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
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
With Respect to Labor Unions
I am named after my great uncle, Mike Misenti, who worked and fought? his way from humble beginnings as a mason to President of the Building Trades Union, and later President of their Pension Fund, in the State of Connecticut.
Mike Misenti didn't care what "his folks" were building, as long as they were building. That is my major complaint with Labor Unions, their need to self-perpetuate, and offer blind loyalty and complicity with less than optimal corporations/contractors and the latters’ self-interested profit motivated projects and industries that are sometimes, if not often, counter-productive to social/environmental goals...
Don't get me wrong, I consider the interests of workers of all "stripes" and the poor to be of the utmost importance. However, in this era of post-peak oil, climate change, inequality and the tensions that such brings, and the perception of hopelessness that are held by and for youth and for the children, it is necessary that we allocate scarce resources in the most optimal ways and means possible.
Mike Sar has pointed out the decline in airline travel. This trend will not only continue, we should employ all direct and indirect actions that we can to hasten such a decline.
We must recognize the fossil fuel age and the subsequent overshoot in automobile and airplane use as a historical exception that must be phased into perspective.
If we want to conserve precious fossil fuels for priority uses such as solar assisted heating, cooking, electricity generation, cooling, agricultural inputs, durable products, necessary industrial processes, inter-community and inter-regional transport within a paradigm of relocalization for all communities and regions (moving towards self-sufficiency), and preserve the luxury and convenience of occasional automobile and airplane travel in a manner that adjusts for economic disruption, then we must plan and implement.
We need to see the study and practice of Resource and Regional Planning beyond the historical complicity, and at best mitigation of, the irrational Capitalist growth paradigm that does not recognize and/or respect a finite planet whose limits that we are fast approaching. We must enter an era of Resource Allocation based on the explicit principles of meeting human needs, inclusion, equity, humanity, quality of life, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, economic democracy, and peace.
The key to a bountiful green building economy is the reversal of the
thirty, fifty, one hundred year trend of sprawl development in the
United States.
By rebuilding neighborhoods and reallocating goods and services to
those renovated neighborhoods (made walkable, meaning that the great
majority of Americans will be able to get what they need within
walking distance of their homes), we can succeed.
Such a tremendous dedication of resources will be a boom to the
building trades and will create the effect of reducing automobile
usage by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years. Neighborhood commercial,
community and work/telecommute centers will be centrally placed in
what are now alienating, automobile dependent, strictly residential
areas, alleviating the problems associated with post-peak oil and
climate change and bringing with it the quality of life associated
with communities and neighborhoods, that most individuals and
families currently lack.
If we do this, we can take the opportunity to retrofit for
weatherization, passive solar design (heating and cooling),
electronic environmental controls, solar assisted hot water
applications, limited PV and wind applications, etc.
Also, if done correctly, we can make changes in ownership
arrangements that are much more fair and just, and work towards an
equitable distribution of wealth among neighborhoods.
It is important that we fundamentally reassess our economic system
and replace the current economic/finance system with one that targets
the needs of the current residents, and not, for-profit speculation.
Because of the terrible inflation of real and capital assets that is
a product of the speculative modus operandi of the Capitalist system,
it will be fundamentally necessary to reform our economic/financial
system by consolidating private (while rededicating them as
quasi-public) real and capital assets and equity and writing way down
the “market value” of those assets.
After completing that awesome task, we could proceed with a “plan and implement” economy dedicated to meeting the needs of the indigenous populations of all communities: inclusion, humanity, equity, quality of life, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability,
and peace.
Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
www.peoplesequityunion.blogspot.com
wiserunion@earthlink.net
(541) 343-3808
Mike Misenti didn't care what "his folks" were building, as long as they were building. That is my major complaint with Labor Unions, their need to self-perpetuate, and offer blind loyalty and complicity with less than optimal corporations/contractors and the latters’ self-interested profit motivated projects and industries that are sometimes, if not often, counter-productive to social/environmental goals...
Don't get me wrong, I consider the interests of workers of all "stripes" and the poor to be of the utmost importance. However, in this era of post-peak oil, climate change, inequality and the tensions that such brings, and the perception of hopelessness that are held by and for youth and for the children, it is necessary that we allocate scarce resources in the most optimal ways and means possible.
Mike Sar has pointed out the decline in airline travel. This trend will not only continue, we should employ all direct and indirect actions that we can to hasten such a decline.
We must recognize the fossil fuel age and the subsequent overshoot in automobile and airplane use as a historical exception that must be phased into perspective.
If we want to conserve precious fossil fuels for priority uses such as solar assisted heating, cooking, electricity generation, cooling, agricultural inputs, durable products, necessary industrial processes, inter-community and inter-regional transport within a paradigm of relocalization for all communities and regions (moving towards self-sufficiency), and preserve the luxury and convenience of occasional automobile and airplane travel in a manner that adjusts for economic disruption, then we must plan and implement.
We need to see the study and practice of Resource and Regional Planning beyond the historical complicity, and at best mitigation of, the irrational Capitalist growth paradigm that does not recognize and/or respect a finite planet whose limits that we are fast approaching. We must enter an era of Resource Allocation based on the explicit principles of meeting human needs, inclusion, equity, humanity, quality of life, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, economic democracy, and peace.
The key to a bountiful green building economy is the reversal of the
thirty, fifty, one hundred year trend of sprawl development in the
United States.
By rebuilding neighborhoods and reallocating goods and services to
those renovated neighborhoods (made walkable, meaning that the great
majority of Americans will be able to get what they need within
walking distance of their homes), we can succeed.
Such a tremendous dedication of resources will be a boom to the
building trades and will create the effect of reducing automobile
usage by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years. Neighborhood commercial,
community and work/telecommute centers will be centrally placed in
what are now alienating, automobile dependent, strictly residential
areas, alleviating the problems associated with post-peak oil and
climate change and bringing with it the quality of life associated
with communities and neighborhoods, that most individuals and
families currently lack.
If we do this, we can take the opportunity to retrofit for
weatherization, passive solar design (heating and cooling),
electronic environmental controls, solar assisted hot water
applications, limited PV and wind applications, etc.
Also, if done correctly, we can make changes in ownership
arrangements that are much more fair and just, and work towards an
equitable distribution of wealth among neighborhoods.
It is important that we fundamentally reassess our economic system
and replace the current economic/finance system with one that targets
the needs of the current residents, and not, for-profit speculation.
Because of the terrible inflation of real and capital assets that is
a product of the speculative modus operandi of the Capitalist system,
it will be fundamentally necessary to reform our economic/financial
system by consolidating private (while rededicating them as
quasi-public) real and capital assets and equity and writing way down
the “market value” of those assets.
After completing that awesome task, we could proceed with a “plan and implement” economy dedicated to meeting the needs of the indigenous populations of all communities: inclusion, humanity, equity, quality of life, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability,
and peace.
Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
www.peoplesequityunion.blogspot.com
wiserunion@earthlink.net
(541) 343-3808
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Post-Peak Oil, Climate Change and Green Jobs
Post-Peak Oil, Climate Change and Green Jobs
PVs and Wind are somewhat of an illusion. Neither supplies the voltage and amperage needed to do the great majority of the electrical work that our society has grown accustomed to.
The key to a bountiful green building economy is the reversal of the thirty, fifty, one hundred year trend of sprawl development in the United States.
By rebuilding neighborhoods and reallocating goods and services to those renovated neighborhoods (made walkable, meaning that the great majority of Americans will be able to get what they need within walking distance of their homes), we can succeed.
Such a tremendous dedication of resources will be a boom to the building trades and will create the effect of reducing automobile usage by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years. Neighborhood commercial, community and work/telecommute centers will be centrally placed in what are now alienating, automobile dependent, strictly residential areas, alleviating the problems associated with post-peak oil and climate change and bringing with it the quality of life associated with communities and neighborhoods, that most individuals and families currently lack.
If we do this, we can take the opportunity to retrofit for weatherization, passive solar design (heating and cooling), electronic environmental controls, solar assisted hot water applications, limited PV and wind applications, etc.
Also, if done correctly, we can make changes in ownership arrangements that are much more fair and just, and work towards an equitable distribution of wealth among neighborhoods.
Please do contact me so that we can establish a working relationship and together build a great future for the building trades, for youth and children, for the world.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
PVs and Wind are somewhat of an illusion. Neither supplies the voltage and amperage needed to do the great majority of the electrical work that our society has grown accustomed to.
The key to a bountiful green building economy is the reversal of the thirty, fifty, one hundred year trend of sprawl development in the United States.
By rebuilding neighborhoods and reallocating goods and services to those renovated neighborhoods (made walkable, meaning that the great majority of Americans will be able to get what they need within walking distance of their homes), we can succeed.
Such a tremendous dedication of resources will be a boom to the building trades and will create the effect of reducing automobile usage by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years. Neighborhood commercial, community and work/telecommute centers will be centrally placed in what are now alienating, automobile dependent, strictly residential areas, alleviating the problems associated with post-peak oil and climate change and bringing with it the quality of life associated with communities and neighborhoods, that most individuals and families currently lack.
If we do this, we can take the opportunity to retrofit for weatherization, passive solar design (heating and cooling), electronic environmental controls, solar assisted hot water applications, limited PV and wind applications, etc.
Also, if done correctly, we can make changes in ownership arrangements that are much more fair and just, and work towards an equitable distribution of wealth among neighborhoods.
Please do contact me so that we can establish a working relationship and together build a great future for the building trades, for youth and children, for the world.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
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
"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
Africa-South America Summit in Venezuela Cements South-South Collaboration
See http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4822
Congratulations on the steps of the peoples of the south to consolidate their competitive position an try to relinquish their financial subservience to the Capitalists of the North. It is a positive move to extricate economic activity from the parasites of the north who only own paper and consume real goods produced by the workers of the south and east. Although China is physically in the North, I think that is an ally that you want to cooperate with as well as oil and gas rich Iran and Russia and surrounding countries. Many others too, until you isolate the Capitalist NATO hegemony and force them into unity and cooperation with your higher moral and ethical approach to economy.
We workers, here in the north (the USA and elsewhere), would welcome the freedom from the unfair dominance of banking interests and landlordism and warlordism.
Thee all should focus on whatever comparative advantage that you have within your communities to build internal, relocalized wealth and sovereignty. Ecological economic redevelopment based on needs, especially of the poor and based on village sovereignty, inter-community, and inter-regional unity and cooperation and based on the principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, quality of life, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, and peace.
I think that you should strongly consider changing the name of your initiative. A Bank is investor owned and loans imply a usurious relationship to the borrower. You would be well advised to adopt an equity sharing modus operandi and call your initiatives EquitySur, EquityASA, and EquityWorld.
Congratulations on the steps of the peoples of the south to consolidate their competitive position an try to relinquish their financial subservience to the Capitalists of the North. It is a positive move to extricate economic activity from the parasites of the north who only own paper and consume real goods produced by the workers of the south and east. Although China is physically in the North, I think that is an ally that you want to cooperate with as well as oil and gas rich Iran and Russia and surrounding countries. Many others too, until you isolate the Capitalist NATO hegemony and force them into unity and cooperation with your higher moral and ethical approach to economy.
We workers, here in the north (the USA and elsewhere), would welcome the freedom from the unfair dominance of banking interests and landlordism and warlordism.
Thee all should focus on whatever comparative advantage that you have within your communities to build internal, relocalized wealth and sovereignty. Ecological economic redevelopment based on needs, especially of the poor and based on village sovereignty, inter-community, and inter-regional unity and cooperation and based on the principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, quality of life, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, and peace.
I think that you should strongly consider changing the name of your initiative. A Bank is investor owned and loans imply a usurious relationship to the borrower. You would be well advised to adopt an equity sharing modus operandi and call your initiatives EquitySur, EquityASA, and EquityWorld.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Blog Post to AFL-CIO
Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has extended the olive branch to US Labor and Leaders.
We need to work in unity and cooperation with our brothers and sisters around the world, which includes acceptance of and participation with the Bolivarian Movement (ALBA) and their financial arm BancoSur and extended into Africa BancASA as a "fair trade" alternative to the World Bank and IMF. The extension of such to all communities would go a long way towards giving us the ability to plan and implement an ecological economic democratic redevelopment plan based on the needs of all workers, communities, and the poor.
To face the the crises of financial meltdown, resource constraints, and population pressures, we need to fundamentally restructure the financial/economic system.
The fundamental mission and principles need to be inclusion, humanity, equity, quality of life, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, and peace. We need benevolent direction in forming an economic democracy that recognizes the need for village/neighborhood sovereignty and equity, inculcates, fosters and facilitates inter-community, inter-regional and world unity and cooperation.
We need a financial/economic system that is dedicated foremost to meeting peoples' needs and reasonable wants and replaces the greed and hoarding based Capitalist system of exploitation of people and resources that takes unfair advantage of accumulated competitive advantage to benefit from such and from equity trading, usurious loans and inequitable property and asset holding practices with an Equity Union, a financial/economic system that fosters and facilitates equity sharing for community betterment programs and projects.
We need to fundamentally change the ways and means in which resources are allocated to and within communities and within and among economic sectors.
I will follow this post with a brief synopsis describing in some detail the fundamentals of such an equity union.
Thank you.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR
(541) 343-3808
We need to work in unity and cooperation with our brothers and sisters around the world, which includes acceptance of and participation with the Bolivarian Movement (ALBA) and their financial arm BancoSur and extended into Africa BancASA as a "fair trade" alternative to the World Bank and IMF. The extension of such to all communities would go a long way towards giving us the ability to plan and implement an ecological economic democratic redevelopment plan based on the needs of all workers, communities, and the poor.
To face the the crises of financial meltdown, resource constraints, and population pressures, we need to fundamentally restructure the financial/economic system.
The fundamental mission and principles need to be inclusion, humanity, equity, quality of life, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, and peace. We need benevolent direction in forming an economic democracy that recognizes the need for village/neighborhood sovereignty and equity, inculcates, fosters and facilitates inter-community, inter-regional and world unity and cooperation.
We need a financial/economic system that is dedicated foremost to meeting peoples' needs and reasonable wants and replaces the greed and hoarding based Capitalist system of exploitation of people and resources that takes unfair advantage of accumulated competitive advantage to benefit from such and from equity trading, usurious loans and inequitable property and asset holding practices with an Equity Union, a financial/economic system that fosters and facilitates equity sharing for community betterment programs and projects.
We need to fundamentally change the ways and means in which resources are allocated to and within communities and within and among economic sectors.
I will follow this post with a brief synopsis describing in some detail the fundamentals of such an equity union.
Thank you.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR
(541) 343-3808
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