Author Ellen Howard

Talking to Regular People Regarding Economic Reform

People who have taken some alternative economics classes, read some alternative economics books (e.g. Henry George, Ellen Brown, Stephen Zarlenga etc.), often ask me, "now that I've read/learned there are better ways to do things, how do I broach the subject with people?   I am eager to get the good news that there are solutions out there, but I don't know how to do it!"   Or, perhaps, like Howard Beale in the movie Network (1976), They are just "Mad as Hell, and they're not going to take it anymore!!!"

Well, this is surprisingly easy because it turns out almost everyone who isn't an entrenched elite, realizes there is something wrong with the system, and already has ideas they want to share, even if they've never studied economics and just listened to, or read, the news.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

-   Bring some business cards, fliers listing action steps or upcoming meetings, what else can you carry with you?   Be prepared anywhere, anytime.

-   Know your alternative proposals cold.   You will be talking to people about something they have likely never heard about before in the MSM (e.g. Greenbacks (debt-free U.S. Notes); The Single Tax; CAFRs; Ending the Federal Reserve; State/Public Banking). People have been so brainwashed into thinking there cannot be a better way to do things that, even if they think something is wrong , they will come up with knee-jerk clichéd reactions as to why X or Y cannot be done.   Have your answers ready for them. Prepare. Rehearse with a friend(s) (preferably one who doesn't already know what you know). Above all, try to see the problem form their perspective. This will not only help you solidify your answers, it will help you be able to answer a wide variety of different audiences.

Howard Zinn Dies | BU Today | Boston University

Zinn taught in the College of Arts & Sciences political science department for 24 years, from 1964 to 1988. He was a hero of the political left, a consistent and cogent critic of American policies, domestic and foreign. He is best known for his book A People’s History of the United States (1980), which defied the notion that history is defined and written by and for “the winners.” A television documentary released last year, The People Speak , translated Zinn’s work to the screen for yet another generation of progressive thinkers.

Caryl Rivers, a College of Communication professor of journalism and one of the famous BU Five, a group of faculty who with Zinn refused to cross a University picket line in 1979, says that even though Zinn hadn’t taught here for many years, his death would change BU forever.

“He was such a righteous man,” says Rivers. “He was such a gentleman, a wonderful scholar; he had such charm and such erudition. He will be sorely missed.”

Joseph Boskin, a CAS professor emeritus of history and a close friend of Zinn’s, describes his death as “a loss for the entire country.”

“Howard will be hard to replace as a political figure, a sterling individual, and as a person of vision,” Boskin adds. “Also, as a person of guts.”

BU President Robert A. Brown describes Zinn as “an iconic writer and educator who impacted generations of students at Boston University.”

“Hopefully,” says Brown, “his spirit will live on at the University through the Howard Zinn Lecture Series in the College of Arts & Sciences, which has been established by grateful and admiring students.

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