of creation. He critiques QE as a costly, distortionary way to fund public spending and favors direct money financing that avoids arbitrary debt ceilings and austerity. Beyond money, he urges economics to explicitly integrate technology’s effects on production, employment, prices, and inequality, challenging neoclassical price-centric models with more behavioral and realistic approaches. In Q&A, participants probe UBI vs. targeted welfare, social credit and national dividends, whether money is inherently “debt,” ecological limits (AI’s energy use, donut economics), universal basic services, and practical mechanics for distributing sovereign money. Crocker maintains rising automation ...
Oliver Heydorn - Douglas Social Credit: Restoring Honesty and Functionality to the Financial System
Oct 9, 2025
Dr. Oliver Heydorn, founder of the Clifford Hugh Douglas Institute for the Study and Promotion of Social Credit, introduces Douglas Social Credit as a comprehensive monetary reform model that addresses both justice and functionality in the financial system. He argues that while equity in money creation is important, functionality—ensuring that the system accurately reflects the real economy—is the true foundation of fairness. The talk explores the chronic “price-income gap,” where production costs outpace consumer income, causing artificial scarcity, debt dependence, and instability. Heydorn outlines how the Douglas model proposes solutions through a National Credit Office, national dividend, and compensated price system—mechanisms designed to inject debt-free credit, ensure honest accounting, and decentralize economic power. He contrasts Douglas’s approach with the AMI and NEED Act proposals, advocating for a balance between public oversight and private initiative. The presentation ends with a discussion on restoring honesty, stability, and freedom ...
Mario Marti?nez Lorenzo - Can Money Creation Be Much Simpler?
Oct 9, 2025
Can Money Creation Be Much Simpler? Untangling Public And Private Roles - Unleashing Prosperity for All Economist Mario Martínez presents a clear, passionate case for simplifying the modern monetary system by separating public and private roles in money creation. Speaking at the AMI Conference, he explains how banks create risk at the core of our payment infrastructure—forcing society to support fragile institutions through bailouts, deposit insurance, and complex regulations. Martínez proposes a radical yet practical alternative: a public digital currency issued debt-free, available to all, and operating alongside cash. He argues that such public money could make the economy more stable, democratic, and transparent—freeing society from dependence on bank-created debt and endless bailouts. Through balance sheet examples and systemic analysis, he shows how public money could empower governments, reduce inequality, and end the parasitic debt cycle. His talk connects monetary reform to social justice, sustainability, and ...
David Ciepley - After Neoliberalism: Toward a Stewardship Economy
Oct 9, 2025