(Sorry for the short notice.)
- What: ReUrbanism Meeting
- Date: Thu, Aug 30, 2007
- Time: 5:30 p.m. to approx 7:00 p.m.
- Location: Downtown Latte coffee shop in the Warehouse District
- Guest speaker: Stacy Jurich, speaking about a new network in Toledo. "Buy Local" Creating a community that is more sustainable both economically and ecologically. Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).
From my notes taken at the February 2007 meeting:
Buy local
- About a buy-local program, John Henry Fullen said Toledo is looking at other cities for ideas, and those findings will be shared in an upcoming ReUrbanism meeting.
BALLE
- Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
- Web site for BALLE is http://www.livingeconomies.org/
- About BALLE
- BALLE is a growing alliance of businesspeople around the US and Canada, who join local BALLE networks dedicated to building local living economies.
- Toledo BALLE group is forming.
- Objective:
- Keep money local
- Local development
- Participating businesses pay a membership fee.
- Toledo BALLE group will seek advice from the Ann Arbor group, which used to be called Living Economy Network but is now named Think Local First.
- Requirement of the Toledo group:
- Needs support from businesses and citizens.
---- end Feb 2007 notes ----
Frogtown Dollars
What about the funky idea of using Frogtown Dollars to help support the 'buy local' concept?
Didn't JFK do this?
http://www.john-f-kennedy.net/thefederalreserve.htm
This idea is Keynesian and since Keynes was critical of free markets in his effort to save capitalism, most business loving/democracy hating types seem to despise this sort of thing.
Or actually is could be Gesell(ian), an infulence on Keynes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Gesell#Opinions
Gesell was an ethical vegetarian. He considered himself a world citizen and believed Earth should belong to all people, regardless of race, gender, class, wealth, religion and age and that borders should be made obsolete.
Gesell founded his economic thoughts on the self-interest of people as a natural, healthy motive to act, which allows the individual to follow the satisfaction of his/her needs and to be productive. The economic system must do justice to this pre-condition, otherwise this system would undoubtedly fail. This is why, Gesell called his proposed economic system "natural". This stance put him in a clear opposition to Karl Marx, who called for a change in the social conditions.
Taking selfishness into account, Gesell called for free, fair business competition with equal chances for all. This included the removal of all legal and inherited privileges. Everyone should rely only on his personal abilities in order to make a living. In the "natural economic order", which he aimed for, the most talented people would have the highest income, without forgery by interest and rent charge. The economic status of the less talented would also improve, because they wouldn't be forced to pay interest and rent charge. According to Gesell, this would lead to an equalization between the poor and the rich. Further, there would be more means available to help the poor, because the higher average income would mean that everyone would have enough money to spare what is necessary to help.
posted by charlatan on Aug 30, 2007 at 02:49:31 pm #