Peoples' Equity Union

A Letter to the Congressional Black Caucus regarding "Redistricting"

2011-04-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

"Redistricting" needs to be seen within the context of a transition to Economic Democracy. We need to reorganize and reallocate to and within locales, neighborhoods, villages,based on need and consistent with a mission and principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, peace and well-being, altruism, and sedenarianism (sustainability). Current Governments must play the role in the transition to foster and facilitate and help fund the reorganization and acceptance of their responsibilities and stewardship of the so-called "Private" Sector as they become Quasi-public in relation to a Plan of demand side management and supply side reallocation based on the principles enunciated above and on strategies and programs of ecological economic redevelopment. The neighborhoods/villages must be the starting points, and inter-community, inter-regional, States and National (as we eventually transition away fron such super-structures), and world around cooperation, equity, and solidarity inculcated and implemented with the goal of communitry betterment for ALL communities. Metropolitan areas need to be be viewed as Planning and Inter-Community entities within the context of Regional Watersheds. We need to abolish the Federal Reserve and establish Direct Control of the Treasury to allocate dollars directly to Equity Union(s), which would be a transitioned Banking and Insurance Sharing and Holding Company working in concert with Governments. To reiterate somewhat the new association of Worker/Community Coops would be a unified economic culture dedicated to Community Betterment of all communities within a needs based, equitable, humane, inclusive comprehensive demand side energy and supply side reorganization and reallocation plan of Ecological Economic Redevelopment.

Gender Issues?

2011-03-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, community is a very elusive treasure that is seriously lacking in our male dominated, industrial, militaristic "culture".

In the early days, when it was presented to youth (you are about eleven years my elder) that the women's "movement" (as part of the peoples' "movement") was a good thing because women are more communal than men. I got it. I still do. It got seriously twisted by a Bourgeois Capitalist decadence and many women just became a huge cadre of more "pricks" like their fathers. I have worked in Business with women and in such venues they exhibit very twisted, bizarre, insidious, cutthroat behavior.

I grew up playing and watching sports. I still like to watch and play occasionally, though seldom. It has long been said that sports are a good outlet for warrior instincts that I believe most boys and men exhibit innately. Many years ago, the comparison of the City-States of the Roman Empire and the gladiatorial aspect of sports was pointed out to me and I pointed it out to others, but still enjoyed participation in the sports culture. When men have friendly, but competitive interactions in playing, it builds a feeling of camaradarie and mutual respect that seems to be a proclivity of the gender.

With the growth of Inter-Collegiate and Professional Atheletics as Big Business has come the building of Sports Empires and their absurd "fans" (short for fanatics) and it is as inane and ridiculous as every aspect of our Militaristic, Industrial, Automotive, Exploitative, Genocidal, Ecocidal, Suicidal "Civilization".

Choosing to remain delusional, I think that there is hope for the human species in a feminist movement toward sedentary, communal environments. I have called my extensive philosophical and prescriptive work to describe the plan and implementation plan of an inclusive, humane, equitable, industrious, well-being and peace oriented, ecological and energy demand side management, needs based alternative as requiring an intentional evolution of the species to Homa Ecologica Cooperativo.

Thoughts on 3/13/2011

2011-03-13T05:36:00.000-07:00

Notice the Revolutionary Forces in the oppressed USA puppet Arab states uprisings have been primarily non-violent and met with stiff oppressive Military Resistance. It took an HW type insurrection within Libya to get ugly full blown violent with the hopes of capturing the oil fileds for the West. It didn't work. Just like the Capitalist shills of the USA ISO who from the Bourgeois manipulated naive perspective and/or insidious intentions propagandized to try to overthrow the Revolutionary stronghold of Iran, the Capitalist Franco-like will stop at nothing to grab anad maintain Colonialist Corporate Power and Domination.

I don't like violence. AnyOne who has been victimized, I'm sure can relate. I've dedicated my life to peace and as a thoroghly studied idealist (as Green as I can be) Libertarian Socialist, I do see the need for Communist resistance and Participation. We have much to do in the ways and means of reorganizing and reallocating.

At risk of understatement, creating a culture of peace is difficult, but not impossible if we understand everything from the animal instincts to the greatest religious and philosophical teachings of the species and use our best communication skills to press for truth and honesty, for inclusion, humanity, equity, altruism, well-being, peace, sedenatarianism (which is so important to sustainability) in dedicating our organization and allocation activities directly to meeting human needs.

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

A Letter to James Howard Kunstler

2011-01-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

On January 10, 2011, at 10:22 AM JHK wrote:

"Obviously car-dependency has us by the short hairs."

Yes, very obviously. But what if we made it a national, world around campaign to reduce automobile usage in the US by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years? It would be better than leading the depressing "cheers" of the certain doomers, wouldn't it? Sure it's Eutopian (in keeping the delusion of hope alive, I use Mumford's term for "good place") and it seeks to revive the teachings of MacKaye (The New Exploration -1928), who was ignored.

Sure, you've got your niche as Chief Doomer, and I respect your work and wish in my heart of hearts that we could live out the rest of our lives trying to avert catastrophe rather than trumpeting it.

Even wearing your best Cynic hat, look inside yourself and see that if there could be a niche for thee proposing a solution. We understand the problem. We have prescriptive answers. Now, what we need is to make those answers part of the language of every day discussion. To alert those who have influence over discourse that this is the most fundamental issue facing survival. To get the people to understand their entrapment from their flukish History and to understand that working together, in cooperation and solidarity, we may be able to offer a future for the progeny.

With Respect to Non-Violence

2011-01-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

War and calculated aggression impose an urgency that is incompatible with philosophy as a serious enterprise. Hunger and need may also lead to such an urgency. War is an act of force. Does it follow that force is an act of war? War, although in the mind of the religious philosopher could never be a positive or absolute good, could be a "negative good" in the sense of preventing surrender to an oppressive force.

What is the difference between active battle campaigns and a repressive attrition. The USA, a society that knows little in the way of moral bounds with regards to "pursuit of happiness" is totalitarian in its effect of the multitudes trying desperately to make ends meet and defend their territory, way of life, and indigenous resources.

The Plan

2011-01-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

We need some perspective.

Liquid and gaseous 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.

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, inclusion, humanity, quality of life, wellness, 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, threats to Iran and to both domestic and worldwide environments which need to be conserved and shared equitably and frugally, particularly with the interests of youth, children, and future generations in heart and mind. The world acting in concert would stand much better prospects for peace.

The Ecology of Redevelopment

A big part of my redevelopment plan (aside from the financial systems reform) is the REBUILDING of neighborhoods to make them walkable for the necessities of life (that is, assuming a goal of a much less harried pace than today, but also assuming that people will have responsibilities, obligations, and desires). Such a plan would include a massive education program in retraining workers and training in youth in the building trades. Human resource management would be utilized to try to maximize the match between where the primary contractors/instructors and student/workers lived and the neighborhood building projects.

Communities would be rebuilt to emulate mature ecological systems, in that they maximize the efficiency of energy and resource input into the community so that once resources enter a community, they stay in the community for the maximum amount of time possible. Once all communities are sufficiently rebuilt (a timeline of 20 to 50 years?) under such guidelines, they would evolve to ongoing day-to-day and maintenance communities and the amount of heavy labor required would decrease and the amount of leisure time increase. Again, (day-to-day and maintenance) workers would be employed in, surrounding, and/or as close to their residency as possible and it would be a priority for real and capital assets to be owned by the workers and the community patrons who ideally would be one and the same. The Neighborhood Equity Union would replace credit unions and of course, other forms of financial institutions. Parks and gymnasiums would be an important part of the plan as leisure time increased and the healthy aspects of physical labor decreased.

Concurrent with rebuilding, and the reallocation of production and distribution resources, would be efforts to make office, communications, knowledge and intelligence based labor into primarily home and/or neighborhood based vocations. Occasional travel would be necessary and desirable, but quiet bus travel and car-sharing cooperatives could be employed to fill this need along with family visit and recreational needs and desires. With respect to the former, extended families would be encouraged to develop, remain, and/or reunite geographically.

A Letter to Mostafa Hessami (Iran)

2010-11-25T13:39:00.000-08:00

A Letter to Mostafa Hessami (Iran)

I am a Friend. I honor all religions. The “Christian” justification for War is similar to your proclamation, which appears to be the sixth pillar of Islam. It is based on the misunderstandings of the teachings of John, who said and wrote, Jesus laid down his life for us, thus we should lay down our lives for each other”. The Christmas season has evolved to be an outrageous blasphemy relative to the true teachings of the prophet Jesus.

Soldiers, not Military Leaders, almost always are common people, coming from the ranks of the poor, the dispossessed, the oppressed. Thus, Marxist/Leninist thoughts and actions jibe with the concept of “holy war”.

We must be ultimately brave in our pursuit of peace. We must be peace, yet our dilemma is to throw off the shackles of Monied and Military Imperialism. George Fox said and wrote that there is good and bad in everyone and it is incumbent upon us to cultivate the good in ourselves and rid ourselves of the bad (inner jihad) and that we should try to see the good in everyone we meet and help them to do the same.

Homa Ecologica Cooperativo (On Facebook)

2010-10-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

This group seeks to educate, organize, plan and implement a radical intentional evolution of the human species to Homa Ecologica Cooperativo.

The mission is ecologically socio-economic and seeks fundamental reform of the resource planning and allocation system to accomplish human progress in the form of ecological economic redevelopment based on human needs and the recognition of resource scarcity, and inculcated on the principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, altruism, health and well-being, quality of life, economic democracy, peace, and sustainability.

It recognizes the concept of self-interest and extended self-interest and comprehends the organization of status quo establishments and institutions, but seeks to reconcile, reorganize, and reallocate the employment of natural resources/human labor based on the concept of neighborhood/community, inter-community, regional, inter-regional, world around solidarity, cooperation, and organization.

Suggested eventual outcomes include the formulation of a World Congress for Community Economic Development.

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

Mike Morin
Eugene-Springfield

Relative to Leauge for Industrial Democracy and Upton Sinclair Mutual Aid Fund

2010-10-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

Robert,

Thank you for the letter.

It is quite interesting to see you (and others?) trying to take similar initiatives to the Peoples' Equity Union (i.e. the Upton Sinclair Mutual Aid Fund). My research and your correspondence indicate that we have very similar motivations, understanding, and intentions relative to ecological economic redevelopment/community betterment. I think we both understand the concept of the community/worker hybrid cooperative and would like to get very busy in implementing such in our respective communities and elsewhere.

With respect to such, I am trying to work on two fronts, the micro and the macro. It is my considered opinion that success will not occur on the local level until there is a huge critical mass of citizens that understand the fundamental root causes of the current and further impending failure of the Capitalist/Corporatist system and the need for us as a country and a world to unify in support of an alternative economic paradigm, a "plan and implement" economy based on the meeting of human needs, and not a "risk and return" motivation based on profit.

It brings to mind to mind the schism of the 1800's between Marx and Proudhon, and it is almost rendered impossible by the myriad of profit-motivated, solely self-interested endeavors that have evolved to be a highly decadent but self-perpetuating entropy of linear trajectory and the massive systematic inflation in the price of real and capital assets..

There is a fundamental accounting principle: Equity = Assets - Liabilities. Until we can bring to the fore world leaders who value equity as a fundamental universal principle (equity means ownership and it means equality), along with inclusion, humanity, altruism, well-being and quality of life, peace, and sustainability and who speak to the human condition in historical perspective and propose bold collective action by the species, the future of the human race will remain bleak.

I'd like to get your thoughts.

Thank you.

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

Mike Morin

Minimum Wage and an Inculcated Tangent

2010-10-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

Minimum Wage and an Inculcated Tangent

The minimum wage is only good for children, 14, 15, 16, living at home with their parents who have a living wage income (preferably male). By the age of 18, a guaranteed income to bring minimum or better wage up to living wage, and increasing with age, is in order. That is the demand side.

On the supply side, we need to consolidate assets and write down their costs (Real and Capital assets for ecological economic redevelopment with a definite and committed demand side management plan and evolution to a more sedentary life). On the supply side we are dealing with an extant and momentous over-supply glut, much of it which is of inferior quality.

Supply side chains need to be transitioned to wholesale and distribution channels altered to make goods and services available within walking distance of almost all. Such, if the resources can be garnered (every day that we squander resources so ridiculously creates a situation more bleak with regards to the opportunity costs for precious resources) and the reorganization and reallocation secured, then the youth and children have a hope for the future, much of which could be employed in the building, communications, and agro-ecology trades.

We can not afford to squander time with respect to the necessary eduaction, reorganization, and subsequent reallocation, rebuilding transition.

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

A Letter

2010-09-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

My Good Friend Azel,

It is not only at retail where the chains put a squeeze on assets (including labor) to maximize their profits.

Organizations such as Walmart, Costco, Safeway, Shears, etc. need to back out of the retail trade and become more of a wholesale operation with pre-order delivery to community/neighborhood access outlets which can be established in all neighborhoods so that almost all can get what they need and reasonably want within walking distance of their homes.

However, even if we could get such cooperation from the myriad of supply chains, there would still, at least within the time realm that we consider now, be an over-supply problem. Therefore, we would be faced with the cut-throat competition practices that characterize such a low effective demand/over-supply (side) economy.

It is problematic, but not insurmountable.

By the way, I joined this "Organization" because, I thought the basic mission, and principles were good, but I would rate them as an A- or a B+ in the way in which they were stated. Or if this is HueMass, hew sea, I would give it an AB, Si?

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

Mike Morin

Letter to Tea Party

2010-09-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

Letter to Tea Party
(originally blogged on Tea Party site about 3 to 6 months ago)

I'll be up-front.

I've been a Communist since the age of fifteen. I am now in my 57th year and have learned much since 1969. Oh, I learned nothing previous to those years. Really, not really.

I favored a Republican, McCloskey, an anti-war Viet Nam Veteran in 1968. I was a Eugene McCarthy fan until "Petey" entered the race. I was too young to vote.

But you all may remember Nixon ran a pro-war campaign in 1968, pledging allegiance to "the great silent majority that favors the War".

Hubert Humphrey by comparison was an even more absurd caricature.

Oh sure, Republicans won in 1968, but I can assure you that of the "children" of fighting age and younger we were nearly a consensus in opposition. I would also attest to you all that the majority of Americans were unrepresentative by either "wing" of our Capitalist Party government.

Memories can be conveniently short and many of the youth, and unfortunately those who fared better by the "natural selection" process forgot or never really learned the valuable lessons of Viet Nam and the ridiculous notion that we were fighting for democracy, liberty, freedom, whatever the hawkish cries were at the time.

The brave young men who served thought they were doing the right thing, I suppose. I'd venture that few, those who survived to contemplate the experience, still believe that. After all it was Fascist Capitalism against Fascist "Communism".

Through my years of academic and experiential learning, I have evolved to explain my liberation "theology" as that of one of Cooperative Communitarian/Libertarian Socialist.

I would set forth the proposition that we are not at polar extremes, in fact having earned a MBA with distinction and worked for many years in Health "Care" Cost Accounting, the notion of fiscal responsibility (a myth of the Reagan years? - it is argued that much money was borrowed from Banks to finance a Military buildup which finally reached its ultimate expression in the post 911 US aggression in the Middle East) is a concept that I understand perhaps much better than those who would consider themselves "politically liberal" and much better than many if not most if not all of my "socialist" colleagues. But I also understand the concept of Business Social Responsibility, having aced such a course in Business School that I viewed as the foundation of my Business Education. (Believe it or not taught by a burly southerner by the name of John McCain) I also know very well that the Voodoo Economics of Monetarism and Neo-classical Economics is a tragic oversimplification of reality that has played out to disastrous consequences in the last thirty years and can only lead to an end times tragedy for the youth and children of the planet (which includes the environments which we still call the United States).

I could refer you to many books on the topic, but trust me when I tell you that Capitalist Corporations do not respect borders, and what is a border anyway, but an arbitrary King's Grant with lackey Senators and Congressman, State, County, and Municipal officials to enforce what is really nothing more than a glorified feudal system administered mostly for the benefit of an increasingly few.

Contrary to the more peace-loving religions of Buddhism and Jesusianism (St. John enunciated the concept of selflessness which is also a teaching of the more pure Buddhist faith) we fool ourselves and/or others when we deny that we are acting in self-interest and extended self-interest. The question then becomes how do we define that extended self-interest? Is it a Red State? Is it a Blue State? Is it a White State? Is it a Black State?

The Constitution is a noble peace of paper, particularly the bill of rights. However, as Mr. Nixon so ridiculously stated about 1973 that it is a government of laws, not men (thousand pardons to all the perdaughters who may be viewing this epistle), the entire history of our cherished, but being squandered, North American continent has been so rife with the abrogation of human rights that I sometimes wonder if the only real right that we have is to remain silent. Why did the same Aristocracy that commissioned working class and unemployed immigrants to kill natives and kill working class, and unemployed Brits only give us the right to "peaceably assemble"? Why has that right deteriorated to the point that we must get a Government permit to do that? Was it a legitimate government of laws from which the Supreme Court ruled that a highway expansion or other form of eminent domain was only considered a taking if the value of the property was reduced to $0?

It would serve only a little purpose given the impending resource scarcity and the drunken foolishness of hedonism that accepts some Biblical revelation of end times to be a joyous salvation to mention that the Soviet Constitution was an even nobler attempt to design via a written letter of laws, but ran the fallacy of a modus operandi of violence which has been the reality since when? Quite the contrary, the anarchy that we are recognizing and will be increasingly realizing is hell bent and it is my strong estimation that most people who are living that linear trajectory don't really have a clue what is coming and without a commitment to unity and a radical reformation concerning what we need to value, and that is human life. We all have brains, we all have hearts, and most of us have left and right hands, arms, legs, and feet. We are all people. We all live in an environment. The environment is deteriorating. The environment is the issue and our stewardship is the most important responsibility.

Although the socialist will attest to the plight of the elderly and the poor, the infirm, a cooperative communitarian will attest to hopes of the still strong youth and children. Could it be that so many have been forced into the wage slavery of two income earners, which was accompanied in the so-called "Yuppie" movement by the return to the greed ethic, that no one has children to care about or have given up any hope for their progeny. Is youth and childhood a foreign concept?

No, we now must all come together, work together, help each other and understand that in this time of great communications capability that it is fundamental that we communicate the basic principles that hold such a slim hope for the future. The future not be damned. In my very considered opinion those principles need to be inclusion, humanity, equity, altruism, responsibility to life engendering pursuits, and to a hope for the future of the children.

As I write, all I hear is automobiles. Such are the bane of our existence and must be comprehensively planned into perspective. It can be done.

Almost all we really need from the Government is the Treasury. The Treasury without the massive Capitalist Class rip-off that was the Federal Reserve System. In a united world economy, if there is any chance of peaceful transition, which IS the only hope the we must redefine the issues and not have to suffer the foolishness of hatred that stems from a less than comprehensive assessment of the matters at hand and the history, particularly as it relates to precious resources, and their technological squandering and the carelessness with which we define our lives and the relationship of our lives to our neighbors. We are all neighbors.

We do need safety-net programs, but we must understand that if those programs are just another form of State Capitalist organized crime to more so benefit the helpers than the helped and it creates a dependency, like the many chemical addictions that your "free" market justifies in an absurd Capitalist Libertarian motto of atomization, "to each his own", then the helpers need to reassess as well.

But I can't stress enough the importance of the post-peak fossil fuel agenda. I have written extensively detailing the comprehensive approach that MUST be adopted. The government can help, but we must communicate to the people the importance of recognizing the poisonous ethos of the fossil fuel/automobile age from which we must settle down into sedentary communities. The rebuilding of our communities can be accomplished if we commit to such, communicate that commitment and plea with engineered ignorance to please stop. Most importantly to whatever constituency you represent, and I fear it is not the driving idiots that stream past my abode, the notion of a quasi-public private sector based on ethical principles and working in concert with a well-intentioned and WELL DIRECTED government to facilitate and to a lesser extent fund an expanded Organization of Economic Opportunity.

United Assets - United Liabilities = United Equity, The world around. Nothing less than this recognition and BOLD LEADERSHIP will accomplish anything that anyone is going to like except in the most transient of perceptions.

Homa Ecologica Cooperativo

2010-08-21T18:38:00.001-07:00

Homa Ecologica Cooperativo

Dobson's criticism of Kingsnorth appears to be like trite infighting. However, as an anthropocentric environmentalist, I reject the notion of ecologism as described in this article. However, I refuse to let others dictate terms. Ecology means the study of the home. Economics means the management of the home. I am an ecologist; therefore I subscribe to a real meaning of ecologism, an anthropocentric one. As an Ecologist and as an Economist I reject the linear growth paradigm. I favor instead, a human need centered paradigm of ecological economic redevelopment.

The path we are on will not be a gentle one to lower energy. The path we are on guarantees the four horseman of the apocalypse will be dictating the terms. We need to unite as humans, and very soon, to fundamentally redefining the way that we conduct our daily business. We need to put the industrial, the enginocentric, and fossil fuels, into historical perspective and consciously commit to a future that is different, particularly in relation to the use of the automobile. Gasoline is a gigantic and foolish opportunity cost for a very precious finite resource, oil Radical reduction of its use for personal transportation is among the most important commitments that we can make if we want

Secondly, we will have no future unless we can consciously evolve, meaning moving from a risk and return economic paradigm to a plan and implement one. The evolution from Homo Economicus to Homa Ecologica Cooperativo is overdue. It needs to be an intentional evolution and it is well-past (pun intended) time we began it.

Public “Jobs”

2010-08-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

Public “Jobs”

Ok, Alan, I stand corrected on the way the "private sector" works. My issue was with Mr. Khan's call for "investments". The word investment applies an allocation of money for which there will be a return to the investor. I am saying that wild econometric growth, the continuance of a supply side paradigm is not the best way to allocate "our" funds.

There is more than one issue here. In the past, government allocated funds to infrastructure (i.e. highways, sewers, electricity projects, hospitals, schools) all in accordance with the wishes of their masters "the Private Sector" in keeping with an amazingly myopic linear growth model based on assumptions of infinite resources, infinite economic growth, and with absolutely no concern for the long term environmental/public health.

The Unions want to keep the public sector of the growth paradigm alive, regardless of the lack of the private sector to succeed at their part of the game. It is a full speed ahead to destruction, stay alive one more day, reaction to a fundamentally flawed Capitalist "Plan" of World Manifest Destiny.

If we are going to allocate funds for economic progress, let's do it in an ecological manner that is sustainable. One that puts the industrial revolution and the fossil fuel age into historical perspective. One that allocates resources for the creation of sedentary, low energy input, sustainable communities. One that sees the big picture and allocates funds among and within economic sectors in a planned rational manner that starts with a vision of what we want the future to look like, to be.

Public sources should allocate wages and benefits, if they choose to make "investments", it needs to be in a One Big Union worker owned scheme of some sort. That won't happen. Investments will be allocated to Capitalists and they will continue with their ways of exploitation.

These arguments are academic. The Capitalist system is dead, and it is too late in History for an alternative. No one should be poor. We need to make sure that resources are allocated to those who are at risk of that. The ideal would be to allocate funds to community betterment organizations for community betterment all over the world. But that is not a practical option.

It doesn't matter what you or I think, say or write. The Capitalists will get their way. They will only be hastening the resource limited crash, by trying to stave off their economic demise.

The “Democratic” approach, favoring the body politic, to the continuation of the dominant paradigm is preferable to the “Republican”, but the voting on the War Powers Act of 2010 based on “Progressive Democrat” Obama’s budget displays what a woeful dilemma that the Capitalists present.

We’re not going to live happily ever after. Since we’re in the belly of the Imperialist beast and we’ve got no say, anyway, let’s just hope that wild momentum driven delusions that call for investments to the genocidal, ecocidal, suicidal, Corporatist economy don’t take away funding for the basic survival needs of the growing majority of the disenfranchised, because the disenfranchisement is permanent and there will be no “recovery”.

The BP Spill

2010-08-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

The BP Spill

The BP Oil Spill is but the thief that got caught. Oil and other fossil fuels are filthy businesses and the constant seepage, spills, runoff, environmental stripping and small, unreported disasters are ongoing.

This BP Spill is a precursor for the drilling industry that is constantly going deeper, taking larger risks to extract the oil that is further from our more conventional grasps.

One wonders how much truth we are being told. Of course what is being heard is what most want to hear, and what the oil industry wants everyone to hear: that technology saved the day and that all is under control and always will be, as the news media commits to “case solved” and the plight of the fishing industry and the lives of the folks on the gulf gets left behind in their coverage.

Any why do we take such risks? And why do we wage aggressive war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and rattle “our” sabers at Iran? So that we can carelessly glide from destination to destination as our privileged imperial ownership caste where our only real job is to consume what each other own?

Oil is a precious resource and one that should be used wisely. Oil heats our homes, oil would be very useful in a humane agricultural system, oil products can cook our food, oil products can be used to generate electricity which, if prudently used, can add much to the quality of our lives. Oil products are used for the creation of durable goods and as feedstock for other valuable uses.

But, people of the USA squander over 15 million barrels a day of oil equivalent to fuel their mindless forays of consumption in personal automobiles. They know no other way. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We could rebuild our neighborhoods and reallocate goods and services accordingly so that the things that people need are available within walking distance of most. Such a program of building/rebuilding village/community/telecommuting centers could not only contribute to a worthwhile goal of reducing personal automobile usage by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years, thereby greatly extending the tail of post-peak fossil fuels for future generations, but would also greatly add to the communitarian, sedentary, quality of life for all.
We need to commit to this as a nation and commit to it right away.

In addition to improving our domestic quality of life, such a commitment and action plan would go a long way to easing geo-political tensions and allow “us” to cease aggressions with oil rich regions and ease the pressure to extract so much carbon fuels, so fast, thus alleviating the ongoing environmental damaging and greatly reducing the chances of large environmental disasters.

Of course, the momentum of the industrial society and currently accepted "growth" imperative will cause the oil industry to try to maximize oil revenues, therefore production and consumption, and thus environmental degradation and sooner long-term, sustaining fuel shortages. The only solution to this problem, that I can see, is the nationalization of the oil companies and their associated industries, with production scheduling co-ordinated with a full fledge demand side management plan.

A Note to Dr. Mike Ellis on 08/06/2010

2010-08-06T15:49:00.000-07:00

A Note to Dr. Mike Ellis on 08/06/2010

Mike,

We need a new paradigm of economic development. Given the existing crises and impending otherwise in resource constraints and the lack of equitable allocation, I know that many reject the politics of the G-20, the G-8, the G-1 (the USA) and the Capitalist Plutocracy and concomitant Military Industrial Complex that has been riding centuries of history based on economic Lordism/serfdom, substituted with the Capitalist profit paradigm or requirement of "risk and return".

We need to cut the Gordian knot and reject such servitude and replace it with an ethos and modus operandi and intentional evolution to Homa Ecologica Cooperativo. Practical translation of such involves much education, particularly with respect to the goals of community organization, cooperation, and solidarity, and eventual direct action of the taking of Treasuries resources for direct, non-usurious, allocation to individuals and communities (in the form of community betterment organizations) based on need. The mission is One of ecological economic redevelopment inculcated on the principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, altruism, well-being and quality of life, sustainability, and peace. This is a cooperative communitarian/socialist economic democracy paradigm of "plan and implement".

Being that most calls for socialism only clamor against the offending parties, and make weak attempts to organize within the political constraints and organizational and media domination, some with an impossible and misguided agenda of electoral victory and others with the misguided and premature agenda of revolution. What the political reformers and the cheerleaders of revolution have in common is a complete lack of understanding of the resource concerns and fundamental economic reorganization that is necessary.

I think that it is necessary to mitigate the inhumanities of the progressions of the industrial revolution and phase back more of an industrious ethic that goes along with relocalized artisanry, human ecology, agroecology (including urban agroecology) and an ethic of peace, cooperation, and solidarity.

Given that I feel much alone, although it is completely eclectic, in the enunciation of this paradigm, I call upon you for expressions of solidarity and commitment to aid in the furtherance of this mission. Please do not tarry with respect to a response, particularly related to how we can progress.

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

Mike Morin
512 W. 10th Avenue, #2
Eugene, OR 97401
1-541-343-3808
www.peoplesequityunion.blogspot.com

The G-20?

2010-08-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

The G-20?

We must try not to think of our world as being on the other side of no tomorrow, though at risk of understatement, the hour is getting late.

The biggest problem that I see us facing is the entropy that has set in with the passing climaxes of industrialization and the fossil fuel age. The age of the consumer is riding itself out, but in its path is unspeakable genocide, ecocide, and suicide.

If we could envision, educate, and communicate to the people of the planet, particularly those of the G-One (the USAers who are by far the most mad and mislead); the alternative vision of resources allocated directly to individuals and communities - based on need, and re-learn the ways of community, a "plan and implement" cooperative communitarian socialism, rather than the Imperial, Militaristic, Greed-driven, "risk and return" paradigm (or excuse), could go a long way towards turning things around.

Only idiot puppets like Obama don't understand that the Financial Game is over. The only thing left for the Financial Overlords is to keep putting money into mostly failed endeavors that will DRIVE (the fossil fuel age and automobiles are relative flukes and need to be put into historical perspective) the planet to extinction based on an insistent sucking the resources of the earth dry by insisting on the industrialization/consumption paradigm when we all should be asking for and working for an industrious/well being paradigm.

My guess is that 80% of the USA GDP is the consumption of gasoline for personal purposes. The automobile is the most destructive toy that ever disgraced the planet.

In addition to the rearrangement of the Financial Paradigm and Systems, we must also recognize and commit to the reduction of the use of the personal automobile in the USA by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years. This could be done by rebuilding communities and reallocating resources so that almost all communities are sedentary.

It's a tall order, but let's recognize the mission at hand and work diligently to educate and organize (so that we can allocate), accordingly.

In Addition to “Workers’ Rights”

2010-08-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

In Addition to “Workers’ Rights”

We have to also redefine “work”. We need to evolve from the industrial era to a modern industrious one. We need to bypass the Capitalist Plutocracy that evolved from the Bank of England into the Federal Reserve, the Capitalist Banking System, the WTO, the World Bank, their aggressive Military Industrial Complex and their subservient, yet aggressive to us, governments and commissioned militias.

We need to begin to educate and organize towards Independence from Financial Overlords and towards a cooperative communitarian vision that takes hold of the Treasuries of the world and allocates resources, based on need, to individuals and communities. We have to relearn the concept of community, but recognition is the first step towards realization.

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

Mike Morin

In Response to Raj

2010-08-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

In Response to Raj

(In response to video and blog post on World Bank "Land Grabs" on Raj Patel's website introducing the concepts behind the book, "The Value of Nothing")

Raj et al,

Thank you for your leadership and valuable enunciation of common sense.

The Capitalist system is dead, more appropriately killing and dieing. It is the insane momentum of financial abstractions and technological "advancements" that is DRIVING (the automobile is a fluke of human history) the world to genocide, ecocide, and suicide. The Center of such a "progression" is the Military Industrial Complex led hegemony of the British Imperialist Capitalist/Industrial "culture" that saw the Bank of England transform itself to the Federal Reserve in the USA. Its' continental and colonial tyranny have manifested themselves in the World Bank and WTO, Corporate Capitalist Conglomerates and Wall Street and Main Street Financial and Land Overlords.

It is far past the 11th hour in our world, but if there is a solution, it lays in the the idea of a World Congress for Community Economic Development where we can work towards neighborhood/community, inter-community, and inter-regional solidarity and cooperation with local ecological economic redevelopment plans based on need and bypassing the International Finance "Community" as represented in the US by the Federal Reserve and participating Financial domineers and exploiters.

Save for strongholds like Kerala and Cuba, emerging Venezuela and the outgrowths of the work in these areas, we have not yet begun to organize. It is quite problematic from where I live, and throughout at least the North American continent (the only geography that I know) in that people are so firmly acculturated by the status quo that the people do not seem to have the hope, let alone the ability, to visualize an alternative economic system. The environmental damage and the momentum of entropy is so severe and the consciousness of the people so polluted and so incremental. "They've all bought into it", a friend terms it.

To each his own has become to each his own personal crisis and I wonder whether we have the educational and communication tools to reach them, that there may be, and the only hope is, a collective solution beginning with local community but extending out to world around solidarity and cooperation.

As I write this, my neighbors go their separate ways.

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

Mike Morin

Basics

2010-07-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Basics

I attended Planning School at the U. of MA in Amherst in Fall 1975, after studying Environmental Studies on the undergraduate level. It was a mostly misguided program of studies, as are all planning curricula in the United States. Older students "turned me on" to Robert Goodman's "After the Planners" and Benton MacKaye's "The New Exploration", I met William Morris Davis' grandson (a protégé of MacKaye) who reinforced my strong impression that they were teaching bullshit. I dropped out and started studying with the Society of Friends and that gave me the basic direction (having read and agreed with the Communist Manifesto when I was 16 years old) that I have pursued since.

After working construction, real estate appraisal, in a lumber yard, I returned to get the world's famous indoctrination of Radical Economics at UMass in 1980. I got it. The W.E.B. DuBois Library may very well be the best Library in the world, especially if pursuing Radical approaches to Economics. Networking in the old fashioned ways, we were laying out plans for a new society, a better society with the energy of the innocent, the mostly naive, the definitely inexperienced. Then Reagan got elected. Approximately at the turning point that Richard Wolff alludes to...

Wage slaving the whole time, doing a lot of blue-collar drudge and hard labor, I got tired of being poor and eventually pulled up roots and went to Arkansas (the U. of A. in Fayetteville) and enrolled in Business School. Worked my way through. "Professional" work ensued, a hard labor, a drudge of another sort, Systems Analysis and Programming work, Utilization and Cost Report Development and Analysis, and Managed Care Contracting for various Health Care Finance firms. With respect to health care reform, I studied the "industry" and they do call it that and got many experiences of how not to do it, but sufficient insight into how it could be done. But I digress.

While changing trains in Boston's famous Green Line Haymarket Station (not as infamous as Chicago's), I met a couple of "brothers" who were reading Kiplinger's Business Letter. "What are you reading that shit for?"

"Yeah, you're right, it is shit. We studied Radical Economics at UMass, now we can't do anything with it".

"No promises, but I'm working on it".

Wolff and the other Radical Economists at UMass are lost in the comfort of their Ivory Towers. The answer lies in building a conceptual bridge between the Planning Department and the Business School via the Radical Economics Department.

The answer lies in the radical reorganization of the economy, bypassing the chains of the Capitalist Plutocracy, bypassing the sham Democracy of "the Administration" and "the Congress" , bypassing the Bank of England's successor, the Federal Reserve System, and taking direct control of the Treasuries and allocating funds directly to workers (in the form of a small guaranteed income) and to Community Betterment Organizations related to community, inter-community, regional, inter-regional, and world around solidarity and cooperation in an ecological economic redevelopment paradigm based on human needs and founded on the mission/principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, economic democracy, altruism, well-being and sufficiency, fecundity, and the solidarity of effort to bring the basic costs of production and trade back to earth, where they severely left with the institution of Reaganomics/Supply Side Economics.

Now, maybe I'm wasting my time, but I feel committed to the youth and children of the planet. I have been blessed (in a rather bizarre ways and means) with the opportunity to work on my life's mission full time for the past fifteen years.

Those of you who have not seen my detailed, but very concise, proposals, please feel free to contact me with an e-mail address so that I can send you about 15 pages of attachments.

I've had some dealings with Rick Wolff. He is a very intelligent Academician. His Silicon Valley example of workers democracy is ridiculously bourgeois and does not deal with huge issues such as how resources are allocated to and within communities and within and among economic sectors.

There are answers to the very serious problems that we as a species face. We are running out of time for "getting it together" and committing to and working towards the fundamental paradigm shift necessary in all communities on the planet.

Take heed.

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

Mike Morin

A Carbon Tax?

2010-07-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

A Carbon Tax?

It is a myth, and one that destroys the credibility of many "environmentalists", that there is any other significant source of "power", other than nuclear, besides the carbon fossil fuels that we have been using for less than three hundred years and are now on the downside of peak production. We have also come face to face with the blatant disregard of Capitalist Oil Companies, whose only interest is to maximize profits in the short run, with the BP/TransOceanic Gulf Oil Blowout.

A "carbon tax" is the wrong idea. People use carbon products for heating their homes and workplaces, cooking their food, and generating most of their electricity.

The major squanderer of fossil fuels is the personal automobile. USAers use over 15 MILLION BARRELS A DAY for personal transportation. We need to commit to rebuilding our neighborhoods and reallocating goods and services so that people can get what they need, including employment, within walking distance of their homes.

Setting a demand side management goal of reducing personal automobile usage by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years would go a long way towards assuring that more essential uses of carbon fuels will be a part of a viable future. It would also send a strong message to the rest of the world regarding the commitment of the USA to strongly curb their gluttonous behavior. Such a commitment could significantly assuage current geo-political tensions and hostilities.

A large tax on gasoline, maybe phased in over a period of ten years, is what is in order. Revenues from such taxes could help pay for the community redevelopment and reallocation of goods and services that needs to be a paramount goal of the USA. It would also significantly, discourage driving, while the people were educated to the reality that the automobile is a freak of the human race, and that the quality of community and domestic life would be substantially enhanced by encouraging a more sedentary lifestyle.

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

Mike Morin

Letter to Dan La Botz – Socialist Candidate for Senate in Ohio

2010-07-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

Letter to Dan La Botz – Socialist Candidate for Senate in Ohio
07/24/2010

Dan,

Good idea to try to build solidarity among neighborhoods. Being a Veteran of Eugene politics, I know that is easier said than done. It is an insidious control that the Business People exhibit over the governments. In Eugene, they have an organization, Downtown Eugene, Inc. (DEI is the Latin word for God?), I call them what they are Downtown Economic Imperialists and their tentacles spread along the arteries to the malls and strip malls of this unsustainable, inequitable, hedonistic sprawled mess. They make a mockery out of City Council and work directly with City Management to further their Capitalist "growth" agenda. They (landlords are well represented) dominate the Neighborhood Associations. Workers and potential workers are apathetic, partially because they are viewed and treated and act like consumers of alcohol, tobacco, and festivities, and partially because anyone who is legitimately concerned with the welfare of their Neighborhood residents learns quickly that they are a tiny, virtually non-existent, minority to be ignored.

It is a large, sometimes seemingly insurmountable education and organizing task. If we could get the neighborhood residents to understand that there is a vision beyond the Capitalist trickle-down and we could appeal to all peoples' concern for the progeny, then perhaps with great solidarity we could change the ways and means by which resources are allocated to and within communities (and within and among economic sectors). That is our calling. If we can be true to that and work diligently then it is not impossible for us to succeed. Two large assumptions are in play here. One, that people still have legitimate hopes for the youth and children, and secondly that people want to work and they want to work hard, given the potential to realize a living wage, equity, and a quality of life including bona fide prospects for their offspring.

It's a tall order.

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

Mike Morin

Posted on Facebook 07/22/10

2010-07-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

Posted on Facebook 07/22/10

By now, it should be clear to EveryOne, we need to supplant "the Administration" and Congress and work with all our Friends in the International Community to do the same. It will take a lot of organization and we are not ready to take the reins of the World Treasuries, yet.

The idea is a World Congress for Community Economic Development where we can work towards neighborhood/community, inter-community, and inter-regional solidarity and cooperation with local ecological economic redevelopment plans based on need and bypassing the International Finance "Community" as represented in the US by the Federal Reserve and participating Financial domineers and exploiters.

We bitch a lot on Facebook, and elsewhere, yet I have yet to see much in the way of bold leadership in defining an alternative, educating about it, and setting up an alternative National and World around Council of Elders to provide the dearth of Leadership that the cooperative communitarian/socialist/peace movement needs.

I'm hearing much too much silence. There is no need for you all to feel helpless and hopeless regarding an irrelevant and obsolete elite and the power that they yield over you. There is no room for complicity and tinkering with their system.

Please, I'm serious!!!

Cindy, Dan, Billy, Carl, EveryOne, let's stop wasting our precious time. The future is too important for the youth and the children and whatever hopes we have for our progeny!

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

Mike Morin

The Salary of the Head of the Nurses Union

2010-07-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

I agree with Whitman about the inflated salaries of the Union Leadership,
but I am not aligned with the Ownership Class that she speaks primarily
for, though not always to...

How can a Union Leader be sensitive to the plight of workers when
reimbursed so highly? Such highly compensated "workers" are more likely to
identify with the living conditions and opinions and views of the moneyed
elite.

We have to understand that the fundamental inflation brought about by
supply side economics has had a paralyzing effect on commerce by DRIVING
the prices of Real Estate, Capital, and forcing Organized and unorganized
Labor into the untenable position of demanding, but most often not receiving,
wages that allow workers to keep up.

We need to grab the economic bull by the horns by forming an all-inclusive
Equity Union from which we can deal with the fundamental Accounting
Principle that United Assets minus United Liabilities equals United Equity
and take the necessary steps to bring the costs of living back to earth and
work for a parity in wages, while working together to produce good jobs and
equity opportunities for all in an ecological economic redevelopment plan
that understands and adjusts for real world resource constraints.

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

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

One Big Union

2010-07-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

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

In Response to Praise for the USA Democratic Party

2010-07-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

In Response to Praise for the USA Democratic Party

The Democrats, while their most "Leftist" positions are better than the Republicans have barely kept our heads above water, if at that, and we can only go under so many times.

The Democrats, while their most "Leftist" positions are better than the Republicans are still very Centrist when it comes to the Capitalist Plutocracy and its Military Industrial Complex partnership.

"Good government, not Big Government", was Kid Orator's slogan. So far he has shown absolutely horrible leadership with respect to good government and succeeded at giving us a hodge-podge of some good, mostly bad Big Government.

Regarding the most recent "Financial Reform" Legislation:

Tinkering and trying to oversee the overseers is totally unacceptable.

Don't worry about the Republicans, they are always against things for
the wrong reasons.

Nothing short of fundamental ecological economic reform from a
Capitalist entropy to a Cooperative Communitarian/Socialist life
sustaining One will suffice.

A Consumer Financial Protection Board is as absurd as an SEC, absurd
as OSHA, absurd as Truth in Labeling, absurd as the IRS, etc. Well
intentioned, perhaps, but ridiculous and self-serving in its pay-rolled
futility.

What we need to do is supplant "the Administration" and "the Congress"
with a Presidential Commission of Elders, who take control of the
Treasury, abolish the Federal Reserve, create an Equity Union (working
with the treasuries of all nations) and directly allocate funds to
people and communities (Community Betterment Organizations (CBOs))
while we work to organize a World Congress of Community Economic
Development, an organization of solidarity and cooperation, with all
members focusing on local/neighborhood/community improvement and
equity, inter-community/regional cooperation and solidarity, and inter-
regional cooperation and solidarity.

It can be done.

With respect to such, recognition needs to precede realization.

It will be done.

In Response to Report that Clinton is Promising Billions in “Aid” to Pakistan

2010-07-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

In Response to Report that Clinton is Promising Billions in “Aid” to Pakistan

This is outrageous but par for the course.

Where does the money come from that goes to Pakistan, Egypt, Israel and other countries? Do they not have their own Treasuries? Can they not manage their own regional affairs and business?

The answer is that American led Corporate Conglomerate Developers will get the money and none will be dedicated to the absolute necessity to rebuild North American environments in light of the reality that the end of the fossil fuel age is rapidly approaching and that if we want a future for the youth and children of the world, we need a completely different paradigm of economic development than we have had in the last century.

The 20th century, approximate to the fossil fuel age, must be put into perspective and industry (as in industrious not industrial) must be planned and implemented accordingly.

I'm not against helping Pakistanis and Afghanis or anybuddy in a consultative capacity, quite to the contrary I would welcome and invite their cooperation and solidarity. But the organized crime of the US Government and the International Capitalist Ruling Classes must be identified for what they are: a self-serving genocidal, ecocidal, suicidal elite.

The BS they will hand out is that Pakistan and the others will be "emerging markets". Emerging markets for whom? A tiny ownership class and a majority of wage slaves and welfare recipients?

No, this is all wrong. All very wrong, and we must unite to make it correct. Ha, ha, you thought I'd use the word "right".

At issue is what is left in the way of natural and human resources and the correct way to allocate and employ such.

Do you trust Hillary Clinton and the continuation of the status quo?

I don't.

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

Mike Morin

Agricultural Reform in Context

2010-07-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Agricultural Reform in Context

Yes, as in all economic sectors, we have to redefine the mission of the agricultural sector and restructure the resource allocation ways and means, design and implement alternative technologies, distribution channels, and build or renovate and allocate to neighborhood outlets as part of a comprehensive plan and implementation plan.

The fundamental fulcrum is the transition from a Capitalist Economic System to a Cooperative Communitarian One with the basic mission of ecological economic redevelopment for the meeting of all peoples' needs that is inclusive, humane, equitable, altruistic, well-being oriented, and youth oriented (i.e. sustainable) and peaceful.

It can be done, but it will take the largest realization of solidarity that the human species ever. In essence, it will take an intentional evolution of the species to Homa Ecologica Cooperativo.

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

Mike Morin

Presidential Commission, Council of Elders

2010-07-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

Folks,

It is time for us to consider forming a Provisional Revolutionary Council (An Alternative Presidential Council, A Council of Elders, which would soon replace "the Administration" and "the Congress" gain hold of the Treasury, abolish the Federal Reserve, and allocate money directly to the people/communities while working within our local communities to foster and facilitate a comprehensive ecological economic redevelopment plan and implementation plan while organizing inter-community cooperation and solidarity within a World Congress for Community Economic Development (WCCED).

I am looking for nominees, you may self-nominate, for such a Council.

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

Mike Morin

Letter to Cindy Sheehan at the Gates of the Warshington DeCeaser Capital 07/13/2010

2010-07-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

Letter to Cindy Sheehan at the Gates of the Warshington DeCeaser Capital 07/13/2010

Cindy,

Be somewhat cool, as cool as thee all can be. Reported that Obama is trying to push a War Appropriations Bill and DemonBureaucrats who are against it are going to go along with it because it also has Domestic Spending attachments that feed their particular constituents Capitalist Special Interests like HUD and Teachers, building and teaching what? is a matter of great concern...

It would be RELATIVELY easy to overthrow the Federal Government, more problematic to take all 50 States, the myriad of County and Municipal Governments.

However, the biggest challenge is to "overthrow" or more appropriately transition the economy. If you all, congregating in Warshington DeCeaser succeed at toppling the irrelevant and obsolete Administration and Congress, please be sure to secure the Treasury. It is the only essential part of the US Government and one that we want to maintain (until that super-Eutopian day that we can evolve to a World Currency, and then (about 9255 AD) a system of "Free Socialism").

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

Mike Morin

A Succinct Comprehensive Essay Regarding the Economic/Political System

2010-07-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

A Succinct Comprehensive Essay Regarding the Economic/Political System

Dr. Kin was the greatest...

Rather than Liberal Reform of an obsolete political system, we need to focus on supplanting it. Obama is a child. He is a talented and smart kid, but very much like Bill Clinton, he is surrounded by the wrong elements and is very much a politician trying to target messages, with "help" from the Capitalist media in attempt to sound like he cares, to try to please the most people most of the time based on public opinion polls or perceptions of the Capitalist elites that pull the puppet strings.

Obama is a jelly fish like Clinton. There is a serious lack of ethics within these men. The focus on one man is wrong and I think more and more of the populace understand to some extent the sick games that the Capitalists "on both sides of the aisle" play.

The focus needs to be on the fact that the political system is obsolete and fundamentally corrupt. More importantly, the economic system is obsolete, defunct, and fundamentally correct.

We, as a nation, as a world need to regroup. We have to focus first on our local/regional economic politics, with the recognition that the hegemonic chains of an overarching Capitalist elite must be cast off...

We need to identify our local leaders, our regional leaders, our world leaders, yet work with the existing status quo to transition to a new economic/political paradigm based on cooperative communitarian/socialist principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, altruism, wellness and quality of life, sustainability and hopefully a resulting peace. It requires a strategy of ecological economic redevelopment that fundamentally understands that we have already passed the peak of fossil fuel resources and that there is impending disaster in not recognizing the historical perspective relative to the finitude of such and other resources fundamental to a viable future.

From where I sit, the biggest danger that we as the people of the world face is the complacency of the cruise control consumer culture and a terrible arrogance that seems to have no conscience about the consequences of continuing such genocidal, ecocidal, suicidal behavior.

It is time for all potential leaders to step forward and step forward boldly.
I am very tired and frustrated by the lack of response to my outreach. It is something that I have been able to envision, yet thus far been unable to touch, to make real.

Work with me.

Time is of the essence.

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

Mike Morin

Relative to Levins, Gerard, Acuff Discussion of AFL-CIO Mission and Strategies

2010-07-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

Relative to Levins, Gerard, Acuff Discussion of AFL-CIO Mission and Strategies

Promising discussion.

A couple of problems with traditional Union approaches, even when strongly influenced by Socialist thought.

1.) Syndicalism - Collective Bargaining within an Economic Sector benefits only the workers in that economic sector and can be destructive of a larger Socialist Mission (e.g. IBEW gains in a Military Aircraft Engine Group operations, UAW gains in a post-fossil fuel environment and economy).

2.) The US vs. THEM mentality. Many, if not Most, if not All Unionized "shops" have a working/adversarial relationship with "Management" (Financial Workers, Directors, Decision Makers, Engineers, System Analysts and Programmers, Portfolio Managers, etc.) who are most often not Union members and therefore functioning somewhat at odds with the solidarity of Union brotherhood.

What is needed is the concept of One Big Union where Capitalists and their "exempt" workers would join and cooperate in a comprehensive socio/economic Mission. Socialists need to allocate resources. The fundamental questions relate to how resources are allocated to and within communities and among and within economic sectors. We need to understand and practice the fundamental accounting principle: United Assets minus United Liabilities = United Equity.

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

Mike Morin

Regarding Health Care Reform – July 5, 2010

2010-07-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Regarding Health Care Reform – July 5, 2010

Thanks for "chiming" in, Diane.

Health care should not be viewed as outside the realm of environmental/public health.

Health care reform should not be viewed as outside the realm of comprehensive ecological economic reform.

But, addressing the particular issue, allow me to offer the following for your consideration, communications, and eduaction.

Having worked for about 15 years in the "Managed Care" and Cost Containment Branches of Health Insurers and other Finance Providers, I have had many valuable lessons on how not to do it.

I agree with PNHP and others about the inefficiencies and redundancies of the past and remaining current health finance firms. A single payer is a good suggestion, but the ways and means by which money is garnered into the system (also the allocation policy and methods, which I will address in a moment) is problematic.

Current understanding presupposes a system of taxation, which is quite unpopular with many and even odious to some if not many if not most. For a payment system this is the major issue. There are also infrastructure problems related to existing finance systems. In other words, people have money allocated to physical capital, and there is a large amount of human resources who have dedicated much of their precious time to building the status quo. Everyone gets up and does something similar or very similar to what they did the day before. Radical change is problematic but not insurmountable.

My transition idea or plan, if you will, is a double payer system with Medicare and Medicaid on the "Public Side" and a Union of "Private" Financiers on the "Quasi-Public" Side. Reform would be expected on both sides, and maybe eventually evolving to a single payer?

Where I differ greatly from PNHP and other advocates of Single Payer, is there total abdication of their responsibility related to the huge role that the irresponsible system of health care providers and the medical industrial complex has caused in the dissolution and breakdown of an affordable workable system of health care. The answer here is again Union. Unions of Institutional and Professional providers.

Working with the above defined workers and phasing down and eventually out Capitalists, we would work to establish HMO in every region/locality and budget resources based on a medical policy set by Physicians and others who are well acquainted and versed in the abuses of the Provider Communities and are excellent, knowledgeable, experienced at their trade. Shannon Brownlee and Nortin Hadler are two eminent such Physicians who come to mind and have written excellent books. Physicians with such qualities should be the Primary Decision Makers, especially on the professional side, but also with respect to the use and allocation of Institutional Resources.

But to reiterate, working toward such an ideal needs to be done within the purview of environmental/public health policies, programs which are part of a comprehensive ecological economic reform plan.

In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity

Religion

2010-06-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

Religion, It ain't really worth talking about?

Some take a solace in that there will be an afterlife, better than this horrible life.

They won't be disappointed:

"As the emptiness of heaven welcomes your weary soul" (and pain-racked body, tormented mind)?

The problems with religion is the hypocrisy. Worshipping deities but not really living the good teachings of faith. Yet, Jesus, some followers of the man, some aspects of the Bible and Koran teach valuable lessons that could possibly help with easing the torment of the mind, IF PRACTICED, You know, the nine-fold path of the Buddha; right intentions, right knowledge, right mindfulness, right action, right livelihood, etc.

Biggest problem with religions? Holy War!!!

But people who fuel their existence on evil, the immoral (totally non-religious, in fact conscious or subconscious d'evil worshippers) and the amoral all combine with even the impure segments of even the purest serves to completely negate Godwin's Socialist Utopia).

So I'm left with another essay that I enjoyed writing but only brings us full circle to Cynicism. The Calvinist Doctrine of the work ethic is real. If I keep busy, working on the nine-fold path, I am a happy man despite my health problems (I forget about them and how they will probably run their course in these End Times, probably for most, but certainly for me). When I am not busy, I fall into mental depression that leads to mental despair. I have a weakness with right mindfulness and it can cause me torment. To appeal to "Jesus" for forgiveness, only works among the good people of the world, and we can be weak to fear the people who are along for the ride on a planet that is going (has always been going?) to the d'evil. to hell.

Try to cultivate the good in yourself and weed out the bad. To the extent that you meet people with good intentions try to help them along that path, as well. The light of good is potentially within all of us, but the option of right livelihood is available to few. That is problematic, but not insurmountable.

Posted on “Unemployeds” Forum

2010-05-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

>As the economy recovers and employers increase hiring to meet the growing demand
>for goods and services, many currently unemployed workers will be able to find new
>jobs.

"The economy" will not recover. There will be no growing demand for goods and services. What we are experiencing is structural unemployment of the grandest scale. We are on the bust side of a thirty-year supply side boom that saw a major investment in foreign made products and domestic transportation and retail outlets. For a while, this boom supported a growth in professional business employees, exactly those whom the referenced article identifies as the long-term unemployed. The other jobs created by the supply side/retail boom were low paying retail and other non-living wage service sector jobs.

Together, the bust adds up to a permanent deficit in effective demand for the over-supply of junk that has been sold to the American consumer in the last thirty, fifty, one hundred years.

What we need to do is recognize that we are on the other side of a post-peak fossil fuel economy and organize ourselves into a collective union that works to rebuild relocalized economies in all communities, all regions.

It will take leadership that is foreign to the economic and political history of this country. It will take a solidarity that has never been seen before and is highly unlikely with the mindless hedonistic anarchy that is prevailing in our country today.

In the meantime, stick with the Dems., when it comes to safety-net issues.

Demand Side Management, Supply Side Reallocation (Jobs, Equity)

2010-05-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

Demand-Side Management, Neighborhood Redevelopment and Transportation Planning

I would like to address the supply side scenario for energy production based on assumptions of economic growth requiring an increase in the use of energy.

The trouble with focusing on supply side economics and energy is that they both ignore demand. In relation to economics, the lack of effective demand for the plethora of consumer products will prove to be the downfall of this past generation’s experiment with supply side economics. With respect to energy, we must recognize that demand side management is critical to any possibility of a sustainable future. Liberal economics (laissez faire, the so-called free market) cannot deal with the problem(s). We need a planned economy to effectively retrofit the infrastructure and to rebuild our communities to be walkable, therefore eliminating the terrible daily waste of oil/energy resources for transportation purposes.

I have to differ with rosy scenarios regarding the contribution that photovoltaics can make. I’m not an electrical engineer or an electrician, but it is my understanding that PVs don’t have the oomph (be it voltage or amperage) to contribute very significantly to the current and recommended increased usage of electricity. Sure, PVs and wind might be able to contribute to lighting applications and a few very high efficiency appliances, but they can not power our transportation, industrial, business, and home heating and air conditioning, hot water, agricultural inputs, refrigeration, drying, and cooking needs.

We could go full throttle to the building of nuclear power plants, but I am highly leery of their toxicity and safety issues. Even if we pursued the path of electrification with the maximization of nuclear power, it will require a tremendous overhaul of our transportation infrastructure, and other applications currently met by oil products, coal, and natural gas. Such an overhaul could only be possible by a Totalitarian economy, which I would argue that is closer to what has evolved from the rapacious Capitalist Conglomerate oligopolistic conspiracy and control of all levels of government. What I am proposing as an alternative is an economic democracy. Although I am presenting a comprehensive plan, it will never be realized without the popular support of the citizenry.

Nuclear is not a “free market” technology. Government programs paid for most of the resources for development of such. Then, there is the waste issue. Is it not the Federal Government who is going to or proposing to pay for the waste depository at Yucca Mountain (Nevada)? Also, there is the issue of bringing back the so-called Price-Anderson legislation. This was legislation in which the Federal Government provided insurance for nuclear power plants and related operations. No private insurer would underwrite the risks, thus the Feds had to step in. In the current political environment of casting all responsibility to the wind, I can darkly envision a full throttle nuclear program without any insurance or public accountability. It is the same for the myopic revenue sharks of the fossil fuel industries.

Perhaps a better scenario could be realized if we started very soon with a planned economy that focused first on economic and energy demand side management and also retrofitted infrastructures with respect to very scarce and relatively clean (I view carbon resources, if appropriately used, to be cleaner than nuclear) energy applications.

The potential for solar thermal hot water is immense. Imagine all hot water demanding properties on the planet equipped with such devices. Imagine all the (community/worker owned) jobs involved with the production, installation, and distribution of these units. I list distribution last, because all efforts need to be made to maximize the localization of such production and installation, as well as any other products for which going towards relocalization may be possible (e.g. food).

Relocalization is part of the plan (and not just for food). Instead of reversalism, the term that the IMF representative, Staniford, has coined as being emblematic of the relocalization paradigm, let me offer the following "re" words that imply a gradual evolution to a future which incorporates the best of the past, for your consideration, response, and action.

Reformation

Little to no beneficial change will occur without an almost religious change from the paradigm of economic growth and standard of living to one that emphasizes community redevelopment and quality of life. This is an important educational component of an alternative ecological economic plan.

Reorganization

If we can be successful and realize the educational/reform component, the next (concurrent) step is to reorganize to one of cooperative (or at least partially so – we will probably need to compromise on the divide between one dollar/one vote and one person/one vote as the dominant paradigm of economic organization) communitarian local and regional economic entities, at least until the day that we are all nearly equal in terms of ownership of the means and goods of production and distribution. How to assure the transition from inequality is problematic. However, as the entire economic system begins and proceeds to fail, those wealthy seeking to avoid total financial ruin will welcome the opportunity to accept the quality of life paradigm, foregoing their opulent, ostentatious, enslaving, ecocidal, genocidal, and suicidal "standard of living" modus operandi.

Reallocation

We need coordinated community, inter-community, inter-regional and world planning agencies that agree on the fundamental mission of a global ecological economy that have the basic pillars of inclusion, humanity, equity, and sustainability.

Restructuring

Communities will need to be physically rebuilt to make them walkable (i.e. new urbanism, reusing existing buildings, retrofitting residential communities built in the oil/automobile age by building community economic and cultural centers making necessities and other important quality of life amenities, available to all within walking distance of their homes Also such a plan should include housing and other built environment improvement and ownership opportunities for the less well off. Included in such a plan would be neighborhood work stations which would aid in the ability of office workers to telecommute in their occupations as we transition from a supply-side nightmare to a sustainable, equitable, and quality of life economy. Imagine all the jobs!

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle.

With respect to electric vehicles, my thoughts are that they may be a small part of a longer term solution and probably restricted to rebuilt/walkable urban and suburban neighborhoods for the use of the elderly and/or infirm. The top priority with respect to fossil fuels and other energy resources is demand side management. The chief priority in planning the role of the automobile is to reduce automobile use by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years. We are currently burdened by a terrible oversupply (including owned and overstocked inventories at factories and dealerships) of fuel inefficient and poorly designed internal combustion vehicles. If these vehicles weren't so poorly designed, there could be a significant opportunity to convert them to hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. But they are very poorly designed. Perhaps the current population of vehicles should be deconstructed and parts reused or recycled. Such is obviously not a feasible alternative, though efforts should be made to make all vehicles that are in use after a comprehensive downsizing of the vehicles remaining in use New vehicles should be exclusively, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric, except maybe for long-term transport and work vehicles. It is very doubtful that we ever need to produce one more vehicle off the absurd robotic assembly lines of atrociously designed anachronisms, opulent ostentations.
The could be tremendous amounts of work generated by the reconstruction of neighborhoods and the rearrangement of production, distribution, and communication systems to make them neighborhood friendly. In addition, a great potential for work lies in the field of deconstruction of transportation and related infrastructure adaptation. Parking lots could be torn up and converted to community gardens. Streets (and rail systems) could be torn up and converted to walking and bike paths and others altered to be less wide, restoring the liveability of housing located on these very noisy busy passageways. Parking garages could be torn down and replaced by mixed-use developments and/or garden/park uses. Highways could be dedicated mostly to bus travel, long distance transport, and perhaps some, if not many, of them torn down and reclaimed as natural and agricultural land. For automobile usage, it would be optimal to encourage the development of car-sharing cooperatives. All vehicles left in use must be quiet, and slower (with the exception of busses and long range transport). With respect to transport and distribution systems (and production systems) relocalization and neighborhood telecommunications (including teleconferencing facilities) should be the major goal, greatly reducing the need for long-range transport.

Another Iteration of “the Plan”

We need some perspective.

Liquid and gaseous 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.

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, inclusion, humanity, quality of life, wellness, 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, threats to Iran and to both domestic and worldwide environments which need to be conserved and shared equitably and frugally, particularly with the interests of youth, children, and future generations in heart and mind. The world acting in concert would stand much better prospects for peace.

The Ecology of Redevelopment

A big part of my redevelopment plan (aside from the financial systems reform) is the REBUILDING of neighborhoods to make them walkable for the necessities of life (that is, assuming a goal of a much less harried pace than today, but also assuming that people will have responsibilities, obligations, and desires). Such a plan would include a massive education program in retraining workers and training in youth in the building trades. Human resource management would be utilized to try to maximize the match between where the primary contractors/instructors and student/workers lived and the neighborhood building projects.

Communities would be rebuilt to emulate mature ecological systems, in that they maximize the efficiency of energy and resource input into the community so that once resources enter a community, they stay in the community for the maximum amount of time possible. Once all communities are sufficiently rebuilt (a timeline of 20 to 50 years?) under such guidelines, they would evolve to ongoing day-to-day and maintenance communities and the amount of heavy labor required would decrease and the amount of leisure time increase. Again, (day-to-day and maintenance) workers would be employed in, surrounding, and/or as close to their residency as possible and it would be a priority for real and capital assets to be owned by the workers and the community patrons who ideally would be one and the same. The Neighborhood Equity Union would replace credit unions and of course, other forms of financial institutions. Parks and gymnasiums would be an important part of the plan as leisure time increased and the healthy aspects of physical labor decreased.

Concurrent with rebuilding, and the reallocation of production and distribution resources, would be efforts to make office, communications, knowledge and intelligence based labor into primarily home and/or neighborhood based vocations. Occasional travel would be necessary and desirable, but quiet bus travel and car-sharing cooperatives could be employed to fill this need along with family visit and recreational needs and desires. With respect to the former, extended families would be encouraged to develop, remain, and/or reunite geographically.

TARP and Related Matters

2010-05-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

As DeFazio and others have suggested fire Summers and Geithner, but take back ALL the TARP money, not only that given to AIG and Goldman Sachs.

Put the money into a Peoples Equity Fund for allocation to community betterment/worker owned projects for ecological economic redevelopment which is inclusive, equitable, humane, altruistic, healthy, needs and peace oriented, and sustainable.

We do not need a Federal Reserve, which is the biggest heist of all history. We do not need Federal Taxes and we do not need to borrow funds from the self-serving Banking and Investment “Community”. All we need is a Treasury to make direct allocations to enterprises and individuals within communities and within and among economic sectors that produce and serve to meet the needs of people..

DeFazio talks of "infrastructure" and the organized crime of the fluke 20th century continues to trickle in millions upon millions of dollars to the linear trajectory of a dysfunctional suicidal and genocidal (of all youth and children) “path”. What does he want more squandered "stimulus" money, a continuation of the National Highway Act of 1950? Sorry, Peter, you're right on the front end, but wrong from then on.

Decommission the military and end military spending as fast as possible and dedicate some if not much of that money to the comprehensive education/action (eduaction) program that will be necessary to transition to such a cooperative communitarian/socialist (because some may be unable to contribute, and at first there will be a lot of resistance from many who are happy with a welfare state existence and/or understandably prefer such to the slavery and repugnant alternatives that thinly exist, if at all, within the Capitalist system) economy.

Much more to write, but limited space.

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

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
(the unresponsive DeFazio's district)

P.S. I have repeatedly suggested to the nameless, faceless women who stonewall for Peter, or perhaps more accurately for the Capitalist interests that control him and manipulate him, that Peter (and I have been in touch with Congressman John Lewis from George (Mason) Jah Town) (and John’s staff seem to understand better) and hopefully others introduce legislation to directly access Treasury funds for the purpose of assisting in a public/private(quasi-public) partnership that would exand the concept of an Organization for Economic Opportunity to all communities with the public sector’s participation being one of direct funding to low-income communities programs and projects, and funding of community organizing personnel in the mold of ACORN, Ameri-corps, and/or similar or a newly conceptualized program.

The Relationship of Equity Union(s) to Existing Financial Institutions and Community Betterment Organizations

2010-05-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

The role of the Equity Union is to alter the allocation purposes and priorities of the Investment "Class" (i.e. the owners of Banks and Corporations and Traders on Wall Street and similar venues).

While credit unions and banks primarily make mortgage loans, car loans, consumer loans, and in loans to businesses, an equity union (with accounts in a community development union(s)) would specifically be dedicated to making equity grants, equity participation, and equity sharing allocations to community betterment organizations (CBOs).

When a financial organization makes a loan, it has first claim on net revenues. In other words, before a workers' cooperative or a traditional sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation can pay themselves, they must first pay back the interest (and eventually principal) on the loan.

In an equity union participation (as differentiated from an outright grant), any dividends to the equity union participants would be paid back subsidiary to the interests of the worker owners or community/worker owners of the CBO firm. The arrangement would be negotiable. If the negotiation calls for no dividends, whatsoever, then that would be called equity sharing.

Equity shares/participations in a CBO could not be traded and could only be bought back by the members of the Equity Union at par value. In other words, no capital gains would be allowed.

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

2010-05-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

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.

A Re-introduction to the Concept of Equity Union(s)

2010-05-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

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 regional, and 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 administration at the regional and wide cooperative populations.

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 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).

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" non-profit community betterment organizations (CBOs)

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

Equity Unions as they relate to a "Public Asset Fund"

2010-02-08T16:21:00.000-08:00

His "public asset fund" has very similar intentions, I think.

Let me comment on the concept as you have presented it:

For what it is worth, government ownership is not going to be very popular, and is unnecessary. Why do we need the government to own the assets? If we can turn the property and capital over to the government why can we not instead turn those assets directly over to workers' cooperatives with funds collected by the government. Why do we need the government to administer? They merely need to facilitate.

Secondly, we must be vigilant and careful about Capitalists selling or otherwise ceding obsolete capital assets to workers. ESOPS are a good idea for workers, but have disadvantages. They don't deal withe physical/economic realities of local disinvestment and they do not address the issues associated with Corporate/Union partnerships in damaging sectors such as military contracting, alcohol and tobacco production and distribution, etc.

Let me clarify, if not reiterate, the definition of a Bank is that it is investor owned. By contrast savings banks and credit unions are depositor owned.

Among the purposes of an equity union is to evolve us away from an investor "class", non-workers who live off capital gains and dividends. Rational and purposeful (for meeting community needs and reasonable wants) Equity participation, sharing, and granting would replace speculative equity investing, equity trading, and lending (usurious by definition and certainly in practice).

In essence, the main purpose of an Equity Union system would be to evolve the private sector into a quasi-public One.

We also need to abolish the Federal Reserve. Let the Treasury make direct allocations to community equity unions instead of allocating financial capital to Investor owned banks.

Please pass this communication on, if you deem such appropriate.

Let me know what Dave thinks of my ideas, and by all means encourage him to contact me directly.

Thanks for writing.

Take good care.

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

Mike Morin
wiserunion@earthlink.net

A Re-introduction to the Concept of Equity Union(s)

2010-02-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

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 regional, and 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 administration at the regional and wide cooperative populations.

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 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).

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.

The Relationship of Equity Union(s) to Credit Unions and Community Betterment Organizations

2010-02-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

The equity union(s) are not to replace credit unions, but to work in concert with them.

The role of the Equity Union is to alter the allocation purposes and priorities of the Investment "Class" (i.e. the owners of Banks and Corporations and Traders on Wall Street and similar venues).

While credit unions primarily make mortgage loans, car loans, consumer loans, and and in some special cases loans to small businesses, an equity union (with an account in a community development credit union) would specifically be dedicated to making equity grants, equity participation, and equity sharing allocations to community betterment organizations (CBOs).

When a financial organization makes a loan, it has first claim on net revenues. In other words, before a workers' cooperative or a traditional sole proprietership, partnership, or corporation can pay themselves, they must first pay back the interest (and eventually principal) on the loan.

In an equity union participation (as differentiated from an outright grant), any dividends to the equity union participants would be paid back subsidiary to the interests of the worker owners or community/worker owners of the CBO firm. The arrangement would be negotiable. If the negotiation calls for no dividends, whatsoever, then that would be called equity sharing.

Equity shares/participations in a CBO could not be traded and could only be bought back by the members of the Equity Union at par value. In other words, no capital gains would be allowed.

Resource Planning

2010-02-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

>Quote:Originally posted by TerraSapient

>Well said, and I agree with you on most of your >points. However, what we need to do and >
>what people are willing to do rarely align (coming >from the historical perspective)..

Mike Morin replies:

People are like lemmings, they are easily led. Look at the way they ran headlong into war in World War 2 and all the other cataclysms of our irrational history. The survival instinct is so fierce as to be extinguishing. The question is, are people now sufficiently knowledgeable and sentient enough to understand and reject the four hundred years of Capitalist/Industrial Revolution/Fossil-fueled/Colonialist Military and Economic Hegemony and accept the conscious and deliberate evolution that will be necessary to adjust to the resource scarce, over-populated future?

Given the consumerist/Corporatist driven realities of the Communications Media and the politicians of the USA and their allies (increasingly few), and the widely entrenched economic interests of much (many (with resources), if not most) of the population are the people reachable with these important messages and will they, can they, understand and recognize the historical exceptionalism of their lifestyles, and be persuaded to accept a rational, planned future for the benefit of the youth and children, and succeeding generations, without despairing about how it upsets their current routines?

Can leaders/educators be found to greatly assist in such an effort when most educators are the result of a Corporatist linear trajectory and a longstanding involvement in a progression of adaptation to one sort of conformism or another that has served to advance their selfish careers?

>Quote:Originally posted by TerraSapient:

> It isn't just about planners laying out guidelines for more appropriately designed urban fabrics >based on a resource scarcity, but about a cultural shift where people want to live in these kinds >of places, want to stop driving their cars, want to walk..

MM:

How do we go about affecting such a "cultural (r)evolution"?

>Quote:Originally posted by TerraSapient:

>the desire to drive everywhere will not change by simply running low on oil.

MM:

Yes, but the ability to drive will change if the price of oil spikes and then plateaus or continues to rise and/or the recession continues to deepen and fundamentally disrupts the effective demand of the middle and ownership "classes".We don't want an oil crisis because fossil fuels are a much too important resource/opportunity cost for more precious applications such as home heating, cooking, hot water, and electricity generation.

Perhaps a good policy to accompany a long-standing demand side plan implementation of rebuilding and retrofitting neighborhoods/villages and changing the fundamental ways and means by which goods and services are allocated to and within communities (to make them walkable, sustainable) would be to slowly but discernibly (and explained) raise the relative price of gasoline relative to oil's more important applications (a selective carbon tax, if you will, but it also could involve a quasi-public orientation of the oil companies (I suppose that we could nationalize them, though this would not be the optimal approach to advocate)).

Such a pricing/tax policy could also use additional revenues, if any, to subsidize and/or pay for the quasi-public/public works rebuilding efforts.

>Quote:Originally posted by TerraSapient:

> Not to mention that if we truly do have an oil crisis on our hands in the very near future
>(which I do believe is imminent) people are going to have a lot more to worry about than what >kind of energy source their personal automobiles will be running on, and therefore how far >their place of employment or the grocery store is from their home.

MM:

Yes, we may not have the time to implement such a long-term strategy. But, we should not abandon it, because as a geo-political overture to OPEC and contested fossil fuel reserves territories, it could go a long way toward making peace and thus helping to ensure a much longer lasting decline phase of the fossil fuel age.

>Quote:Originally posted by TerraSapient:

> Given the subject matter, I think we need to have an understanding of what kinds of >technologies are going to be influencing the built environment of the future before we can
> adequately plan for them. Planning for urban fabrics that are based on an expiring resource is >important, but if we truly want to plan for future generations, we cannot stop there and must >focus on what kinds of resources they will be utilizing as well.

MM:

There is little to nothing in the way of supply side solutions. The solutions will need to be relative to the long-term radical reduction of demand.

Mondragon

2010-02-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

The Mondragon model is an excellent one. It was actually established based on the basic principles of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), which evolved from the early cooperative communitarian/socialist and mutualist theorists and organizers who have been proposing and campaigning and yes fighting back (against Institutionalized Violence and Oppression) for centuries.

In its more recent history, Mondragon has strayed somewhat from some of its ideals due to its need to integrate into a larger Capitalist economy, which eschews externalities (social and environmental values, goals, and concerns). However, it's conception, early success, and its peaceful and productive response to historical antagonisms are instructive and exemplary.

I concur with Ivan that the active promotion of artisanry would be an important part of all economic development initiatives and folks following the Mondragon Operating Guidelines of Person Centered, Cooperation, Continual Improvement, and Community Commitment would help ascertain that such would occur.

Reading the article and assessing the economic realities brings to mind issues of economic paralysis associated with the inflated costs of doing business (the inflated costs of real and capital assets) and the difficulties associated with replicating the Mondragon success in today's very different economic environment.

One of the keys to the community wide success of Mondragon was was the Community Commitment Principle which states that among the mission of the Organization is "to create jobs and create community wealth (equity) are the irrevocable requirement of our community vocation". They did this by earmarking a percentage of revenues from successful workers' cooperatives to the start-up of new workers' cooperatives.

So where and how do we find and create the successful workers cooperatives willing to share in a like manner?

Response to Questions Regarding Equity Unions

2010-02-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Good questions, Bob.

To reach a eutopian (good place) socialist reality, it would be highly advantageous for every neighborhood village to have a local equity union, and it is important that each local have extensive inter-community relations, especially with the other neighborhood/villages in their region (defined as metropolitan area transposed on a watershed).

All deposits and donations in-kind would be voluntary (and members can participate to whatever extent they care to) and all equity union funds would be dedicated to community betterment programs and organizations consistent with the principles of the cooperative communitarian ecological economic redevelopment plan. Recipients of equity sharing/participation would be required to be workers' cooperatives or community/worker hybrid cooperatives (as a transition vehicle from the status quo to the desired).

The incentive is primarily altruistic and socialist, because it is the right thing to do. While equity unions are starting out, depositors would be at an acknowledged disadvantage relative to the traditionalist Capitalist game of exceeding the hurdle rate, that is getting a better return on their "investment" (equity union shares are participation SHARES (literally) and not investments) than the assumed discount rate. With the Capitalist system failing, such could be viewed as not a disadvantage but a social equitable participation in an inclusive, equitable, needs based, wellness-oriented, humane, peaceful, and sustainable culture. An advantage of values over monetary "value". An advantage of quality of life over a quantified standard of living.

When Equity Unions are the standard operating system, real ecological economic redevelopment will replace abstract concepts of economic "growth". Equity sharing and participation will replace equity speculation, equity trading, and lending.

Posted to the Pittsburgh Socialist Forum

2010-02-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

I'm not from Pittsburgh, nor have I ever been there, but I suspect that it is like so many of urban areas in the Northern US, a place with much in the way of hollowed out, and for most intents and purposes abandoned residential and industrial districts overrun by now declining suburban sprawl which feeds into overactive and overzealous medical institutions and establishments and has built their gliitering steel-girded towers where a fraudulent Capitalist middle class and aristocracy carry on the chrade of trading paper, more likely in this day and age bytes and megabytes.

So what can a reformed Socialist economy do for an area that has no legitimate base remaining?

I suggest to you that there is much work to be done rebuilding the human environment in preparation for the long or precipitous decline in the fossil fuel age. We must move all communities towards relocalization of basic needs and it is imperative that we, as a nation, set goals such as reducing automobile usage by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years in order to free the remaining precious fossil fuels for more important applications such as home heating, cooking, and electricty for necessary applications (do we really need so much lighting?).

The keys to this massive energy demand side rebuilding program are the walkable neighborhood (i.e. rebuilding and/or retrofitting all neighborhoods with village centers so that most can get the things they need within walking distance of their homes) and the deliberate, planned, needs directed, cooperative and inter-community control of the production and distribution supply chains for all the peoples needs.

The first part of the solution proposed in the previous paragraph is nothing new. It has been an architectural/urban planning mantra called "new urbanism". Many speculative developments based on these principles have failed in the last generation. The reason? There are two, the irrationality with the way the profit-motivated economic system allocates resources, and the lack of affordability for most.

We get "mixed use" redevelopments in which the commercial sectors are irrelevant to the needs of the gentrified clientele. They almost always build parking garages so that the bourgeoise residents of new urbanist projects can ignore the lack of available necessities in their neighborhood and are still "free to vote in the marketplace".

We all know that Socialism is Labor employing capital to meet the needs of the people, starting with those most in need. The allocation of resources to evolve to such a eutopia (good place) has to be rationally distributed in a principled manner.

It can be done, but before a plan can be implemented (realized), it needs to be conceived, developed, communicated, and accepted (recognized).

To place the payment burden on governments is not realistic or even optimal. What is needed is the recognition and commitment and dedication of and for the evolution of the private sector to a quasi-public one (working in coordination with Government safety-net, fostering, and facilitating capabilities). The vehicle for the economic/financial transition is an Equity Union. With such an Institution, equity sharing would replace equity speculation, equity trading, and lending.

That's enough for now. I hope that we can discuss and push the agenda forward. I will post a copy of this essay in the Discussion Section of this Group.

A Reply

2010-01-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

I don't call it "post-carbon" because all life is carbon based.

I call it post peak-oil and post fossil fuel. The lifestyles of the "Western" world is so melded to the use of fossil fuels for all aspects of luxury and survival and irrational interaction and it has arisen in the last three hundred years as an integral part of the Capitalist system which as an extension of Feudal and Imperialist Military hegemony has raped and squandered the North American continent and others in its colonialist pursuits.

I thought that the Capitalist system was reformable, but now I see what a virulent madness it is... Good planets are hard to find and we are almost through with this one. I am riding out my days in the belly of the Capitalist Imperialist beast. I still think an equity union is a superior idea for economic relations, but it will not be of the real world.

I look to the Moslem world for leadership and would recommend that they resist the decadent temptations of Western life. The US Imperialist goal of World Manifest Destiny has been a hard and violent ride. It is now almost over. The meaning of almost is not clear. 5 years? 10 years? 100 years? and there will most likely be no clear line of demarcation defining the end. They will go on with their inanity in an oblivious crusade of the ultimate paradox between evil and righteousness until there is no fuel to fire the ignitions for their chariots of luxury, for their fleets and chariots and thunderbirds and drones of war.

Perhaps the Evilest Empire of All Time, the USA, is very near defeat. Perhaps not. However long it takes to strangle the beast, I know that all that will be left is a squandered planet.

It is a shame, because with rational, equitable, humane, altruistic, education and action the overshoot of population and the scarcity of resource availability could conceivably be dealt with. Instead we are running full speed into the worst period of suffering that Man has and will ever face.

If I weren't so stir crazy from the deafening silence of an irrational people then I would be fretting about how my life will play out in the collapse.

I've tried to make positive contributions all my life, I will continue to try given any chance.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Transition?

2010-01-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

By "The Coordinator Class", I'm guessing that you mean the Management and Staff Workers of the Capitalist System that may or may not have ownership holdings in Capitalist Enterprises.

To whatever extent their ownership holdings are tied up in their expected income or their "good consumer" participation in the Capitalist economy have placed them at odds with an imagined Participatory Economy based on inclusion, equity, voluntary simplicity, wellness, peace, and sustainability there must be a vehicle of transition for these relatively skilled potential members of the working class.

A radical overhaul of the current Capitalist equity trading, equity return, credit system to one of sharing equity (an Equity Union) for purposes of ecological economic redevelopment/community betterment organizaions (CBOs) would be a possible transition vehicle in that Institutional Investors of all sorts could become altruistic and self-help contributors and participants in community/worker hybrid cooperatives forming inter-community alliances with the purpose of eventually transforming to an all inclusive cooperating system of sustainable, equilibrious, participatory economy, worker-owned and managed, entities.

Given that it is at best a longshot, and highly utopian, a grave concern is the ridiculously inflated cost of real and capital assets, and the collective holding of liabilities within the Capitalist system, that make it impossible for workers to employ capital in the pursuit of a right livelihood.

We need the vision of long range planning in a post-peak resource constrained world and we need to maximze participation among ALL PEOPLE, or at least among the current and past workers of the Capitalist System, including the "Coordinator Class".

The Ownership Class may fall into our safety-net system and the transition for them will seem unbearable and the support onerous to what is now a shell of productive capacity.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

Swan Song?

2010-01-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

I am a 57 year old Environmental Studies/Socialist Economist with a MBA who works full time in the reimagining of a paradigm of ecological economic redevelopment and seeks to organize people around the mission of a world unity and cooperation effort to altruistically and fully and peacefully meet the needs of people based on the fundamental principles of inclusion, equity, humanity, environmental/public health and wellness, sufficiency, towards relocalization, peace, and sustainability.

I have just said nothing new, only stated it differently.

I do not kid myself, we are so small as to be invisible - except among ourselves, We are up against over 400 years of the Capitalist Institutional Leviathan and we are beset with an exploding population running dry of productive faciltative resources that we are accustomed to.

At risk of understatement, we are working against huge odds.

Yet those of us who believe that the work is worthwhile must come together and work together to make the noble attempt(s).

Will you join with me?

Let's discuss.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Response to AFL-CIO

2010-01-13T11:16:00.000-08:00

Washington politicos lack not only courage, but along with Labor “Leaders”, lack historical perspective.

We are in the decline phase of the Capitalist system. It is not cyclical phenomonon, it is dying, almost dead. So it is also that we have long passed, overshot, the limits of growth on a finite planet with finite resources.

If we have any hope to adjust, we must recognize these realities and overthrow the paper shackles of the puppets in DC. Labor leaders may be able to fill the void if they would adopt the radical perspective that challenges every given of the Divine Right of Kings/Divine Right of Corporations, Investment Banks, Banks, Bourgeoise Landlords and all the lackey politicians and media that follow in cue.

We need something completely different. A Peoples Equity Union dedicated to community betterment, meeting the needs of people in an inclusive, affordable, humane, equitable, artisan, sustainable, and peaceful manner.

We need a fundamental overhaul and reorganization of the economic system.

But without leadership, the idiots will get up tomorrow and do something all too similar to what they did today. Is it approaching nothing?

Get real, Trumka. Face the Dead Air, and get Radical, like REAL LABOR LEADERS OF THE PAST. It is our only hope.

In Peace, Friendwalkin’, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
Peoples’ Equity Union

Epistle to Iver / US Transition

2010-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

Iver,

Do they drive all over creation, willy-nilly, and seemingly without purpose in Maine?

It is insane, the way that they drive around Oregon. Even worse than it was in Massachusetts. Don't they understand that there is a real opportunity cost for that fuel? If it is used for personal automobile use then there is that much less for home heating, cooking, and electricity generation. If they exhaust it today, it is gone forever. It WILL NOT be available tomorrow.

Did you know that in the USA, personal transportation accounts for 14 MILLION BARRELS A DAY of oil usage?

A couple of years ago, a friend in my apartment building went back to Minnesota to visit. He said it was absolutely insane how the people there drove foolishly, when in Minnesota, of all places, they should be sensitive to the opportunity cost relative to the cold. Maine is not so urban, and probably hasn't grown as much in the last century, but I'm betting that the development in the last 80 to 100 years has been mindless residential and associated strip malls.

What are the conditions of your old town and village centers? If made obsolete by Wal-Marts and other strip development, is it realistic to economically bring them back? Think about forming an equity union in the residential neighborhoods surrounding the old centers and pooling your money/resources to make your communities walkable again, reallocating goods and services to town and village centers so that people can get what they need within walking distance of their homes.

Economy of scale is important, so you will want to look to combining inter-community efforts on a regional scale (Define your regions as smallest identifiable and workable locale and work your way out, probably along watersheds).

If Teddy Roosevelt had listened to Benton MacKaye (The New Exploration:1928), we would be in so much a better predicament, but Benton's genius was marginalized in his day and the prophecy, like other unrecognized voices of genius in the wilderness (among the unthinking, ignorant normalcy) would be remembered as ultra-Biblical, if there will be anyone left to remember or recall (at least on this continent)

It's amazing to think of that when oil has only been known as a common resource for about 150 years and the automobile about 100 years. Think of what a fluke that is in human history. Why can't our leaders put it into perspective for the people of this country and implore us to recognize that the terrible overshoot in this resource use combined with population pressures calls for extraordinary short term and long term adjustments?

It seems so relatively simple to me, why don't others/leaders comprehend it and take and commit to action?

Talk about a foolhardy people and boomtowns, have you ever seen pictures of the huge Edmonton, Alberta skyline? And the graphic said -17 degrees. Oil's well that ends? Well?

Business as usual is genocide, ecocide, and suicide.

If you think that sprawl is a problem back east, you should see it here in Oregon (and other "points" West). That's all they know now.

I hope that I have helped you in your efforts to bring a true, workable transition to Skowhegan and sister communities. It feels so much better to post positive ideas than to vent the terrible frustrations of doom (no matter how realistic).

Please let me know if there is any way that I can help.

Enjoyed looking at the farm websites that you posted and watching your maple syrup video. Like organic gardening and food preservation, I think that many in the Transition Movement (especially the young) romanticize and oversimplify the age old knowledge and wisdom that is required, and hopefully for the folks in rural areas (who may have a chance except for the economic dominance/stranglehold of the metropolitan regions and the mass chaos and barbarism that will accompany the latters' failures) not lost.

Got a "charge" out of your electric range. I suppose Central Maine Power gets a substantial amount of its electricity from Wiscasset (a nuclear power plant on the Maine Coast).

Over.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

The Blues

2010-01-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

I find myself as a Radical with more of what you describe as the Conservative position, the very worst within me wishing for the precipitous decline of the "Evilest Empire" the Genocidal Aristocracy, their Bourgeoise Underlords, and the great majority of ignorant sheeple who eat the shit that they are fed.

Die-off was the mantra, and my Friend, Karl Davies, who championed the leader of such prognostication, Jay Hanson, did just that, died-off (colon cancer). Death is never pretty, but I am of the considered opinion that my Uncle Bill, who was murdered in New Hampshire (5 shotgun blasts), got out of this life relatively rather easily.

Sunny seems to bask in the impending doom and at my lowest moments I am full of hate for the evil and ignorance that has engulfed us, but at the same time, I worry about the hardship and suffering that will be MY path to nothingness. It's not like, they will all perish, leaving us, a chosen few, to inherit a eutopia (i.e. good place).

No, it will somewhere between a crash leaving us nothing for sustenance and a long agonizing twisting envisioning then eventually realizing the decline and failure of a false wealth built and operated on speculation, allegiance, rote, and oppression.

People on the North American continent will starve and freeze to death. Here in Driveland, Oregon they will cruise until they can cruise no more and as the weather is relatively mild, more will starve than freeze. But, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, New York, hinterlands, etc? I don't believe the non-reports in the Capitalist Commercial Media that it is not already happening, as save for us Pacific Breezers, the entire continent plunged to near zero and below zero temperatures. Hardy folk, some or most, or at least descended (population explosion) from hardy folks, but really without a clue.

I asked a Friend in ChiKaKu how he heated their place. Natural gas, he responded. Where does that natural gas come from? People's Gas. Where does People's Gas get their gas? Silence. Dead Silence.

August 1 will probably be the magic day when all in the Frigid North (They are reporting many freezing deaths in Europe - Russia anounced a month or so ago that they would NOT supply their precious oil and gas to the European idiots so concerned with Global WARMING), when all the frigid North decides that their currency will be best used as kindling and their urban/suburban slums best used for feeding the woodstoves to the tiny Transition Chosen, given the assumption that there will be gasoline to truck the dissassembled and squatterized ruins to their rural utopian hobbit nests

There may not be fuel for heat, but there will aways be gasoline for the rugged individualists in their SUVs.

Seriously though, I'm wishing you all the best and may we live in denial for the rest of our lives and may our blind faith be rewarded, for after all, it's not MY fault and I've tried to wake people up to the realities of finite resources but they prefer to drive out their own American Dream until it becomes the worst nightnare EVER!!!

Couldn't help but hear the merciless, insane, irrational drone of the Leviathan Highway beast as I walked back from picking up some produce from a neighborhood store. I wonder, how long 'til that drone is silenced and how will it all shake out? What will be the changes in my life?

Peace.

Mike Morin

Perspective on 01/11/10

2010-01-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

Looked up Carmichael in my Atlas. Suburb to the East of Sacramento?

I've been to Sacramento, it is a very physically attractive city, especially the old town/Lavender District.

IF ONE CAN AFFORD IT, California, with all its rich agricultural resources and clement weather, is probably the best place on earth.

My ideas center around the post-peak oil and other resources reality. It will be necessary to rebuild or renovate all neighborhoods with village centers, and to reallocate resources directly, to make necessities available within walking distance for almost all, thereby reducing personal automotive vehicle use by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years.

I envision the complete overhaul of the economy to a "plan and implement" ecological economic redevelopment One, where community/worker hybrid cooperatives will be the mechanism of equity sharing and evolution to such relocalization.

The huge obstacle that we face all over the country and Western world is the outrageous inflation in the price of real and capital assets. Unless we can find some way to collectively write off or down the "market values", we will face an increasingly paralyzed linear trajectory to resource and economic oblivion and ruin. The situation will continue to crumble and collapse and only those with total equity in their economic holdings will be able to carry out even the most primitive commerce.

I am not optimistic as there is an extremely overwhelming (understatement) gap between the conceptual and the realization.

We need desperately, to be organizing around unifying mission and principles, but the people seem oblivious and locked into the deadly momentum of the fluke automobile culture that is only about 100 years old (compare that to all of human history).

"Car" Michael, how ironic.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

"Carless" Michael
(Mike Morin)
Eugene, OR

AgriBUSINESS

2010-01-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

Unless they can mechanize every aspect of the food production process, which of course they can't, they will eventually run out of willing and able workers to do their inhumane production work. It will wither away, the effects on pricing will be just the beginning. There will be no food.

It is not surprising that the attempting to profit-maximize corporate slavers and their servile educational and technological grunts have a total disdain for humanity in any aspect of their agriBUSINESS. They probably operate as loss leaders in highly diversified mega-corporations that falsify their records to show profits that don't and increasingly can't exist, eventually in all sectors of their fictitious entities.

The plight of farmers that you describe does not surprise me. As you ride the bus through Iowa, without exaggeration, one of every three farmsteads is abandoned and that does not count the ones that have been torn down.

Agriculture has always been a form of slavery and like I said, the enslavers will push it to the point of impossibility and we will all starve, unless we freeze first.

Ah, life in the gluttonous Pink Car Nation...

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Capitalism 3.0

2010-01-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

Just finished reading Capitalism 3.0 : A guide to Reclaiming the Commons by Peter Barnes.

Have you read it?
It's well worth the read.

My impression is that Peter is a Socialist in Sheep's Clothing. He gives excellent historical perspective, and reading between the lines - some rather large comprehensive algorithmic possible solutions regarding transition strategies. His funding sources (e.g. Rockefeller Foundation) and Capitalist Publisher seem to place noticeable limits on his (what are otherwise bordering on radical) proposed fundamental, sweeping changes.

He makes good argument regarding the abuses of "the Commons" by Capitalism (Feudalism as precursor), and particularly the Corporate Variety, but awkwardly argues that the answer is to create Public Trusts of the Commons for the purposes of adapting (not replacing) the Capitalist/Corporate System in an absurd proposal to meet them about half-way. Such a supposition demonstrates either a lack of willingness to go beyond the constraints and desired target markets of funders and publisher and/or a fundamental weakness in the author's understanding of and/or willingness to challenge us with a Marxist perspective.

I believe it to be the constraints of the Capitalists more than the man's knowledge and perception base because he sneaks in some rather large equity and inclusion arguments in a book that ostensibly is targeting the "sustainability" crowd.

Nonetheless, it is a disheartening reality because it reminds me/us just how far into the Capitalist Corporate "game" and overshoot that we are, and what an overwhelming task it would be to try to reorganize the people into an alternative economic entity or entities. Barnes references Harvard Economist Mancur Olson's "Logic of Collective Action" in which Olson argues, "unless the number of players in a group is very small, people will not combine to pursue their common interests".

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Regarding Mondragon

2010-01-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

Recently, the "Solidarity Economy Network" published an article that was printed in Time Magazine, about the Mondragon "Cooperative" Corporation (MCC), MCCs recent "letter of intent" with United Steelworkers (USW), and two very small workers cooperatives start-ups in Cleveland and SF Bay. While I applaud the efforts in Cleveland and SF Bay and wish them much success and a more honorable and principled and eventually all-encompassing "growth" than the original MCC, let's not get deluded by wishful thinking and political greenwash.

You must understand the cooptation that has occurred in the Mondragon "Cooperative" CORPORATION (MCC) which started small and highly principled, but has in reality evolved to little more than another predatory Capitalist Conglomerate. Starting as International Cooperative Alliance principled workers cooperatives, MCC has devolved to a Corporation, who according to this PR glitz article, has over 100 workers' cooperatives in a Corporation of 256 Companies. That translates to about 150 Companies, who are NOT workers' cooperatives, and knowing the history of Mondragon, it is a fairly safe bet that those 100 or so are probably functioning now as worker cooperatives in just about name only.

Early Mondragon experience can be a very useful model. But the bootstraps model that the Capitalists, including the lackey Labor Organization, USW, want us to get enthused about is a false promise and destined to fail like the MCC did in truely living out its original mission and intent.

Only a unified Socialism that precludes the corrupting missions and modus operandis of unprincipled Capitalist realities (Capitalism eschews externalities), will allow for the success of an economy that sets out to meet the needs of the people in an inclusive, equitable, humane, wellness oriented, sustainable, and peaceful manner.

Mike Morin

Transitioning US

2010-01-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks for clarifying, David.

I, tambien, believe that we will not succeed without nearly a concensus of understanding AND participation.

"Unleashing the genius" is problematic because realistically I don't have much faith in the intelligence and commitment, or even the intentions of the normal population.

If we had better educational systems, better leaders, and more direct ways of reaching out to such citizens, we could have a chance. But most unfortunately, we have educational systems, propagandist Capitalist media, an elite system of whore politicians schooled by Capitalist pimp propagandists/elite and elitist dominated educational systems, as "leaders" and sheeple which DRIVE the denizens of the USA toward the seemingly necessary but overwhelming "Illichian" task of "deschooling".

I'm afrayed that we really don't have that kind of resource, nor do we have the time when we think of the enormity of the task of reschooling both from a conceptual and perceptual viewpoint, getting people to understand the alternative plans, and the technical re-education that it would take to implement those plans.

Yet, on the bright side, if our leaders (and it is important for any and everybuddy who can see themselves as such, to assume that role) and the consensual understanding could recognize the need for fulcramatic change then the unemployment and equity problems could be realized to such an extent that we would want to ENCOURAGE immigration.

Trouble is, we have an aging population in the USA and if we were to be dependent on a young "crop" of world immigrants then there would be probably even more of a "fresh" learning impediment and there would certainly be resistance from an indigenous USA population who may see it as a lost opportunity for them unless they have children and/or grandchildren who would definitely benefit.

As long as I am able, I will continue to try.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Response to the Neanderthals

2009-12-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20090602_geography_recession?utm_source=LG&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WIFLSFILG091229151087

Dear Jim Archibald,

Grade school Geography about the Midwestern "breadbasket", but one certain consideration that these ridiculous neo-cons seem to be overlooking is that food has to be produced, not just transported.

True, if we have anything left, perhaps we could go back to draft horses, river transport, etc., but to claim that an evolutionary Capitalist "free market" is the path is absurd. We are in overshoot and the population is and will be without coordinated education, effort, and action too ignorant, too incapable, and too old, and too few for any sort of survival to occur.

It is an evolutionary dead end, without the rational evolution to Homa Cooperativo.

Concerning their claims that the US Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, will be/is breaking the back of OPEC is profoundly premature.

By the way, any freezing in the Mississippi Waterway?, and any recognition of the reality of the fossil fuel bust that is going to wreak havoc on an ignorant people who just assume that the ignition is an extension of the hand?

Oh yeah, with all the dead putrefying bodies even the most primitive agriculturalists will not stand even the slightest chance.

By the time the dust clears on the largest cataclysm of all time, such a question would hardly be worthwhile.

But go see Avatar, I guess. The cataclysm will be on some planet far away. The cyclical market will rebound and we only have to switch on cruise control and wait for the invisible hands to continue their WMD performance of aggravated rape on this bountiful land.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Posted to Michael Moore's Website: 12/30/09

2009-12-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

As we neglect the needs of the frozen North American Continent, Obama vacates for Hawaii.

For those of you who are not acutely observant, I pointed out at the time that Private WarBushitler appointed Karzai, that it was quite an appropriate name for a USA ally.

Ham=Pig Meat, Id=Rash Behavior, Karzai= Auto Headlamp.

AmeriKar Bombs and Drones.

Please USA admit to yourselves and the world that the 20th Century was a fluke of human history and let us commit to the peaceful adjustment that conserves the fossil fuels and all valuable resources.

Now, if you all would rise up and show the appropriate amount of indignation, instead of cruising in your rods, I'll make a very successful attempt to perform "Invisible Hands Don't Make It".

By the way, in a moment of blue skying, I called Directory Assistance for Flint, MI and got the number of a Michael Moore. Got his answering machine. Sounded very African American.

So, Michael, in your genius but willy-nilly target market Capitalism attacks on the status quo, if you care to take our work in a more positive benevolent direction, then why don't you contact me...

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
512 W. 10th Avenue, #2
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 343-3808
peoplesequityunion@earthlink.net

Response to "Local" Genius

2009-12-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNkugyv2Mkk

----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Morin
To: rlogan@igc.org
Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 10:12 PM
Subject: Re: new paradigm of development

Ravi (and Jason),

With respect to your Post-Peak "Moment":

They'd rather drive.

Also, there is not a cooperative (or intelligent) bone in the USA Body Politic.

All seriousness aside, allow me to make the following commentary:

Good work.
I agree with almost all of what you say.

The planning locus needs to be the village/neighborhood with inter-community unity and cooperation within the watershed (planning region) and, of course inter-regional unity and cooperation.

Federation? That smacks of nationalism. No, thanks. There would need to be a world around unity and cooperation and accord and inter-regional trade and peace relations directly established and carefully nurtured.

I echo the moderator's questions as to how do we get from where we are to our desired destination. Also, where do we start?

I recommend that we abolish the Federal Reserve System and maintain the US Treasury to allocate notes and coinage to Regional Administrative Agencies (Equity Unions) that would allocate money to ecological economic redevelopment community betterment projects and programs based on explicitly stated and inculcated mission and principles. Eventually, a world currency may be the goal.

When you mentioned cooperatives, you omitted housing and other real assets. It is imperative that we completely overhaul the way that we deal with ownership relations in ALL sectors of the economy, particularly the financial/resource allocation sectors. We must fundamentally change the ways and means by which resources are allocated to and within communities and among and within economic sectors.

Very importantly, I will repeat one of my most important messages, that we in the United States and similar environs, need to reduce automotive vehicle use by 80% in the next twenty to forty years. This is absolutely essential to the survival of the species. All "permanent culture" designs, endeavors, projects, programs, and policies need to embody this goal.

More than just models, we need reality.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
----- Original Message -----
From: rlogan@igc.org
To: Mike Morin
Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 2:32 PM
Subject: new paradigm of development

This finally got posted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNkugyv2Mkk

Let me know what you think.

Ravi

Response to "LA Progressive" Editorial - It has Nothing to Do With Obama’s Ethnicity

2009-12-28T11:03:00.000-08:00

Duh,

The "fact" that O'Bomber is half African American has nothing to do with his behavior and the racist comment about AA's running away from a noble fight is absurd.

I have blue eyes and I know the problem is that O"Bomber is nothing more than a servile puppet of the militaristic Capitalist moneyed class, colored darker and kinked to be audaciously and atrociously sold to the liberal target market as at least, turns our at most, better than the alternative.

The slander on African Americans is ridiculous and un-called for. Among ethnic groups in the USA, the AAs have the most historical, longest lasting, and strongest radical tradition. As a French-Canadian/Sicilian American from Labor Heritage and an almost lifelong Cooperative Communitarian (Socialist/Communist), I find it easier to reach out and feel solidarity with "black" Americans.

I am frustrated by the ignorance and complicity of "white" people and their inability or lack of willingness to understand and embrace a radical agenda, even if presented in a most peaceful, orderly transition language.

I know it is an oversimplification to say White is to Capitalism as Black is to Socialism, but the History of the OEO of the 1964 Civil Rights Act suggests strongly that the appeal to O'Bombers "blackness" was an audacious rip-off of the legacy of Dr. MLK Jr.

Bringing "whites" into the fold, who seem to believe that freedom is equal to lack of responsibility to, for many, self, and to almost all, others, is problematic.

Chavez is the closest thing we have to a world leader. There is none in the US. His Bolivarian mantra almost draws the line in the sand between White Capitalism and Brown Socialism. If Obama thrusts us into full blown World War 4 in his ignorant attempt to enforce World Manifest Destiny then surely it will be the acts of a Capitalist Oreo and has no reflection on his ethnicity.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR

Point of Clarification – Terminology: Posted to Venezuelanalysis.com on 12/26/09

2009-12-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

The word "Bank" makes me shudder.

In Business School, we learned that "Banks" were investor owned.

Surely the nationalization of such implies that the government will be holding ownership shares in trust for the benefit of the poor and the workers. While nationalist borders are not ideal, such would seem to be a prudent intermediary step, given that the administrators are not corrupt.

Consistent with Hugo's Communitarian philosophy those assets need to be applied to community betterment projects and a portion of not-for-profit endeavors earmarked for other programs and projects.

Certainly, Chinese know-how could be helpful to the folks of ASA, but "investments"? (Which seem contradictory to the non-exploitation goals being espoused and carried out by Mr. Chavez).

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

Troubled by the Terminology – Posted to Venezuelanalysis.com on 12/26/09

2009-12-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

Though I understand Chavez's Maoist philosophy and therefore applaud cooperative relations with China, I am troubled by the word "investment" (Chinese "investment" in Venezuelan economic development).

Such suggests an expropriational relationship with respect to land and labor.

The US has had an exploitative relationship with China for the last generation (be it mostly with Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai?) which has been exploitative of Chinese labor and contradictory to the interests of USA workers and coming to fruition, owners, as it seems that the schism between diluted assets ownership and the mushroomed liabilities of many or most has created a tremendous mess for the folks in the USA.

Maybe it is a Maoist plot to: "I didn't come to praise Reagan, I came to bury him"

I don't know.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

Letter to "Capitalist" Friend

2009-12-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

Ian,

I am writing to request your assistance with respect to my strategy to transition the Private Investment Sector to a Quasi-Public Equity Sharing One. Certainly, if you have perused my web log you would have gleaned reference to such a fundamental paradigm shift from Capitalism to Socialism.

Recently, the USW (United Steelworkers) signed a letter of intent with the Mondragon Cooperative Community Corporation (MCC), a rather hopeful, peaceful evolutionary model that originated in the Basque Region of Spain and has grown tremendously (not without its problems associated with trying to integrate into the Capitalist Economy). I have been trying to work with USW, but have so far been rebuffed. My, not brazenly presented, suggestion that seriously pursuing such an intent translated to evolving the acronym USW to United Socialist Workers was rejected in an arrogant, reactionary manner.

I am frustrated by the apparent lack of historical perspective and long range vision that our Labor "leaders" possess.

Anyway, thee should read about Mondragon. I'll give a very brief recap.

They were formed in the Basque region of Spain, called Mondragon because it was a FORMER region of iron ore deposits and iron and steel smelting. The people of the region were separatists continuing rebellion in sympathy with the revolutionary movement in Spain, of which they were part, that was defeated by the notorious forces of Franco.

The Mondragon system came about as an attempt to positively channel the Socialist ideals of the communities in the region. They started not-for-profit workers' cooperatives with pre-determined revenues earmarked to re-invest in new workers' cooperatives. Being a very principled and democratic organization, based on the principles of the International Cooperative Alliance, and being fortunate enough to be starting while the Capitalist economy, within which they were working, was still in a growth phase (unlike the very dangerous resource constraints that the world faces now) and astute enough to find opportunity, they were fabulously successful.

They grew so much, so fast, that they began to and increasingly to stray from the ideals upon which they were formed, eventually being corrupted by their perceived growth needs and less than fully principled leadership that saw, rightly or wrongly the need to integrate themselves into the ways of Capitalism as they began joint ventures with less than principled Corporations.

Being a product of their times, they are not and never were "green".

Our discussion of Zip-Car, which I stated to be a less than optimal co-optation of the great and necessary idea of vehicle cooperatives, could be a small move in the right direction if it were structured as a not-for-profit worker/community hybrid cooperative.

Your thoughts?

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA
(541) 343-3808

From a Discussion of Agriculture

2009-12-21T15:10:00.001-08:00

Arable land, has always been precious, and from an anthropocentric view point, at least until our species began gardening and then farming.

However, farmers and farmworkers have been severely mistreated almost since the beginning of that evolution.

I point to Shay's Rebellion as a relatively recent example.

While I agree with your sentimental statement about work hard, love well (mixing oil and water?) and care for ourselves and others, I would reckon that you are just showing your underbelly and are sufficiently knowledgeable and experienced to understand that we must remain truely Cynical, and that in a way we may be damned if we do and damned if we don't concerning the reality that it might take fighting to overcome.

We all should know and understand that fighting just leads to more fighting and any hope of any race or nation that they are the Master Warriors is wrong, both from a perception and a reality.

Extinction comes from many strategies, and we as Homo Sapiens are on a many pathed linear trajectory towards exactly that. It will take nothing short of a conscious evolution of the whole world of men and women to the evolution of Homa Cooperativo to solve this piece and all the others necessary.

We live in a time when it is possible, unlike any time before, to communicate with each other. My sadness comes from the apparent fact that there is too much diffusion and triviality associated with that ability. Also, to restate the extinction claim, we are living in by far the most precarious time in the history of Man.

Much more than likely, the sins of agriBUSINESS will not yield with a simple loving plea. AgriBUSINESS like all the competitive Capitalist pursuits will probably try to run its course of genocide, ecocide, and suicide. As likely, farmers will wither away as their occupation will become so impossible and so distasteful that no one will enter it.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Clarifying the Peoples Equity Union Concept

2009-12-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

Collin,

Thank you for writing.

As you know, the banks not only charge interest, but most often issue a lien (i.e. they want collateral for the loan).

The entire Capitalist paradigm, whether it be in credit relations or equity relations, however inequitable the latter and former usually are, is based on the self-fulfilling, inflationary, and wasteful assumption called the time value of money, sometimes referred to as "the discount rate", which assumes that money will be worth less in the future. And, as we can see by the housing market, as the most burdensome example, eventually worthless.

Such a system sets off furious, irrational competition for businesses and institutions (I make the distinction because business can be productive and institutions tend to be exploitative) who set as their objective a "hurdle rate", "internal rate of return", "return on equity" rather than the meeting of peoples needs.

I have read Greco's book. I did not finish it. It started out good when he explained his personal history and intentions but deteriorated soon.

I am in favor of keeping the Treasury and eventually evolving to a world currency. The Federal Reserve should be abolished, although I am uncertain about the concept and role of "reserve notes". Thinking it through, it is an extension of the inflationary paradigm that I referred to earlier in this note. We must proceed very cautiously in phasing out or down such a system.

I strongly believe that we should redefine the credo word to be equity sharing, only because of the bad connotation that that credit has evolved to date. Equity sharing should replace "lending", equity trading, and equity investing.

I hope you comprehend and can appreciate and share this communication.

Please feel free to continue the conversation.

In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Regarding Transportation Issues

2009-12-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure that rail is more efficient than bus. If I am wrong, in my uncertainty, please edify.

Back East, in the USA and northern further eastern reaches, they certainly have enough, if not too much, in the way of rail.

One reason, that I prefer bus to rail is that it seems that it would be easier to make them much quieter. Please correct me, if I am wrong.

In Boston area, for example, the electric? (inefficient use of fuel) and direct power trains can be noisy as HELL, although relatively quiet at low speeds. All this bunk about bullet trains is both incognizant of that and of the terrible risk both in and outside the trains.

My suggestion for Boston, for example is to convert some, if not many, if not all, of the train lines to walking, bicycling, electric? (or at least quiet and relatively slow moving vehicles for the infirm) paths.

Commuter trains must take the human environment into consideration.

Here in Eugene, Oregon, as in most "points" "West", my reply to the AMTRAK corridors, is the same with the additional query, do you all really need to travel those corridors and if so, how often? Again, the issue of a quieter bus comes to mind.

The issue in sprawl communities is best stated relative to the walkability issue (i.e. the non-existence of village centers that would serve muliple beneficial purposes including having the availability of necessities and reasonable wants within walking distance for (almost ( I qualify because there will probably need to be rural exceptions, not to the village center concept, but to the walkability goal)) all.

Of course, new urbanism has been a mantra for some time now, but has been a failure. The reason for the failure has been primarily because it has left the allocation of resources up to the blatantly irrational so-called "free market" system.

Enough for now.

I invite and encourage all to respond, even if it is just in the affirmative (because it is really important and time is of the essence that we go beyond just planning and into the implementation).

In Peace, Friendwalking, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Hold It! Advise Regarding the Use of Fossil Fuels

2009-12-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

It is very important to the people of Nigeria and Venezuela and elsewhere to let social/environmental policy supercede "economic". In other words, be ecological about your economics and don't fall prey to the dictates of the so-called "free market"

Fossil fuel and potential fossil fuel producers are facing a dilemma in that if they want to grow their revenue streams they must yield to the gluttonous demand, mostly being perpetrated by the USA.

The USA must yield and commit to a massive reduction in their gluttony.

It is good advice that you all protect the cleanliness of your land and waters and to whatever extent it is relatively environmentally acceptable to extract (desert environments) that you steward those resources for optimizing your own habitat improvements and for future generations the whole world round.

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

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

Mortgage Defaults and Related Capitalist Fallaciousness

2009-12-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

Let's not quibble about minor adjustments, "loan modifications", that cannot begin to deal with the structural malaise of a mortgage default and possible ensuing eviction.

The first matter at hand, is can we have a moratorium on evictions, both mortgage and rental related? It seems as the Chief Executive, Obama could issue an executive order relative to such. Whether it be heeded on local levels is an entirely different question.

More fundamentally, the whole mortgage/lending and landlord/tenant reality of the Capitalist system is wrong. When I make a payment of $500 to my property management firm, what good reason is there that I should not be getting at least $350, if not $400, of equity from such a payment?

Such a world unity cooperative housing policy and program needs to replace the current Capitalist rip-off.

We have to recognize that first, and come together as a peoples' union to demand that we be treated as such.

Similarly, the exploiters need to organize to protect whatever legitimate interests they may have and to work with us on a transition strategy.

I understand the cutthroat mentality of the Capitalists. I am not naive. But the massive suffering that we have been experiencing and being realized by an accelerating segment (One argument is that we are only beginning to discuss it because it is now starting to effect the ownership "class") in the real estate/financial sector as in all sectors of the economy is due to the complete inequity, fallaciousness, inhumanity/uncaring nature that has been the Feudal/Mercantile/Capitalist evolution.

Tinkering will not suffice.

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

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union

Letter to Fred Redmond ("Civil Rights" Rep.): AFL-CIO Blog 12/11/09

2009-12-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

Liked your s'peach, Fred.

S'peace!

USW has signed a letter of intent with Mondragon. To me, and hopefully for the enlightened all, that should translate USW to United Socialist Workers.

IWW would best be International Workers of the World, until that ideal day when there are no borders. It should also be Industrious Workers of the World, because the concerns of humanity strongly translates to much happier workers (and May I add Equity holders) when there is artisanry in their occupation.

I have tried to communicate with Witherell, Garrard, and Trumka (and others). The following may be of interest:

12/7/09 Post to AFL-CIO Blog

Yes, Cherry, you are correct.

There have always been these tendencies relative to Labor/"Management" Relations, and the real exclusion of thinkers, organizers, agitators, and brave strikers and fighters who often if not most of the time had the best interests of workers and the benefit of the poor, and more recently the natural environment/resource base in their minds, their hearts, their bodies.

You are right that Organized Labor has been, as we so colorfully say, "blown out of the water", particularly in the last thirty years. I would venture a guess that many if not most who built the once strong labor movement in the USA, if alive, would admit that their complicity with Capitalists after they achieved a relative parity was a huge strategic mistake.

Did you know that Lawrence Summers, who was Clinton's Treasury Secretary and Geithner's boss and mentor, before the latter became Chief of the Federal Reserve of the Empire City was one of Ronald Reagan's Chief Economic Advisors?

Anyone who had a good introductory Economics course would know that Say's "Law", which supply-side economics is based on, is totally fallacious.

We now find ourselves in the very precarious position of a post over-supply side economy, where the off-shoring has deadened demand and accompanied by an imploding finite resource supply.

That's all for now.

It looks like the best we can do, these days, is keep chippin' away.

I have a sincere Cynical hope that that will change soon.

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

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR
(541) 343-3808

Regarding Growth, Climate Change, Post-Peak Fossil Fuels and Ecological Economic Redevelopment

2009-12-11T11:57:00.000-08:00

----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Morin
To: Workers World
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 11:28 AM
Subject: Re: Addicted to Growth

No shit, Sherlocks!!!

But, Climate Change as the Central Issue?

What is the temp. in NYC as you read?

Post-peak fossil fuels is the environmental issue, and thee all better hope that we are not approaching what some analysts say is an "Odluvai Gorge" (i.e. a precipitous drop) in the supply of fossil fuel heating, cooking, and electricity resources. Then, of course, even if it is a relatively plateuish situation, there is the issue of effective demand.

The ecology of the situation calls for a fundamental socialist paradigm plan and implement eduaction campaign, commitment and realization of ecological economic redevelopment.

Please feel free to contact me regarding further elaboration.

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

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene (hell, it's even cold out here), OR

Health Care Reform: 12-9-09 to AFL-CIO Blog

2009-12-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Incremental Change was not good enough almost 20 year ago when I wrote to the US House of Lords, Kennedy and Kassebaum, and was told by Mick Moran that my five basic pillars, er, principles were "too radical" and ny Dean Rosen, who would later go to work for a British Pharmaceutical Company, that the Senator said, "We have to do things incrementally".

Here it is twenty years later, and I have gone far beyond just stating the basic principles.

Yet, all we get is BS out of DC. Of course, DC cannot do it by themselves. I believe that is the first thing we must recognize.

I have been trying to get my health plan clear and communicated to everyone, but that is a very difficult charge (even worse than Anthony Mason ;-) ) given a limited stage and the frustration of non-response to my efforts.

Oui? Si?
See? We? d
Kelp!
I need somebuddy
Kelp!
Everybuddy!
- with the greatest respect to John Lennon

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

Mike Morin
Peoples Equity Union
Eugene, OR
(541)343-3808

ProvidersUnion: Posted to “Michael Moore”

2009-12-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

I ain't fakin'.

Now, here's the "prescription". All the Physicians and Allied Health Workers and the Owners and Workers of Hospitals and Insurance Companies join that Union and face the FACT that their revenue levels be reduced by, let's say 30 to 40% in the next ten years and staffing levels cut to a similar, yet somewhat less, amount.

There will be unemployment compensation for all workers and eventually for the uninitiated a lesser guaranteed income. All efforts by the Union working within and with other sectors would be to try and guarantee placement and/or re-training.

For example, there needs to be an increased presence in the field of wellness education and wellness policy and program implementation. I am not "talking" about the early screening shams, I am writing about environmental/public health issues. There will also be need for the ethical practice of sorting out what is really medically necessary and beneficial relative to the terrible fraud and abuse practiced by the medical profession and rammed down our every orifice by the medical industrial complex.

Enough for now.

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

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR

12/7/09 Post to AFL-CIO Blog

2009-12-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, Cherry, you are correct.

There have always been these tendencies relative to Labor/"Management" Relations, and the real exclusion of thinkers, organizers, agitators, and brave strikers and fighters who often if not most of the time had the best interests of workers and the benefit of the poor, and more recently the natural environment/resource base in their minds, their hearts, their bodies.

You are right that Organized Labor has been, as we so colorfully say "blown out of the water", particularly in the last thirty years. I would venture a guess that many if not most who built the once strong labor movement in the USA, if alive, would admit that their complicity with Capitalists after they achieved a relative parity was a huge strategic mistake.

Did you know that Lawrence Summers, who was Clinton's Treasury Secretary and Geithner's boss and mentor, before the latter became Chief of the Federal Reserve of the Empire City was one of Ronald Reagan's Chief Economic Advisors?

Anyone who had a good introductory Economics course would know that Say's "Law", which supply-side economics is based on, is totally fallacious.

We now find ourselves in the very precarious position of a post over-supply side economy, where the off-shoring has deadened demand and accompanied by an imploding finite resource supply.

That's all for now.

It looks like the best we can do, these days, is keep chippin' away.
I have a sincere Cynical hope that that will change soon.

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

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR

Equity Union Inculcation - Attempted Post on Moore's Website

2009-12-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, but even mutual insurance companies are not the answer because there is nothing mutual about the make-up of their portfolios.

An Equity Union is a better idea in that the participants could be, if the for-profit exploiters were not allowed to lie and steal and cheat and exploit their way through their lives. In other words, if we could get a voluntary consensus for world unity and cooperation with the locus being every individual/every local community, inter-community, inter-regional, and world round based on the principles of meeting needs and reasonable wants in an inclusive, humane, equitable, wellness-oriented, quality of life, peaceful and sustainable principled manner based on a plan and implement modus operandi.

Such would constitute a true mutual.

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

Mike Morin

Relative to Unemployment Compensation: to AFL-CIO Blog

2009-12-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

I had a form of unemployment compensation (Private Disability), which paid 60% of my previous income.

After about one year, the Private Insurer insisted that I apply for Social Security, saying that they would cut off my benefits, if I did not.

After my Social Security came through, the application and approval process took about six months, but SSDI paid me back wages, the Private Insurer carved out the Social Security, making it approximately a 50-50 proposition for about another year.

Then the Privates dropped out. My income, however, did not halve, because in my particular situation the Social Security was not taxable.

Structural unemployment should be viewed as a disability (of the system).

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

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR
(541) 343-3808

An Open? Letter to Michael Moore Prompted by a Health Care Reform Essay

2009-12-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

I'm getting tired of not being "heard" and with your incessant inculcation concerning what we already have, a certain consensus on, the need to have a single, or more accurately, double payer health care system.

When you all rail against the Medical Payer Corporations that have diversified into Medical Provider Corporations and vice versa, you are accurately scratching the surface of the health problem and the problems associated with the Capitalist system.

But, we must use this potentially valuable resource that Buffy is providing us and do more than futilely scratch away at the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and all associated "we're only in it for the money" Leviathan.

I'm tired of being ignored with respect to my working plan for a libertarian socialist alternative of world unity and cooperation, which will fundamentally change the ways and means that resources are allocated to meet the needs of people in an inclusive, humane, equitable, wellness, quality of life, peaceful, and sustainable manner.

I appreciate a good laugh as much as anybuddy, and Michael is incisive with his humor and his critical assessment. But we need to do more than expose and criticize. We need to provide a workable alternative. I have done this and will continue to try from my proletarian platform to get my words "heard".

I don't think that a MikeMorin.org website is what we need. In lieu of that is a cooperative amalgamation and alliance, perhaps a PeoplesEquityUnion.org, that would be a good start but not enough.

Michael. I love your work and I love you, but we must go beyond (yet still include) the target marketing of the protest/disillusioned and concerned with the disenfranchised, perhaps majority (i.e. the competitive anti-establishment "vote") and work to establish a working cooperative pro-active alternative plan and implement ecological economic redevelopment modus operandi.

Now, it is unrealistic of me to think that Michael reads every post, but those who do, can you please see that it is important that he reads this one and, if possible, the others that I have posted on this website?

We're One
but we're not the same
we've got to help each other
got to work together
-Bono

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

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

Unemployment and Social Security: AFL-CIO Blog

2009-12-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

First of all, the reported unemployment rates (though reportedly relatively high) are a gross misrepresentation of the workers' and potential workers' plight.

I would guess that you all know that the unemployment rate is only the number of those who were working covered by unemployment compensation funds that they are now collecting, unless they got “fired”.

I'm not an expert on this, but if I remember correctly, the law in Massachusetts was that only firms with 25 employees or more were required to pay into the State fund.

At least, fortunately, we have a Democratic majority in Congress, so there has been Federal Extensions on the time limits associated with most, if not all, State Unemployment Programs.

Secondly. Tricky Willy Clinton, to manies potential or actual benefit, eliminated or reduced that villain with a terrible name, Welfare, while putting many if not some of those manies on Social Security. Social Security tends to be overly miserly to those truely in need and unnecessary for some, if not many, of the elderly.

Based on recent reports, I have roughly calculated that 1 in 5 citizens of the USA are receiving Social Security "compensation".

So you see, Virginia, the seasonal stimulus is not anywhere close to being true.

Besides, manufacturing is industrial, whereas people are much more happy workers when they have the opportunity and education to be artisan industrious.

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

Mike Morin

Workers and the Poor: AFL-CIO Blog

2009-12-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

The minimum wage definitely needs to be raised. However, we all must consider regional difference between let's say, Arkansas and California.

More important then "minimum wage" is the issue of living wage. The short term answer is a guaranteed income for all over the age of eighteen (of course, we need to deal with orphans as well, and there still is an issue related to AFDC), increasing with age.

Over the long term we need an equity union to perhaps write off or down the liabilities and bring the cost of assets back to earth.

With respect to a guaranteed income, it should be only enough to meet the bare essentials including the idea that youth can share apartments and houses (although everyone should get equity from their "rent" payments) up to a certain age (suggested for discussion, 23).

Concerning meeting needs, there is a huge difference, climate wise, between McAllen and Minot. And PLEASE let's not dally another second regarding the opportunity costs associated with automotive squandering and MUCH HIGHER PRIORITIES like home heating, cooking, and electricity...

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

Mike Morin

Concerning “Offshoring”: AFL - CIO Blog

2009-12-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

“Olderworker”, I’m 57, am I an Older older worker or a younger older worker (i.e. than thee)?

Yes, you raise very legitimate and problematic concerns. Fundamental to such is the rampant inflation that has been going on in the USA, which puts North American Workers at a terrible disadvantage in the competitive job market.

Corollary to such is the prohibitive effect that the ridiculously inflated real “economic rents” and costs of capital assets have had on any entrepreneurial opportunities, already at great disadvantage to corporate diversification strategies and (now failing) economies of scale.

Concerning “stimulus” money such is a fundamentally destructive concept anyway in that it appears to assume the addiction to what I previously described as the specious fantasy of infinite economic growth within a finite earth in the solar system.

Secondly, this concept of “clean energy” is unfortunately an irreality.

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

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR

An Open Letter

2009-12-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

Mike Morin
512 W.10th Avenue, #2
Eugene, OR 97401
December 2, 2009

Mr. Kenneth Lewis
President
Bank of America
Corporate Center
100 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28255

Mr. Lewis and/or whoever (else) reads this letter:

It is my sincerest Cynical hope that you all will read this letter, take it seriously, and strongly consider cooperating with the plans that I have laid out and will try now to succinctly summarize.

I am asking thee to take a leadership role in the Banking “Industry” and consider the education, communications, and actions that you can take with respect to a peaceful transition regarding the evolution to a cooperative communitarian economy that is fundamentally dedicated to meeting peoples needs and wellness in an inclusive, humane, equitable, clean, and sustainably principled manner and modus operandi.

The basic call is to convert the “private sector” to a quasi-public one, working in unity and cooperation and helping to relieve the burdens and fiscally strapped potential inadequacies of the various Public Institutions and Programs.

We need to reorganize, reallocate to and within communities and among and within economic sectors, rebuild our communities in recognition of the post-peak fossil fuel reality and the century of sprawl with a paradigm of ecological economic redevelopment.

It is my firmly held assertion that the business community with its assumptions of discount rates with the concept of the time value of money is a self-fulfilling inflationary perspective and practice where money becomes worth less, eventually worthless. Also on a finite planet, we cannot entertain the fantasy of infinite growth.

We need to move on to a new era in human evolution, that of Homa Cooperativo, where equity sharing replaces equity trading and lending.

I hope you will understand the wisdom and intelligence incorporated into this communication, share it with your compatriots, and seek further communications, elaboration, discussion, and work with me and the interests of the greater world that I represent.

Time is of the essence.

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

Mike Morin
peoplesequityunion@earthlink.net

Another Futile/Unheeded Post?

2009-12-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

Hear ye! Hear me!

Single Payer with very tight budget controlled HMOs with emphasis on wellness (i.e. environmental/public health).

Dealing with pollution at the source (definitely with concern directly related tobacco, alcohol, and sources and causes of obesity (e.g. sugar waters, consumption of meat without rigorous exercise, etc.).

Please, let us get our eduaction together. Work with me on developing the izquierdo correcto policies, programs, and projects related to promoting the "general welfare" both within and beyond the borders of our fifty plus ONE (and that's reality) ways and means and the necessary libertarian voluntary evolution of the "private sector" to a quasi-public ONE.

In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
Peoples' Equity Union
Industrious Workers of the World
International Workers of the World
United Socialist Workers (USW)

Concerning AFL-CIO Obama Economic “Summit”

2009-12-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

Not Good enough!

Jobs and Equity!

Debuilding roads and true Green Jobs Initiative with the goal of reversing within the next 20 to 40 years the spurious ill conceived twentieth century of sprawl and automotive domination!

Who the hell are Stiglitz and Krugman (New York Times? No, thank you!)

And do we want to work with O'Bama O'Bomber after the decision that he is reportedly going to make tonight?

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

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR

With Respect to Transition Cascadia

2009-11-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong, I concur completely with the bioregional concept and approach. That is why I have tried on Transition Oregon to start a group called Transition Willamette Valley Watershed.

However, I think it equally as important that we take the communal and inter-community approach. Thus you could see my unsuccessful, to date, attempts to organize a Transition Jefferson/Westside and a Transition Eugene/Springfield and Vicinity groups.

Eugene is a bourgeois super-sprawled atro city. If it were its own bioregion and not associated with the farther Northern reaches of Cascadia, I would suggest that it be called the State of Treesgon. The colors of the U of O Ducks are gone green and fool's gold. If I were Emperor of Eugene, I would be Michael of
Ro(ad)mania. The great majority here almost never leave their cars, thus there is a very alienated atomized unfriendly lack of community here associated with the non-existence of village centers and the endless zoned residential sprawls with drive-to and drive-thru malls. Napoleon Blownapart.

Having seen Salem, Corvallis, Portland, and areas between and my knowledge of the history of the built environment, I'm guessing that all metropolitan areas within Cascadia suffer the same PLAGUE.

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

Mike Morin
Eugene

Land Reform in Venezuela (and Elsewhere?)

2009-11-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

Two hundred peasants reported dead in Venezuela, partially because a State Forced (National Guard) Land Reform.

It is almost the opposite of early New England's Shay's Rebellion where the Capitalist backed "Militia" of the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut accompanied by local mercenary thuggery (police) killed and imprisoned farmers who wanted a fair deal and were not getting it.

Brings to mind the Conservatives', partially true (and when so or even not but hysterically propagandized, very virulent) counter to Marx's Labor Theory of Value (which I see as a subset of the French Physiocrats construct that nature is the source of all value). That is, Locke's Labor Theory of Property.

We, as Friends and Socialists should respect such up to the point that some, if not many, of the Capitalist persuasion view money as a tool and not simply (and fairly) a medium of exchange.

It should be very obvious to all that are willing to look on objectively that one of the biggest criticisms of Capitalism is the irrational (and inequitable) ways and means by which it allocates resources.

When there was a virgin landscape to rape, it, Capitalism and its pretensions to the so-called “free market”, to many seemed like the most successful system in the history of man. But, now that we are on the other side of the peak of earthly finite resources, tragically aggravated by the preposterous supply-side experiment (which will be recorded as the over-supply side era blind to the tragic adverse affect on workers’, and eventually owners’, effective demand.), it should be clear to us all that a plan and implement modus operandi is necessary, and that Resource Allocation (RA) be a paramount topic of discussion and action.

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

Mike Morin
Peoples Equity Union
Eugene, OR, USA

Response to AFL-CIO Report on Columbian Union Deaths

2009-11-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

It's probably a safe assumption that the PSUV and their associated and high solidarity Unions are not in the least way responsible for the death of Union members in Columbia.

Au contraire, whatever tension being minded, felt, and experienced between Venezuela and Columbia stems from the basic fundamental paradigm difference of "Free Trade" (i.e. USA and mostly European Lackey Capitalist Corporate dominated) and lack of "Fair Trade" and owner/worker relationships and environmental stewardship concerns (the puppet International Capitalists' resistance to the popular ALBA Movement).

AFL-CIO has a window of opportunity to align correctly with the signing of a letter of intent between the USW and Mondragon (like the Basque region of Spain the ore and the energy for furnace fires was/is depleted and the heart mind bodies were/need to be dedicated to new solutions which were/will be libertarian cooperative communitarian in design, form and materialism.

The USW acronym needs to be redesignated as United Socialist Workers and become the direction of AFL-CIO and our relation to international with the goal of world unity and cooperation.

Whereas, the "One Big Union" was the slogan of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) so should it be as the Industrious Workers of the World and in transition the International Workers of the World, as resource constraints and humanity moves us more towards the relocalization artisanry opportunities for everybuddy, leaving none behind.

We can unite with the now aligned nations or you can hold out for a White House USA Summit of the G(one).

It's our choice.

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

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR, USA

TARP and Related Matters

2009-11-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

Comment on Michael Moore’s Website Regarding Health Care Reform

2009-11-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

Then there's Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Columbia Health Systems, Humana, and many, many more. Then there is General Electric, Siemens, and many, many more, Pharmaceutical Companies. Doctors whose revenue motivation is to cut and poison.

Then there was the famous US Government Hill-Burton Act. Perhaps some can defend this, but like most government public works (e.g. National Highway Act, subsequent amendments including O'Bomber's recent "Stimulus") my opinion is that they went way too far in their supply side corruption.

I favor a single payer, but I also favor a single provider, with drastic immediate cuts in medical spending on the order of 30 to 40% in the next 3 to 5 years and 60 to 70% within the next 10 to 20 years.

With respect to budgeting, a medical policy board and regional and local administrators made up of ETHICAL (that may be hard to find) health care professionals who are acutely aware of the fraud and abuse in the medical care system. Shannon Brownlee and Nortin Hadler come immediately to mind.

Concerning the Provider Situation, that's where the Budgeting Committee will have to get tough. All for-profits need to be converted to non-profits, but that will not be nearly good enough. Unemployment Compensation and/or Social Security should be offered to all displaced workers and much effort put into the function of job retraining.

It's gone way too far, has been going way too far for far too long, and it's time we stopped the massive complicity to corruption and decadence.

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

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

With Respect to thee Peoples' Equity Union

2009-11-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

Don,

Given the tinyness of the Peoples Equity Union, yes, money for experimentation is not available.

Traditionally, as you well know, R&D has been shared between Governments and Corporations, and the very rare instances of recent history private individuals and closely held businesses.

My eutopian (good place) vision is that ALL Banks would convert to a combination savings bank for depositors, Equity Union for Investors. It would be up to the democratic process to see if and how much Governments contribute funding to the Equity Union and/or directly to community betterment organizations (CBOs), as I think that you are proposing.

Corporations would dissolve evolving into community/worker hybrid cooperatives with the utopian (ideal place) eventually being a unified, equitable arrangement where the distinction between community cooperator and worker cooperator became irrelevant.

Anyway, it's still much more theory than practicality, as I write.

I'm torn between whether or not to wish you luck in getting your funding from traditional sources, because I believe that you potentially have a life-enhancing product that would be highly beneficial to people, but I don't want to encourage the very unfair, inequitable, exclusive, inhumane, unsustainable Capitalist system.

Keep in touch.

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

Mike Morin

Local Request for Equity Union Funds

2009-11-17T06:26:00.000-08:00

The led grow lamps will work. i have been working on this for about 2 years. Funding disappeared with the sub prime mortgage collapse. i was sceptical of the interest free loan you offered. kind of something for nothing thing. but it was not for nothing. it was to further the equity union. i have worked out 90% of the bugs, where others fail. i will succeed. mostly because my "unsuccessful" prototypes perform better than other groups "Successful" in production lights.

peace

Don Goerz
Exec. Director
Led Tek

***************************************************
Well, the local Peoples' Equity Fund has tentatively dedicated $20,500.

If that is enough for you, you'd have to demonstrate beyond almost any doubt the validity of the technology and have an assured market that would guarantee the payback.

I prefer to call it equity sharing rather than a no interest loan.

In other words, let's say the Equity Union was able to raise $500,000 but you were able to create valuable services to the region and the world and equity opportunities for a low-income/no or very little equity community or communities, and a certain amount of your revenues were earmarked for other community betterment projects then maybe we would only require that you pay back $450,000 or better still, we as the equity sharers would be a community owner of your community/worker hybrid cooperative. It would be subject to negotiation.

We could not sell our equity shares and if we disapproved of the direction the cooperative was taking (let's say investing in Christmas lights or lasers for weapons systems, or poor and/or undemocratic management), we could call our equity back but only at par value. Though if there was highly significant sharing we would build in legal stipulations as to what and how any earmarked revenues could be redistributed to other "ventures". Any variations from the legal stipulations (we'd keep them concise, fundamental and understandable) could carry with it a severe monetary penalty (not a lawsuit, but probably require you to divest your cooperative/productive equity and assets to us and pay a penalty for any uncooperative pursuits that you pursued.

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

Mike Morin
343-3808

TARP and the Peoples Equity Union

2009-11-17T06:23:00.000-08:00

ALL THE MONEY that was doled out under Bush's TARP should be paid back to the Federal Government and put into a Peoples' Equity Fund.

Contact me to discuss what we do before or after O'bomber does the right thing for a change and sets his Attorney General and Treasury Secretary to do just that, and I'll give you some really good ideas on how some or all of that money could be reallocated for inclusive, equitable, humane, healthy ecological economic redevelopment.

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
(541) 343-3808

With Respect To World/European Social Forum

2009-11-13T10:22:00.000-08:00

With Respect To World/European Social Forum

Regarding the planned European Social Forum of 2010:

Good to see World Organizing manifesting itself in a regional context.

To whatever extent we can get people together to introduce, discuss, inculcate, and progress the ecosocialist agenda and that of world unity and cooperation, the forums will hopefully continue to serve a purpose.

One problem that I have is the "jet set" modality of the participants. I could be and hope to be and probably am very wrong about that statement.

We need to move beyond the world round organizing and communicating and bring such to local and regional levels. A good conceptual initiative is The Peoples' Agenda for Alternative Regionalisms www.alternative-regionalisms.org/?page_id2 . They have an excellent agenda. Not surprisingly those of us within the belly of the Leviathan (The USA Economic/Military hegemony) have no representation in the organization.

It is very frustrating trying to organize within the local community and region in the Eugene, OR, USA. People here are either brain-dead, complacent with their current competitive advantage, drugged, tobaccoed, and alcoholic, cowardly, and/or otherwise non-committal. To many, the concept of peace means withdrawal and the absence of hassle. The monster is too damn big in the USA.

Hugo Chavez has been relatively successful in organizing the ALBA coalition, the Latin American/African Alliance (ASA), cooperative ties with Iran and Russia and China. The USA and his European allies are still too uncooperative and hell-bent on their premier role in a world hierarchy to join such an alliance of world unity, equity, and cooperation.

They (the USA and their Fascist complicit media) will continue to obfuscate and pathetically beat the war drum while continuing a self-interested ecocidal, suicidal and attempted genocidal linear trajectory Capitalism. They will fail, but how much damage will they do in the mean time?

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

Mike Morin

Peoples Equity Union

Eugene, OR, USA

Commodities Dealers vs. Community Cooperatives Concerning Oil and Other Resources

2009-11-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

Commodities Dealers vs. Community Cooperatives Concerning Oil and Other Resources

(The premise of the article to which I responded was that Commodity Dealers were driving the price of oil way too high)

Half true.

Commodity dealers are hard sucking parasites and their effect on the cost of home heating oil and gas (and electricity) could be fatal to many this winter and/or increasingly very soon.

Community buying/producer cooperatives direct trading should replace the existing exploitative and parasitic economic relationships for fossil fuels, agricultural, products, and other "commodities". Citizens' Energy Cooperative, which buys its home heating oil from Venezuela, may be a good, though small and isolated, example of how an alternative economic system could be structured.

It is my considered opinion that we are in an era of post-peak oil. Oil is a stock resource; therefore the long-term scarcity justifies high prices. Also, the demand side management and the environmental costs (including climate change) would justify much higher taxes (at least on gasoline) and caps on its use.

We must make the commitment of reducing automobile use by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years, by rebuilding neighborhoods/villages and reallocating goods and services to those neighborhoods/villages so that almost all can get what they need and reasonably want within walking distance of their homes, and so that a maximum amount of people can work at home and/or within walking distance of their homes.

Such would be a major boom to the building trades and with the proper education and training rectify the terrible structural unemployment situation that now exists in the United States.

Green Jobs, Equity, and Carbon

2009-11-12T03:04:00.000-08:00

Green Jobs, Equity, and Carbon

Friends of the Earth (FOE?) of which I am one, I am also a Friend of the People (FOP?)

??
no, no.

I am equally Friend, equally Socialist (that's why I go by the names Mohandos Mao and Mohandos Lenino).

These Friends have it half correct. Cap and trade is a sham, a racket, an invention of Wall Street types.

We should implement carbon taxes and maybe caps, but we need to consider a workable transition so that we do not have power outages and freezing and starving people.

Wind and PVs are an illusion. Neither supplies the voltage and amperage needed to do the great amount of 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, particularly in the United States (that's what I know).

By rebuilding neighborhoods and reallocating goods and services to those renovated neighborhoods (made walkable, meaning that the great majority of people will be able to get what they need and reasonably want within walking distance to their homes).

Such a tremendous commitment and dedication of resources will be a boom for 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 neighborly qualities 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 and drying systems, limited wind and PVs.

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/villages.

Concerning FOEs suggestion of a publicly financed economy, we would optimally transition the "private sector" to a quasi-public one working in cooperation with public funding programs. The ideal would really be to phase out the government programs as much as possible.

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

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

Chavez Sends 15,000 Military Troops to Columbian Border

2009-11-11T06:47:00.000-08:00

I disagree with Hugo's strategy here. The use of the Institutionalized Violence of the Military is counter to Fidel Castro's proclamation that we are all policeman.

A military man, like a national flag is a symbol of oppression and divisiveness.

To counteract the USA funding of the Columbian military (and arming of plain clothesed Columbians?) Hugo should supply his plainclothesd citizen allies with weapons, if necessary.

I think that if citizens whether armed or unarmed were meeting and working together with each other over common and mutual interests, it would be much more productive than employing military resources and personnel.

I am Libertarian Socialist, and/but would not welcome a Military presence whether it be Socialist or Capitalist in my neighborhood/village, community, region.

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

Peace Flag Project

2009-11-05T06:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a great socialist project and I'm serious about doing it.

Let's replace all the national flags (at the UN General Assembly and everywhere else) with the Rainbow Peace Flag in all the languages of the world and in regions/locales.

Anybuddy want to work on that project?

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

Mike Morin
Jefferson Westside Neighborhood
Eugene-Springfield and Vicinity
Willamette Valley Watershed
Pacific NW of the North American Continent
Finite Planet Earth
Solar System
Infinite Universe

With Respect to Mondragon

2009-10-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

This, if it is true, is a very sad report.

The Mondragon Experiment, except for their ignorance of social ecology, was a very promising alternative socialist organization.

They formed successful workers' cooperatives, which spawned others, and they grew to relieve poverty and disaffection in their isolated region.

The problems started as they grew too big and began to need to integrate their business operations with the Capitalist world that surrounded them. The expediency of business operations and personal greed began to outweigh the egalitarian and solidarity principles based on the ICA principles.

Although they carefully built a very democratic cooperative corporate governance model, the complexity of large-scale operations and the accelerating pace eventually began to erode the vigilance and influence of the holders of the founding principles.

If I were beginning a socialist business entity, I would most certainly start with Mondragon, their founding principles and their early history as a positive example. I would study where they went wrong and try to devise mitigating interventions so that the new socialist economy was not corrupted.

The problem is that there IS a Capitalist system, where corporations have certain strategies and tactics (e.g. diversification, economy of scale, worker and environmental exploitation and the eschewing of those costs, etc.) to defeat small business. Otherwise, I'd suggest that the next Mondragon stick to the small mutualist business model and form community alliances only. However, that would not be realistic and successful. As long as there are corporate capitalist conglomerates, it will be impossible to build an alternative socialist economy.

We need world unity, understanding and cooperation.

Nothing less.

Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA

Response to American Catholic:” Beyond Socialism and Capitalism”

2009-10-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

As we face the most difficult times that the human race has yet to experience, I think that it is important that we emphasize that the concept and the term socialism was born out of compassion.

Before Robert Owen "coined" the term “socialism”, cooperative communitarianism or mutualist communalism were ideas put forward by intellectuals and advocates of the oppressed in a brutal feudal and emerging Capitalist economic system. They were eutopian dreams of equity (equality in proprietorship), put forth by altruistic thinkers and taken to heart, mind, and body (thus the beginnings of class struggle, a struggle against a brutally oppressive and exploitative system) by some of the peasants, some of the artisans and, as industrialization set in, a new more dehumanized class, the factory worker.

It was in light of the depraved conditions, particularly of the last, and with population growth, the enclosure movement, the waning influences of the established charities of the Catholic Church, that in England, the aristocratic, paternalistic, parliamentarian mill owner, Robert Owen, campaigned for the increased role of the State to improve the conditions of the workers and the indigent, and that he suggested that the ideas of the workers' "movement" be termed "Socialism" to include such.

"Socialism" and its predecessors got a bad connotation because of sporadic violence in reaction to oppression. Such was the origin of the term "anarchist", originally a derisive term used against the early cooperative communitarians who occasionally fought back against active oppression. The term Anarchist, which eventually would be adopted as a "positive" tendency by some Marxists was used, in the early days, to turn public sentiment against the Cooperative Communitarians.

Of course, the history of bloodshed between the Capitalist/Feudal establishments and Marxist/Leninist/Maoist strikers and soldiers and the eventual expropriations that came with the eventual victories of the latter have given the terms "Socialist" and "Communist" negative connotations.

As a lover of life, a Friend, I abhor violence.

Socialism, at least, should take care of those that cannot take care of themselves. That aspect of it, by itself, makes it an improvement in economics (i.e. the management of the home) and consistent with one of the pillars of Islam, the giving of alms. The more "utopian" ("eutopian" means "good place", "outopian" means "no place") aspects of cooperative communitarianism or mutualist communalism such as an economy dedicated to meet the needs of all founded on the principles of inclusion, equity, humanity, quality of life in lieu of maximization of consumption and waste, environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, and peace (the hoped for result) which seeks to inculcate that all men are brothers, all people kin, are worth consideration when dedicating thought and communication towards the progress of the human race.

As the laws of nature (survival of the fittest) are horrendously cruel and have been taken to the ultimate by the human species, and thus there will always be motivations of competition that can be divisive between individuals, within communities (however defined) and between and among communities, we must use every opportunity and devise that we are able to counteract such, to truely establish our humanity.

Given the fact that we can communicate like never before, let's use it! Let's declare the future a new era, an era of speciation that brings about the ideal of mankind, the evolution to Homo Cooperativa.

I believe that Hugo Chavez is a peace loving man. I hope that Hu Jin Tao is a peace loving man. Despite the policies thus far exhibited (e.g. Afghanistan and Pakistan), I'd like to believe that Barack Obama is a peace loving man.

Left to their own motivations and momentum, men will fight. There is no such thing as a good fight.

Forget "command and control", what we have in mind is "plan and implement".

Let's work together!

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

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

Peoples' Equity Union

A Letter to the Congressional Black Caucus regarding "Redistricting"

Gender Issues?

Thoughts on 3/13/2011

A Letter to James Howard Kunstler

With Respect to Non-Violence

The Plan

A Letter to Mostafa Hessami (Iran)

Homa Ecologica Cooperativo (On Facebook)

Relative to Leauge for Industrial Democracy and Upton Sinclair Mutual Aid Fund

Minimum Wage and an Inculcated Tangent

A Letter

Letter to Tea Party

Homa Ecologica Cooperativo

Public “Jobs”

The BP Spill

A Note to Dr. Mike Ellis on 08/06/2010

The G-20?

In Addition to “Workers’ Rights”

In Response to Raj

Basics

A Carbon Tax?

Letter to Dan La Botz – Socialist Candidate for Senate in Ohio

Posted on Facebook 07/22/10

The Salary of the Head of the Nurses Union

One Big Union

In Response to Praise for the USA Democratic Party

In Response to Report that Clinton is Promising Billions in “Aid” to Pakistan

Agricultural Reform in Context

Presidential Commission, Council of Elders

Letter to Cindy Sheehan at the Gates of the Warshington DeCeaser Capital 07/13/2010

A Succinct Comprehensive Essay Regarding the Economic/Political System

Relative to Levins, Gerard, Acuff Discussion of AFL-CIO Mission and Strategies

Regarding Health Care Reform – July 5, 2010

Religion

Posted on “Unemployeds” Forum

Demand Side Management, Supply Side Reallocation (Jobs, Equity)

TARP and Related Matters

The Relationship of Equity Union(s) to Existing Financial Institutions and Community Betterment Organizations

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

A Re-introduction to the Concept of Equity Union(s)

Equity Unions as they relate to a "Public Asset Fund"

A Re-introduction to the Concept of Equity Union(s)

The Relationship of Equity Union(s) to Credit Unions and Community Betterment Organizations

Resource Planning

Mondragon

Response to Questions Regarding Equity Unions

Posted to the Pittsburgh Socialist Forum

A Reply

Transition?

Swan Song?

Response to AFL-CIO

Epistle to Iver / US Transition

The Blues

Perspective on 01/11/10

AgriBUSINESS

Capitalism 3.0

Regarding Mondragon

Transitioning US

Response to the Neanderthals

Posted to Michael Moore's Website: 12/30/09

Response to "Local" Genius

Response to "LA Progressive" Editorial - It has Nothing to Do With Obama’s Ethnicity

Point of Clarification – Terminology: Posted to Venezuelanalysis.com on 12/26/09

Troubled by the Terminology – Posted to Venezuelanalysis.com on 12/26/09

Letter to "Capitalist" Friend

From a Discussion of Agriculture

Clarifying the Peoples Equity Union Concept

Regarding Transportation Issues

Hold It! Advise Regarding the Use of Fossil Fuels

Related to Foreclosure Problem: Posted to Michael Moore 12/12/09

Mortgage Defaults and Related Capitalist Fallaciousness

Letter to Fred Redmond ("Civil Rights" Rep.): AFL-CIO Blog 12/11/09

Regarding Growth, Climate Change, Post-Peak Fossil Fuels and Ecological Economic Redevelopment

Health Care Reform: 12-9-09 to AFL-CIO Blog

ProvidersUnion: Posted to “Michael Moore”

12/7/09 Post to AFL-CIO Blog

Equity Union Inculcation - Attempted Post on Moore's Website

Relative to Unemployment Compensation: to AFL-CIO Blog

An Open? Letter to Michael Moore Prompted by a Health Care Reform Essay