Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Briefing for State Leaders: Scenario Planning: Programmable Money and the Automated Third Lock with Dennis Kucinich
Solari’s monthly online briefings are designed to support state legislators, other elected officials, and engaged citizens who are working to preserve American freedoms.
The July briefing, “Scenario Planning: Programmable Money and the Automated Third Lock,” took place on Thursday, July 9 from 2:00-4:00 PM Eastern. Former Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich joined the discussion.
The briefing:
- Began with a brief overview of programmable money and the concept of the “third lock,” including the difference between manual and automated transaction controls
- Reviewed a scenario planning framework designed to identify and communicate the potential risks and opportunities associated with programmable money
- Discussed the advisability of putting up legislative guardrails on programmable money, irrespective of scenario
- Reviewed legislative proposals, including cash acceptance legislation, protections against programmable money, and the emerging concept of a Right to a Non-Digital Life
- Invited briefing attendees to participate in an interactive working session to help evaluate the four scenarios and identify additional legislative ideas for consideration
A central question is whether legislative guardrails should depend on assumptions about intent. Even if programmable money is developed with beneficial goals, should reasonable safeguards be established before it becomes part of our financial infrastructure? What protections would be prudent regardless of whether the ultimate outcome is positive or negative?
Full Report: solari.com/briefing-for-state-leaders-scenario-planning-programmable-money-and-the-automated-third-lock-with-dennis-kucinich
Subscribe to shop.solari.com
Briefing for State Leaders: Scenario Planning: Programmable Money and the Automated Third Lock with Dennis Kucinich
Solari’s monthly online briefings are designed to support state legislators, other elected officials, and engaged citizens who are working to preserve American freedoms.
The July briefing, “Scenario Planning: Programmable Money and the Automated Third Lock,” took place on Thursday, July 9 from 2:00-4:00 PM Eastern. Former Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich joined the discussion.
The briefing:
- Began with a brief overview of programmable money and the concept of the “third lock,” including the difference between manual and automated transaction controls
- Reviewed a scenario planning framework designed to identify and communicate the potential risks and opportunities associated with programmable money
- Discussed the advisability of putting up legislative guardrails on programmable money, irrespective of scenario
- Reviewed legislative proposals, including cash acceptance legislation, protections against programmable money, and the emerging concept of a Right to a Non-Digital Life
- Invited briefing attendees to participate in an interactive working session to help evaluate the four scenarios and identify additional legislative ideas for consideration
A central question is whether legislative guardrails should depend on assumptions about intent. Even if programmable money is developed with beneficial goals, should reasonable safeguards be established before it becomes part of our financial infrastructure? What protections would be prudent regardless of whether the ultimate outcome is positive or negative?
Full Report: solari.com/briefing-for-state-leaders-scenario-planning-programmable-money-and-the-automated-third-lock-with-dennis-kucinich
Subscribe to shop.solari.com
![The Returns on Private Equity Are Falling off a Cliff. Your Pension Is on the Line
Update on the Trouble in Private Credit with Tiffany Cianci
Join us on Telegram: https://t.me/solarireport
In January, I welcomed private equity expert Tiffany Cianci to the Solari Report. Although our discussion focused on private equity, we also touched on private credit (lending that happens by private non-bank lenders, also called private debt) as an area equally prone to financial legerdemain. As I noted in that discussion, private equity deals are leveraged with debt, and this can give rise to private credit “funny business” when private equity leverages its own deals.
Tiffany predicted that the private credit bubble would soon pop, and she was right. With private credit defaults now rising and investors pulling billions of dollars from large private credit funds, some funds are responding by restricting withdrawals. This week, Tiffany returns to update us on these first-quarter developments, discussing their implications for the big banks that loan to private credit providers.
As Moody’s pointed out last fall, “the rise of private credit has altered the competitive landscape for US banks, which … ceded significant lending turf … following the 2007-08 financial crisis.” Somewhat paradoxically, however, banks also helped fuel the growth of private credit by shifting their lending focus to “non-depository financial institutions”—including roughly $300 billion as of last June to private credit providers. As of mid-2025, banks had also lent $285 billion to private equity funds and had another $340 billion in “unutilized bank lending commitments.”As these “bank linkages” have increased, said Vanguard last month, “From a systemic perspective, the primary consideration is less the likelihood of widespread private-credit defaults and more the interaction between private credit liquidity needs and bank balance sheets” [emphasis added].
Moody’s politely suggests that banks’ “indirect lending” to the private credit market comes with “inherently lower transparency” and requires “vigilant credit risk management.” Echoing that thought, media reports are emerging to suggest that with the current troubles, some private credit firms are “embellishing their financial health” and taking steps to mask their debt. A letter by hedge fund Rubric Capital warned its backers that “distribution cuts are so worrisome that some bad actors are playing Enron-like accounting games.”
Unfortunately, this is a crisis that is likely to hit pension funds. Tiffany’s sharp analysis can help you understand the potential reverberations for pensions, banks, insurance companies, and what they mean to you.
Full Report: https://solari.com/update-on-the-trouble-in-private-credit-with-tiffany-cianci/
Subscribe to http://shop.solari.com The Returns on Private Equity Are Falling off a Cliff. Your Pension Is on the Line](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x_3E6jljxwI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Private Equity, Girl Scouts, and Underfunded Pensions—It’s a Sad Story
Update on the Trouble in Private Credit with Tiffany Cianci
Join us on Telegram: https://t.me/solarireport
In January, I welcomed private equity expert Tiffany Cianci to the Solari Report. Although our discussion focused on private equity, we also touched on private credit (lending that happens by private non-bank lenders, also called private debt) as an area equally prone to financial legerdemain. As I noted in that discussion, private equity deals are leveraged with debt, and this can give rise to private credit “funny business” when private equity leverages its own deals.
Tiffany predicted that the private credit bubble would soon pop, and she was right. With private credit defaults now rising and investors pulling billions of dollars from large private credit funds, some funds are responding by restricting withdrawals. This week, Tiffany returns to update us on these first-quarter developments, discussing their implications for the big banks that loan to private credit providers.
As Moody’s pointed out last fall, “the rise of private credit has altered the competitive landscape for US banks, which … ceded significant lending turf … following the 2007-08 financial crisis.” Somewhat paradoxically, however, banks also helped fuel the growth of private credit by shifting their lending focus to “non-depository financial institutions”—including roughly $300 billion as of last June to private credit providers. As of mid-2025, banks had also lent $285 billion to private equity funds and had another $340 billion in “unutilized bank lending commitments.”As these “bank linkages” have increased, said Vanguard last month, “From a systemic perspective, the primary consideration is less the likelihood of widespread private-credit defaults and more the interaction between private credit liquidity needs and bank balance sheets” [emphasis added].
Moody’s politely suggests that banks’ “indirect lending” to the private credit market comes with “inherently lower transparency” and requires “vigilant credit risk management.” Echoing that thought, media reports are emerging to suggest that with the current troubles, some private credit firms are “embellishing their financial health” and taking steps to mask their debt. A letter by hedge fund Rubric Capital warned its backers that “distribution cuts are so worrisome that some bad actors are playing Enron-like accounting games.”
Unfortunately, this is a crisis that is likely to hit pension funds. Tiffany’s sharp analysis can help you understand the potential reverberations for pensions, banks, insurance companies, and what they mean to you.
Full Report: https://solari.com/update-on-the-trouble-in-private-credit-with-tiffany-cianci/
Subscribe to http://shop.solari.com Private Equity, Girl Scouts, and Underfunded Pensions—It’s a Sad Story](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yJVJELgs1AY/mqdefault.jpg)





