spend less, work less

Americans live in the richest country in the world, but we're told we can't afford things like health care for everyone, better schools, clean water, renewable energy and jobs that pay a living wage.  Right now, social services are being cut back, on the premise that we're broke.  But, at the same time, our taxes are being spent on endless wars, subsidies for agribusiness and tax breaks for oil companies.  As Annie Leonard explains, we can and should stop propping up the "dinosaur economy" and start investing in a better future...

I always thought that the government created money by printing it.  Turns out, it doesn't really work that way.  The money printed by the federal government is just a small fraction of all the money in our economy.  The majority of our money is created when banks make loans.  The money didn't exist until the bank created it by loaning it.  Here's a simple explanation of how banks create money, from Yes! magazine.

Banks make a profit by collecting fees and interest on the loans they make.  Apparently, they didn't think they were making enough profit, so they cranked up their lending machines and began making risky loans to rake in more profits.  When everything collapsed, the largest banks received massive bailouts from the American taxpayers, and used the funds to pay bonuses to their executives, the people who had caused the economic collapse.  The PBS show, Frontline, has a couple of good documentaries about this, called Breaking the Bank and Inside the Meltdown.

Some consumer advocates have fought for increased regulation of the banks, but these attempts have failed, due to resistance from their allies in Congress.  Does that mean we have to sit back and let the banks play Russian roulette with our economy?  No, we can take individual action by moving our money out of the big banks into smaller community-based banks and non-profit credit unions.  Here's more info about the Move Your Money project.

For a decade, John Perkins was Chief Economist or "economic hitman" for a major international consulting firm, coercing developing countries to take on massive debts to finance infrastructure projects that benefitted multinational corporations at the expense of the local people.  In this video, John describes how the US government and American corporations collude to keep developing countries in poverty...

I just finished reading David Korten's eye-opening book, Agenda for a New Economy (2nd edition), published in 2010.  He notes that Americans across the political spectrum are angry that our incomes are stagnant or declining while health care, transportation, education and other basic elements of a middle class life are becoming increasingly expensive.  As families are struggling to make ends meet, corporations continue to reap record profits and the government spends our hard-earned money with little apparent result or accountability.  There is a sense that the system is broken, but a lack of consensus about the root cause.  As we know, liberals tend to blame corporations and conservatives tend to blame government.  Korten points out that this is a false distinction that "obscures the real issue, which is the undemocratic, elitist alliance between big business and big government" that can only be resolved by "citizen action at both ends" of the political spectrum.

Korten makes the case that even well-intentioned people within the system, like Barack Obama, cannot lead the transition to a more equitable economy because they are part of the current power structure.  Change can only be driven by people outside the system.  While it's tempting to give in to feelings of apathy and powerlessness, we can look to history as a reminder of what is possible when highly-motivated people organize against an oppressive force.  Think about the American revolution and the Vietnam war.  Think about the struggles for worker's rights, women's rights and black civil rights.

It's an excellent book, with practical information about what individuals can do to help hasten the transition.  Korten's blog is another great source of information and ideas.  Here's a video about Korten's life and work...

I've written about how the corporatocracy keeps Americans trapped in a cycle of spending and working, which ensures that the rich and powerful continue to become more rich and powerful. This predatory economic system is not confined to the US, of course. The effects are even more devastating in developing countries. There are several good documentaries on this topic, including The End of Poverty?  Here's a trailer...

My goal has been to reduce my expenses so I can afford to work part-time, and can use the extra hours to grow my own food, get more exercise, do volunteer work, etc. But, it's not easy to find a part-time job that pays a living wage. I haven't given up completely, but now I'm broadening my search to include full-time jobs at organizations that share my values, like energy efficiency consulting firms and wildlife conservation groups.

Why are our employment options so limited? If we want to earn a decent income and have benefits like health insurance, we have to work for big corporations or the government. That's not an accident. Our economy is designed to keep us trapped - working for the corporatocracy.  According to Urban Dictionary, a corporatocracy is "rule by an oligarchy of corporate elites through manipulation of a formal democracy." That pretty much sums it up.