[GJM] Fw: Re:: Ending Unmet Need

[marguerite hampton]

Dear Bill, thanks for the input.  I agree that there are hundreds, if not
thousands, of ways to go around the system and vote for alternative ways.
And your list is a good start. 

What I would like to suggest is taking a look at the top money-making
enterprises in the U.S. and the world and stop directing our dollars in that
direction as these are also the most environmentally destructive things we
do for the most part and they also contribute to dehumanization in many
parts of the world. 
.
They are in order of their rating: 

1.  The travel industry 
2.  The oil industry
3.  The beef industry 
4.   The insurance industry  

Also rated high in terms of revenue generated, but I don't know exactly
where they belong in 
the ranking order, are the manufacture of weapons of war and illegal drug
production. The auto industry also rates very high, but is associated with
the oil industry. 

One of the reasons these activities are so difficult to avoid doing is that
they are also associated with employment and eliminating them would make a
staggering impact on jobs available worldwide.  

However, as I have previously demonstrated, millions of jobs are being
eliminated due to technological advances which eliminate the need for human
labor.  Technological advances can also be written off as capital
investments under the present tax codes -- things the GMS likes.  

The statistics now are that only 30% of the worldwide laborforce available
today is necessary to produce all of the goods and services necessary for
the 6+ billion people on the planet.  This puts  competition for jobs
worldwide in the "very high" category and is why the GMS is outsourcing so
many jobs from the U.S. to countries where wages are much lower (and also
where environmental laws are less strict).  

One of the things we need to recognize is that the U.S. was able to keep
employment high for many years, especially in the auto industry, because
obsolesence was built into each vehicle so that either the car had to be
replaced frequently or required frequent replacement of parts. This 
practice kept assembly lines humming.  However, once Edward Demings took the
concept of "efficiency" to Japan and it was adopted there, employment in the
auto industry has dropped dramatically.  Now, with the end of "cheap" oil
rapidly approaching, the auto industry is in big
trouble and we are seeing plant closings galore.  The only thing that takes
up the slack is the
military-industrial complex which must now "manufacture war" in order to
keep assembly lines humming in order to produce vehicles and associated
products such as weapons so that enough 
of the laborforce is still employed to keep the economy moving. 

There are similar stories with regard to the beef and travel industries but
I don't have time to go into them now -- . More later.  But what I feel is
necessary is for us to recognize that these industries are largely kept in
place by politicians who are paid to politic in the best interests of the 
GMS.  So, politics are the main force behind our dilemna and cannot be the
solution.  
Once we begin to understand how the world really works, and get beyond
politics, we may be able to find some solutions for the short term -- it may
be too late for the long term as millions around the world are already
suffering from global climate change.   

When one sees how embedded we are in activities that are so destructive, yet
understands that so many livliehoods depend upon this destructiveness, one
begins to understand why global climate change is the only force powerful
enough to create the transformation necessary to allow for the continuation
of the human race and the recovery of our wounded Earth Mother. What we need
to recognize is the innate wisdom of nature and instead of fighting it,
surrender to it.  If we look back into history, we find that global climate
change is a natural cycle in the overall life of the earth -- as natural as
the rain, the wind, the snow, the sunlight, and the darkness.  Instead of
fearing it, we need embrace it and know that it's force is a healing power-
a part of the grand design of all that there is. 

Let us surrender our ego, let us put away our fear, let this be our finest
hour, and go gently into the darker night knowing that the sunlight will
shine on us again in another time and place  This is not about "us" it is
about life and intelligence. . 

eco 



 
 

     

   
 
-------Original Message
 
From: Bill Ellis
Date: 11/12/06 11:34:12
To: marguerite hampton
Cc: Peace_ERA peace_era; ConsilienceP ConsilienceP; Centre4Change .; FixGov;
Global Forum for Justice Discussion; GatherTheWomen GatherTheWomen
Subject: Re:: Ending Unmet Need
 
On 11, Nov 2006, at 11:33 PM, marguerite hampton wrote:  
> While it may seem like your dollar vote goes unnoticed, what if all of
> us felt that way and never voted our dollars for the alternative? 
 
BE:
Buying second hand is one good way to vote with your dollars.
Freecycling, bartering, CSAs,  homesteading, and local scripts are
others. One of these lists  developed a list of 35 ways to avoid or
transform "the money system." (below)  Perhaps it is time to put some
effort in developing them.
Any ideas ?
 
Bill Ellis
 
>
> TITLE                  AN EXPERT
> 1) Mutual Credit  - Tom Greco
> 2) Local Scrips  - Paul Glover
> 3) LETS  - Michael Linton
> 4) Time Dollars  - Edgar Cahn
> 5) Credit Unions  - Bill Sterner
> 6) Local Curreny  - Prof. Lewis Solomon
> 7) Community Loan Funds  - Rececca Dunn
> 8) Peer Lending  - Mary Coyle
> 9) Reciprocity  - Dominque Temple
> 10) Democratic Maeagment  - Len Krimmerman
> 11) Worker Ownership  - CaRol di Marcello
> 12) Collectives
> 14) Alternative Trade Organizations  - Jim Goetsch
> 15) Rochdale Cooperatives  -  Joes David Welty
> 16) Food C-0p Store Fronts  - George Keller
> 17) Food Co-op Buying Clubs  - Peg Pritchert
> 18) Co-op Warhouses  - Dave Gutknecht
> 19) Community Supported Agriculture  - Robyn VanEn
> 20) Permaculture  -  Dan Hemenway
> 21) Community Land Trusts  - Julie Orvis
> 22) Intentional Communities  - Laird Schaub
> 23) Co-husing  - Ken Norwood
> 24) EcoVillages  - Lois Arkin
> 25) Homesteading  - Jd Belanger
> 26) Education Alternatives  - Jerry Mintz
> 27) Homeschooling  - Pat Farenga
> 28) Community Learning Centers  - Francesca Louria
> 29) Frugality  - Vicki Robins
> 30) Health Communities  - Tyler Norris
> 31) Community Health Systems  - Bruce Amundson & Kaaren Johnson
> 32) Community Gardens  - Phil Green
> 33) Farmers Markets  - Ctr. for Rural Penn.
> 34) Community BBSs  - Ken Komshi
> 35) Community Patrols  - Rita Marth
>
 
 
 
 
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