One Big Union

One Big Union


Although I try not to be delusional about this, the answer (at least potentially) lies in efforts underway to form "One Big Union" which the AFL-CIO and ITUC are at least giving lip service to...

Should we be able to accomplish such organization, and gain control of the National Treasuries world around, bypassing Capitalist Plutocracy Organizations such as the Federal Reserve System and allocating Treasury funds directly to individuals and Community Betterment Organizations (CBOs), we could possibly succeed.

Such may require National/International/World Presidential Commissions which would supplant "the Administration(s)" and Congress/Parliaments, etc. and would focus on building a grass roots economic democracy, a World Congress on Community Economic Development.

We could accept and implement a resource allocation paradigm that would fundamentally change the ways and means that resources are allocated to and within communities and among and within economic sectors.


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

Mike Morin

Equity Union: A New Idea for Practical Socialism

To make a sustainable economy, an equitable environment, towards a permanent culture, we need to evolve away from an investor/lender class with their inflationary and unrealistic aggravated growth programs and policies and evolve to an equity-sharing paradigm.

We need a financial/economic system that is motivated by the drive to meet peoples' needs, both in the short and long term, quite different from the speculative, profit-taking system that is extant.

Locally based equity unions, with inter-community, inter-regional unity and cooperation focused on community betterment projects, programs and policies would be the ideal world economic/financial system.

A mission of peace, world unity and cooperation based on the fundamental principles of inclusion, equity, humanity, altruism, quality of life in lieu of the maximization of consumption and waste, environmental/public health and wellness, and sustainability would underlie a "plan and implement" modus operandi in lieu of the selfish, unprincipled slash-and-burn speculations and profit-takings of the so-called "free market"

Village/neighborhood sovereignty, economic democracy, and environmental equity would be inculcated in such a system. A more fair and just balance between competitive advantage and comparative advantage would be sought, and the community/environmental improvement for all, starting with those most in need, would be paramount.

Can I submit this as a proposal to the UN General Assembly?

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

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

Restructuring Financial/Economic Systems

With respect to the "nature of wealth", I think that the "quality of life" paradigm in lieu of the "standard of living" paradigm needs to be stressed.

"Quality of life" includes personal happiness for self, family, friends, neighbors, and all others. It includes ownership opportunities for all and everybuddy having the things they need, including health, healthy and loving relations with family, friends, neighbors, and all the people of the world. It includes peace on earth, and it includes a future for all the children of the world.

"Standard of living" implies maximizing the consumption of things.

The current Capitalist dominated system is dysfunctional both from an equity/fairness and economic and natural resource sustainability perspective.

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 workers, borrowers, 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 cannot 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.

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.

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.

The Peoples' Equity Union concept is designed to be a grass roots, popular choice "movement". I am organizing with individuals, workers, and shopkeepers in my neighborhood, adjoining neighborhoods, and through the inter-net to whomever I can attract an interest in the concept.

The focus is primarily local, yet global at the same time. It is my dream, not a hope yet, to encourage a critical mass of people to organize locally around a unifying mission, unifying principles, unifying strategies, and unifying tactics in order to minimize the amount of executive administration at the regional and global levels.

The theory is that neighborhood locales, the neighborhood community/worker hybrid association will have maximum autonomy and will be guided only, in their inter-community and inter-economic sector relationships by regional Planning Boards and a Global Policy Committee.

We must replace the current equity trading systems, corporate conglomerate corporations, insurance companies, and usurious banking systems of the Capitalist status quo with a worldwide Peoples' Equity Union with branches in every community/neighborhood.

The goal is to be a true economic democracy: of, for, and by the people.



Housing and Property Ownership

Concurrent with financial systems reform, where equity sharing and not-for-profit equity collaboration would replace the current financial paradigm of for-profit equity investing, equity trading, and usurious credit arrangements, we need to evolve to a different system with respect to residential and other real property occupation arrangements.

In lieu of rent or leases, people should be allowed to acquire equity in their abodes and business properties. For example, in the case of an apartment, if one paid $500 per month to a property management firm, let's say $50 per month would go to property maintenance, and another $40 to administration fees, insurance, etc. This would leave the resident with $410 of accumulated equity added to their account each month. If we had a large cooperative housing organization (preferably world-wide, and preferably the only form of property ownership) then when someone had to move or wanted to move, they could take their equity with them to the new property.

With regards to mortgages, they are horribly usurious and should be banned. The scenario related above would also replace the current system of financing "home ownership loans".

A huge problem that we are facing now is the terrible inflation in the market values of real property (and capital assets, for that matter). If we pooled our equity, pooled our assets, and collectively wrote off our liabilities, then we could significantly write down the market values of real and capital assets.



More on Equity Union(s)

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 would serve the needs of the people.

In local and inter-community equity unions, equity sharing would be the modus operandi. People with funds being held in equity unions would have the option of sharing in primarily worker owned community betterment projects based on the principles of quality of life, equity (which means ownership, and also means equality), humanity, and sustainability (which means there will be an economy and natural resources for the youth and the children, and for generations to come).

If the inflation spiral can be removed (and the cost of real and capital assets brought back to earth), then indigent and poor workers could hope to increase their equity holdings and quality of life assets and equity investors could hope to get their money back. Some endeavors, beyond poor workers enrichment, would be not-for-profit. That is, profits made beyond a pre-determined return to the poor workers, would be re-invested in more such worker/community betterment hybrid businesses (preferably cooperatives).

Equity investments in community businesses could not be sold to others, but could be bought back at par value (the price of the share of the stock when it was invested). Such would be discouraged, and disallowed if it was a qualified low-income/low wealth equity investor, who may, or may not if they were allowed to collect (limited) personal dividends.

Equity Union branches in low income/low wealth neighborhoods would be allowed to set up a (501)(c)(3) to receive donations to an equity fund for their neighborhoods, to be kept in a local Equity Union and the funds allocated (equity grants) by a Board committed to community betterment and the likely success of the endeavor(s).

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





Equity Union – An Example
Getting Started

Hi Mike,

(rest of letter deleted)

[By the way, I presently have more income than is best for my
lifestyle, and now have recently gotten my hands on some extra money.
I'm not used to this situation. Do you have any suggestions about
where to 'invest' for the greater good, keeping in mind that my main
concerns remain first 'global heating', and then generally shorter
paths to possible eutopias vs. possible extreme dystopias?]

Dan
**********************************************************

Hi Dan,

(rest of letter deleted)

I, too, have some discretionary funds that I would like to put into trust
for public service and altruistic endeavors. Perhaps, you and I (and others if we can find them) should investigate creating a local Peoples' Equity fund. My idea on that is to see if we can open a group trust account in a Credit Union, where each trustee would have an individual account, yet allocations to community betterment projects could be done collectively, with each individual signing off on the amount that they want to dedicate to the project.

The idea would be that we would "invest" in community betterment projects with the care that we would expect to only get the par value of our "investment" back or we could choose to make individual and/or collective tax-deductible or maybe tax credit eligible contributions to "qualified" 501(c)(3) community betterment organizations (CBOs)

CBOs could be not-for-profit, non-profit or both.

That's enough for now.

What think?

Mike

In My View (Micro-economics)

A question was posited to me whether or not direct payments to citizens would be better than Obama's "stimulus" package?


I'd say, that if we did such a thing, the amount of money to be dispersed to each individual should be related to each individual's need. But, that would be impossible to determine and administer.

I favor a small guaranteed income for all individuals (Social Security for everybuddy), increasing with age. Such would help us transition to an economic system that would provide more of a "living wage" for everyone.W

hich brings me back to financial systems reform. Think about the unfair racket that the current Federal Reserve System embodies. The Treasury makes loans through a huge bureaucracy to investor-owned banks who then loan money to others on usurious terms. Wouldn't it be better to have the Treasury make direct payments to workers who are planning and implementing an economic system of neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional (and worldwide) ecological economic redevelopment with the mission of peace, equity, humanity, sustainability, and quality of life. (Eventually, I envision one world currency).

On the local level, distressed communities would be favored to not only help individuals with the guaranteed income, but additionally, instead of a "sou-sou" payment matching savings with government funding to an individual, an equity fund payment to a community trust fund, a neighborhood equity union fund payment based on criteria to be determined, probably most effectively the community need for such balanced with the various individuals' successes at saving in lieu of wasteful spending.

Such an effort would be concurrent with assistance for the disadvantaged at establishing businesses which benefit the community. I emphasize inter-community cooperation because small businesses and start-ups are at such fundamental disadvantage relative to Corporate Capitalist Conglomerates and individuals with generations of equity, and diversity of holdings. Community service businesses are also at a huge disadvantage to Capitalist enterprises that eschew social/environmental goals.

This is part of the reason why I make the argument for fundamental financial systems reform, because I don't believe that Capitalist and Socialist business can co-exist. Because of their lack of ethics and/or pre-existing portfolios of skills and/or holdings, Capitalists will always prevail over socialist endeavors created to assist the poor.

The horrendous inflation relative to the bidding up costs of real and capital assets that have sky-rocketed with the onset and recent history of supply-side economics further aggravates the situation relative to start-up business opportunities for the poor.

It comes down to EVERYBUDDY working together in a common mission of peace, equity, humanity, quality of life, and sustainability.


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

Housing Ownership

Concurrent with financial systems reform, discussed in a previous essay where equity sharing and not-for-profit equity investing would replace the current financial paradigm of for-profit equity investing and usurious credit arrangements, we need to evolve to a different system with respect to residential and other real property occupation arrangements.

In lieu of rent or leases, people should be allowed to acquire equity in their abodes and business properties. For example, in the case of an apartment, if one paid $500 per month to a property management firm, let's say $50 per month would go to property maintenence, and another $40 to administration fees, insurance, etc. This would leave the resident with $410 of accumulated equity added to their account each month. If we had a large cooperative housing organization (preferably world-wide, and preferably the only form of property ownership) then when someone had to move or wanted to move, they could take their equity with them to the new property.

With regards to mortgages, they are horribly usurious and should be banned. The scenario related above would also replace the current system of financing "home ownership loans".

A huge problem that we are facing now is the terrible inflation in the market values of real property (and capital assets, for that matter). If we pooled our equity, pooled our assets, and collectively wrote off our liabilities, then we could significantly write down the market values of real and capital assets.

Oil Junkies

Oil Junkies
By Mike Morin


What’s the matter with me
I’ve got too much to say
I used to be out there yellin’ at the top of my lungs
and no one was listenin’, anyway
Think I’ll go down by the river, by the highway
Via the busy streets
Where the cars and trucks are rollin’ fast
And say, “do you know how much noise you make
And that we’re runnin’ out of gas”?

Because we’re
Oil junkies, oil junkies
Waitin’ for our next oil change
Yes we’re a thirty weight wonder
Slowly goin’ under
I think it’s time we rearrange

Well, those drillin’ men
Blackening their seas and lands
They’ve got them over a barrel
And Chevron, Gulf, Shell, Aramco, BP and the rest
Those oligopolies over here in the west
They’ve all got us over a barrel

Because we’re
Oil junkies, oil junkies
Waitin’ for our next oil change
Yes we’re a heavyweight blunder
Slowly goin’ under
It’s well past time we rearrange

Now, you’re drivin’ here
You’re flyin’ there
You’re shippin’ everything every which way
And where
You’re ruinin’ he soil, the water, and the air
There’s only so much oil
Left underground
Very soon there will be none around
But we don’t seem to even care



Because we’re
Oil junkies, oil junkies
Waitin’ for our next oil change
Yes we’re an overweight blunder
Slowly goin’ under
It’s well past time we rearrange

It’s well past time we reassess
It’s well past time that we reform
It’s well past time that we reimagine
It’s well past time we reorganize
It’s well past time we restructure
It’s well past time that we reallocate
It's well past time we relocalize
It’s well past time that we rebuild
It’s well past time that we reduce
It’s well past time that we reuse
It’s well past time that we recycle

It's well past ime we rearrange.