Concerning the Restructuring of the Global Financial/Economic System and Recent Discussion of Nationalizing “Banking” Interests

With regards to "nationalizing" Banks and other "investor owned" Institutions, we must be realistic concerning the inter-national composition of the investing institutions, corporations, and individuals.

Writing from a libertarian socialist point of view, I think it is necessary to clarify the objectives of any comprehensive program to re-dedicate private resources to a quasi-public mission and to consolidate equity and assets for the purposes of sharing the former and writing off the economically paralytic inflationary cost aspects of the latter.

In lieu of an economic system based on credit and equity trading, whose motivation is the underwriting of speculative ventures, we need to transform our fundamentally inflationary financial/economic system to one that is based on equity sharing and meeting the needs of people in the form of community betterment.

Such a financial system would be the right hand, the resource allocation facilitating function and services of an ambidextrous ecological, democratic, economic "plan and implement" economy that would respect and favor the sovereignty of villages/neighborhoods, educate-foster-facilitate-inculcate inter-community and inter-regional equality, unity and cooperation based on the basic principles of inclusion, equity, humanity, mutualism, altruism, quality of life (in lieu of standard of living), environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, and peace.

Such a system would seek to establish a more just balance between competitive advantage and comparative advantage with the concerns of those indigenous to a community being paramount.

Such an economic system would recognize the necessity to embrace and implement conservation ethics for shorter term programs and projects of ecological economic redevelopment dedicated to survival pursuits and skills and its concomitant ubiquitous environmental improvement activities, and to the longer term programs and policies related to the legacy of the human race and its dominion (i.e. the recognition and respect of the resource limits imposed by a finite planet).

I call such a proposal an equity union and believe it to be a prudent and practical alternative to the extant economic/financial system. I believe such an economic rearrangement based on the fundamental mission of world unity and cooperation is the best hope for the purpose of entering an unprecedented era of peace and human progress and success.


Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA
wiserunion@earthlink.net
(541) 343-3808

Concerning Post-Peak Fuel, Climate Change, and Automobiles

We can only hope to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce fossil fuels usage by 50 to 80% over a period of many years.

Although some say that it is already too late to try to radically reduce, and others say it is immediately urgent, it does not take an abundance of common sense to comprehend that we are not going to change personal and collective behaviors overnight, not even to a great extent within the next 2 to 5 years.

But if we can hope that we have time to change things significantly over the next generation, then we can proceed as if what we write, say, and do, CAN make a difference.

I believe that one area (not the only one) where we can make a substantial difference is in the use of the personal automobile.

I have not had an automobile for ten years, and previously drove seldom. I rented a car for one day in that ten year period, rode with friends in trips to go exploring and/or hiking about ten or 15 times during that period. I mostly walk, sometimes ride a bus, and occasionally ride my bicycle.

My ecological behavior is a product of many years of comprehension, lifestyle learning, and much carefulness in my personal decisions. HOWEVER, I also understand that I am in a fortunate position in that my time is my own and the location that I have chosen to reside is relatively unusual, especially for the sprawl city in which I live, (Eugene, Oregon, USA)- which would be more appropriately named Roadmania... relatively unusual in that I can get almost everything that I need within walking distance of my abode (it does help some that my needs/wants are relatively scant).

However, recognizing what a super-novatic fluke the automobile is in human history (100 mere years with the acceleration of its absurd domination in the last 60 years)could open tremendous opportunity to lower greenhouse gases and free up the use of fossil fuels for more priority (and reduced within those priorities)purposes .

We need to set as a goal in the USA to reduce the use of the personal automobile by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years.

This can be done by explicitly fully committing to a plan and implement modus operandi of Private (Quasi-public) and Public allocation of resources to reorganize the people, reallocate goods and services production and distribution, and rebuild neighborhoods so that all citizens can get what they need and reasonably want within walking distance of their homes.

Not only will such ecological economic redevelopment help serve the twin crises of post-peak oil/gas and climate change, but it will go a long way towards improving the quality of life for all, allowing us to re-establish true community in our neighborhoods. If done correctly, it can also help greatly to rectify the equity and humanity problems that we now suffer from in modern life.

In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

A Plan for Socialism

>Robin wrote:

The idea that you can challenge capitalism by starting up businesses oneself is about as plausible as wanting to strike a blow for pacifism by joining the army.

Mike Morin replies:

This leaves us between a rock and a hard place.

The only ones who can start businesses in today's Capitalist environments are well endowed individuals and/or Corporate Capitalists who are diversified and can afford to take a loss in the new sector in the short run with the (illusory) hopes that the economic system will "recover". It won't. So what we have is a lot of irrational dysfunctional Capitalist businesses running their course and withering away. It is our remote hope that we can transition to something better before the world is totally destitute.

It is my pipe dream that we can enlist the holders of equity and assets to reallocate their holdings not to businesses but to community betterment organizations and or workers' cooperative (or as in rare cases functioning within the Capitalist systems community/worker hybrids). But we must do more than that we must organize the workers in socialist solidarity within and among communities, regions, and world wide. We must organize workers within and among economic sectors.

There needs to be democratic ecological economic planning to radically alter the way in which resources are allocated to and within communities and within and among economic sectors.My dream seems to be consistent with the orientation, plans and programs of the Latin American leaders of ALBA (Latin American Bolivarian Alliance). Hugo Chavez and associates have been using oil wealth and other equity and assets to finance such programs and there appears to have been some hopeful success thus far.

Where we are at significant disadvantage in the English speaking world is that our resource holders, Capitalists and Capitalist lackey Governments are not hip to this plan.

>Robin wrote:

It is only by engaging in and helping to expand activities that transcend commodity-productio n and by pushing forward with a clear vision of a future ouside capitalism that you stand any chance of actually realising that future.

Let's Organize!!!

Please join me in an attempt to make socialism real.

Join the Yahoo discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peoplesequityunion .

This is a discussion group that aims to realize the eutopian socialism goals of the Peoples' Equity Union , a comprehensive neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional worldwide ecological economic redevelopment organization with the mission of and based on the principles of equity, humanity, inclusion, quality of life, peace and sustainability.

We, as a unified world, need to radically change the ways in which resources are allocated to and within communities and within and amongst economic sectors. Let's discuss how we can accomplish this in a world way past its eleventh hour.

Especially for the youth and children.

Impossible Consensus

Robin,

A World Equity Union would join all the peoples of the world holding equity and assets into a common unity group, one with a mission of peace, equity, humanity, quality of life and sustainability, and committed to concomitant community/inter- community/ inter-regional and worldwide planning and redevelopment, and would be fundamentally associated with Socialist elected community and regional planning boards and a world Policy and Planning Committee.

An equity union would remove the usurious interest arrangements, and exploitative equity trading institutions. The modus operandi would be equity sharing.

Neighborhood Equity Union branches would allocate funds to worker and worker/community hybrid cooperatives. A basic policy of the Union of Neighborhood Equity Unions would be to target poorer neighborhoods for "investment" , thus redistributing wealth in a manner that is consistent with the tenets of Socialism.

A Peoples Equity Union may not be Socialism, by your definition, but it is not Capitalism. The goal of funded cooperatives would be not-for-profit and sometimes non-profit community improvement enterprises. They would not be for-profit individual enriching entitities as under a Capitalist system.

If we could get that far, whether or not it would be "textbook" socialism or not would be irrelevant. It would be a great improvement relative to the status quo. You and others could try to envisage how to work within such a reformed financial system to reach your goals of Socialism.

What is the alternative? Continue with the current banking, insurance, and equity trading financial relationships?


Peace,

Mike Morin

Revolution versus Reform

If "we" were to have a (violent or relatively non-violent) revolution, and win, it would most certainly be a pyrrhic victory, just as Capitalism's ongoing oppression, recalcitrance to the needs of the majority, active aggression, ignorance, and its downright irrationality, inhumanity, inequity, and its propensity to horribly squander resources, including people, will prove to be the end for them, sooner than they may think.

If we were to have a takeover of, let's say, the United States Government, would "we" (and who the hell would we be, and how would it be determined who "we" are, and even if it could be, what would be the hierarchy within our decision-making apparatus?) have an effective program to rearrange the economy to a socialist one of our ideals?

Socialism is an economic system first. It is the control of governments by Capitalists, and problems associated with nationalism, that make it a political struggle. The political system in the USA has reached the point of total absurdity.

My suggestion is that we make cooperation, humanity, equity, quality of life, peace, and sustainability as the underlying values and principles of our mission. I further suggest that our strategy be one of local/inter-community/inter-regional worldwide solidarity and cooperation.

If we could educate and organize worldwide as to a workable transition from the Capitalist status quo to a realistic socialist alternative, we may have some chance at success.

We (everyone) have nothing to lose, except the hopelessness with respect to our future.


Mike Morin

No Alternative to Socialism

We need some perspective.

Fossil fuel use is about 150 years old and automotive use about 100 years old. Look how absurdly, the personal automobile dominates our life and is destroying any hope for a future.

We need to deal with more than incremental adjustments from the modern automotive age. If we want to continue the many benefits of precious fossil fuels, the many opportunity costs of those fuels, to personal automobile usage, then we need to set as a goal (here in the USA) and realize it, to reduce the use of the personal automobile by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years.

It is not encouraging, because Obama explicitly stated the other day that the automobile is such an important part of American history and culture and needs to remain so. This is a statement of a myopic politician beholden to special interests.

If you've never lived in the Northeast (USA)where much of the city, town, and village centers were built before the automobile, it may be hard to imagine a future with the greatly reduced automobile use, but it is very possible and absolutely desirable.

The key is the walkable neighborhood. That is, neighborhoods for everybuddy where everyone can get what they need within walking distance of their residence. This will take a major shift in the way that resources are allocated and products distributed to communities. The major over-supply side mall outlets (for those products and services that have utility) could become regional warehouses and older town and village centers, where they exist could be explicitly brought back as outlets for these products. Where the town and village centers do not exist, such as here out West (I'm in Eugene, Oregon), where the mindless assumption of the automobile has led to the mindless, endless residential districts with their equally alienating and squandering (strip) malls, communities could be rebuilt (think of all the jobs) to provide community centers and outlets.

Of course, this will not happen in the absence of a complete commitment to neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional/worldwide ecological economic resource planning and allocation and redevelopment.

This Plan is too bold for American Politicians. This Plan is Socialism. With advances in communications technology, much progress, in the development of community centers, could help greatly increase the amount of tele-commuting that could help people work from and/or near their homes.

The resource allocation issue could be handled with a reformed economic system, an equity union, with a "plan and implement" modus operandi for economic operations. Reforming the financial system to take the fundamentally inflationary Capitalist aspect of "discounting the future" (i.e. assuming that money in the future will be worth less)could lead to a system of ecological economical redevelopment where only true growth in wealth would occur and be shared and could occur under the aegis of a mission emphasizing peace, equity, humanity, quality of life, and sustainability.

Removing the gluttonous oil resource use by the USA and Capitalist automotive oriented allies would slowly rescind the need for the hegemonic occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and a world acting in concert would stand much better prospects for peace.

I'm a Work kin for peace and cooperation.

With much love and care,

Mike Morin

Regarding Nationalization of Banks

If by nationalizing the banks, we meant transferring all the existing equity into an account for the people and establishing an equity union then I would be for such a proposal, except remember that the equity in the Banks and the Corporate Capitalist Conglomerates are held internationally.

So it is really the "inter-nationalization" of the Banks AND the corporations that is in order. That is, the inter-national transfer of all equity to an equity pool to be held in trust for the people of the world, whose reallocation of assets would be administered by an Inter-national (I prefer worldround) Organization of Community Development EQUITY unions, whose mission would include peace, equity, humanity, quality of life, and sustainability, and whose strategy would be to implement a neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional/ worldwide program of ecological economic planning and redevelopment.

All equity trading and credit could be outlawed. In other words, the whole planet would adopt Moslem law with respect to the concept of loan free finance.

See http://www.minutecapital.com/ for an explanation of "riba"-free microfinance.

Mike Morin

Transitioning to an Equity Union

I am writing and talking about transitioning slowly, methodically, and with the minimum amount of friction and hardship from a dysfunctional financial system, based on self-interest, to one designed to benefit everybuddy.

The Mondragon Community Cooperative is very successful, but like all eutopian (according to Lewis Mumford, the word "eutopian" means "good place") experiments it finds itself compromised by the surrounding Capitalist world, which forces it to compete and unfortunately compromise the social and economic values that it is chartered to uphold.

The dominant paradigm in Capitalist financial business operations uses something called the discount rate which assumes that money will be worth less (eventually worthless) in the future, thus creating a necessity to extract profits exceeding a "hurdle" rate leading to unfair and unwise exploitation of both workers and natural resources, and to rampant inflation.

The use of credit is not a good business or personal practice. In business, it should be discouraged because creditors have first claims on net revenues and hold liens on real property and capital assets.

For "consumers", the use of credit is unwise because the system is set up to extract profits from interest thus assuring that when consumers use credit that they are losing money relative to inflation. Certainly the current foreclosure crisis in the USA is ample evidence of the inflation and the unfairness and unhealthiness of the mortgage lien process.

Credit Unions and Mutual Insurance companies are in theory attempts to institute non-profit economic democracies for their respective industries. However, because of the need to compete for customers, both of these relatively progressive financial service organization types are forced to play the same game that is basically destructive to individuals, families, communities, and the natural environment. Ideally, credit should only be used as a last resort, much more preferably not at all.

We should replace all aspects of the extant financial system with an Equity Union. In some ways, a mutual insurance company is similar to an equity union. However, because such companies are required to realize profits in order to compete for "policy holders" (really investors), the companies that comprise the portfolios of the mutual insurance firms can not be not-for-profit, can not be mutual organizations themselves.

In a not-for profit Equity Union financial services system based on principles of mutuality working in concert with ethical, wise, knowledgeable, and intelligent community, inter-community, inter-regional, and worldwide planning there would certainly be an important role for financial service workers.

A major impediment to such an Equity Union would be the competitive advantage of the current financial sector and the fear of the friction of change to those individuals and organizations. Dealing with this sector of "the" economy, it would be more feasible with regards to Capitalist resistance and more humane, to orderly and peacefully transition to an Equity Union, coordinated with ecologically sound economic planning.

At risk of understatement, it will take a huge amount of work to educate folks to the need and benefits of such change and to communicate the basic Plan. Transition Planning will also be a very difficult process, but I see no alternative to the current, impending and worsening global economic, political, social, and natural environmental collapse.

I'm a Work kin for peace and cooperation,


With much love and care,

Mike Morin

Markets

Under my cooperative commnunitarian plan, there will still be markets. They will be localized to the greatest extent possible. The differences between the proposed, and the status quo is that the means of production and distribution will be owned by an association of cooperating inter-community locally based community/worker cooperatives.

I envison a "double payer system " where an Equity Union replaces the current for-profit equity trading and investing paradigm and lending institutions, with a not-for-profit (business entities make profit, but the profits are ear-marked for the start-up of new community/worker hybrid cooperatives.

The other payer, besides the Equity Union, would be the government which would make direct payments from the treasury to poor folk for work, including the supplementing of funds for the worker equity contributions to community/worker hybrid cooperatives.

My philosophy on labor goes back to the French Physiocrats of the 1600's who postulated that natural resources were the basis of all wealth, which is consistent with Marx's "Labor Theory of Value" in that human labor is a natural resource. All productive work is done by people and machines built by people. (Draft animals are a natural resource as well). What my system eliminates is money begets money. Allocation of financial resources will be a job for workers in the new system, but their compensation will be wages and equity participation in the new system, not personal profits.

I am not Suggesting State Socialism, which was really more closely akin to State Capitalism except that surpluses (in the Capitalist world called profits) were earmarked as I have suggested.

Few of the Soviet era economic systems approached the cooperative communitarian ideal (local, and syndicalist control) that I am proposing. Perhaps Yugoslavia came the closest.

The Mondragon Cooperative Community system in the Basque region of Spain is a worthwhile, currently functioning model.

Education

Basic education and learning skills are fundamental to human progress.

I think as many as possible should be encouraged to be bi-lingual or multi-lingual from an early age.

The educational system should function under the aegis of a neighborhood/community/inter-community/inter-regional/worldwide Ecological Economic Plan based on the principles of peace, humanity, equity, and sustainability.

All Schools, including higher education, should be funded by an Equity Union and governments, the latter which would be phased down and rearranged to reflect a more meaningful collaboration with the new economic order that such a Plan would aspire to and eventually achieve. The individual path taken should be one that is needed by the larger community, and of interest to the individual, and needs to be the subject of careful ongoing deliberations among student, family, community, and educators.

The insidious nature of corporate dominance in the classroom and research must be eliminated.

George Fox wrote in the 1600's that the best education was not obtained at the Universities. Although I am very thankful for the formal education that I got through the Master's level, I concur. After a life-long student reaches a certain amount of formal education and training, they become the best judge, working with elders and peers in their commuities, and combined with their experiential learning, of what is the best path for further individual and community academic and vocational pursuits.


With much love and care,

Mike Morin

Planning

Greetings Folks:

As we are in the time of Man where we have unprecedented communications capabilities, it is my hope that this communication will be disseminated as widely as possible and that we can begin discussion on the following.

As we are in time of man where we are facing unprecedented peril, we must foster unprecedented fundamental change from the brutal amoral and immoral and violent Capitalist domination to a cooperative communitarian one based on love, quality of life, and sharing.

We must reassess the world situation starting with local concerns. We need a worldwide economic democracy, a "system" truely of the people, for the people, and by the people. Peace, equity (equality and ownership), and sustainability need to be among the basic pillars of our plan.

We must plan.
We must cooperate.
We must inculcate the need to diligently pursue and encourage the love of each other, and persistently act upon that understanding.
We must understand that nature, including human work, is the basis of all wealth, and recognize the impending finitude of our natural resources as it relates to the prospects for future generations.
We must accept that all people should be considered to be created equal at birth and work to make that a reality, but that risk in labor, best intentions, and hard work need to be rewarded.
We must understand, accept, and act upon the maxim that the children of the world are the highest priority.
We must return or instill humanity and equity to work and workplaces.
We must create an Equity Union to replace the usurious banking system and the currently inequitable equity holding systems of the Capitalist status quo.
We must rebuild our communities, production, distribution, and transportation systems, so that all communities are walkable (i.e. people can get the products and services they need within walking distance to their homes).
We must work towards a goal of allowing all people to work at or as near to home as possible.
We must create community centers in all neighborhoods to facilitate community participation in the betterment of their neighborhoods and the world, to facilitate the efficient distribution of necessities to the neighborhoods, and to provide the resources that will allow work to be done at or close to home (e.g. teleconferencing, internet and other computer access, intra and inter community communications, etc.)
We must foster and facilitate inter-community, inter-regional, and world wide cooperation.
We must reduce the use of the automobile by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years.
We must reform our health care system to provide universal access by implementing a single payer plan, regional HMO Risk programs, and slowly but greatly reducing the budget to those local and regional health entities to rid the system of its current rampant abuse and fraud.

In essence we must rearrange:

reassess
reimagine
reorganize
relocalize
reallocate
rebuild
reform
reduce
reuse
recycle.

We must plan according to the principles and values mentioned above and we must educate consistently with our mission, plans, and goals.

I'm a Work kin for peace and cooperation,


With much love,

Mike Morin