Three corporate globalists walk into a Mar-a-Lago bar.
The first asks, “Can anyone tell me how to revive a stagnant economy that isn’t generating windfall profits—one even destined to fail?”
“Hypothetically, of course,” spat his golfing buddy, slurping down his last tainted oyster.
“Create a market bubble or escalate the war on terrorism?” suggests the bartender.
“NSA or FBI?” the third asks suspiciously.
And so, the military industrial complex run by the Deep State with POTUS 45 its cheerleader dipped into the purse strings of hell to once again crank up the war machine. On April 13th, 2017, the largest nonnuclear bomb in the U.S.’s arsenal was dropped on an ISIS target in Afghanistan at the cost of $16 million dollars, making the world less safe.
Once a beacon of light on the world stage, the United States had everything—abundance, influence, esteem, self-respect, moral fiber, a vibrant economy—even the high ground—relatively speaking. Now, increasingly devoid of any real power, all that’s left is blunt force. If you know your history, the scenario should sound familiar, the outcome predictable.
Piece by piece corporatists sold the heart of our economy out from under us, outsourcing it to non-capitalistic countries around the world. Like the Romans, over time we’ve sold pieces of our collective soul. By turning a blind eye to collusion and corruption, we chose consumerism over civic responsibility, failing to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.
“It's not too late. There is a better way. A peace-filled way where no one must die, and we don’t violently rip up the four corners of the Earth for short-lived global dominance.”
The activists that have been screaming, “Rome is burning!” to wake up Americans are effectively labeled troublemakers and told to go home. Even one as powerful as Bernie Sanders, a soul willing to do the heavy lifting for the rest of us, was removed from center stage by his own establishment.
It's not too late. There is a better way. A peace-filled way where no one must die, and we don’t violently rip up the four corners of the Earth for short-lived global dominance. Recalling history, not once has a civilization with nothing left but force ever escaped implosion.
And neither will capitalism. A 2014 What Would Love Do Foundation economic report forecasts that capitalism’s failure is inevitable. In brief, the report states, “Capitalism fails sustainability testing under both growth and non-growth conditions,” citing peak population rates and “profligate materialism” as two of many factors that render capitalism unsustainable.
A competitive trickle-down economic model that generates a loser for every winner, capitalism’s inherent limitations generate inequality as its byproduct. Exploited, immense wealth concentrates in the hands of a few, taking even more capital out of circulation.
Even when there’s growth and all seems well, capitalism doesn’t allow for conservation in equal or greater measure—at the expense of our planet. Without massive quantitative easing (QE), a $3.5 trillion dollar intervention that propped up the economy after the 2008 global financial crisis, capitalism would have already collapsed. No growth, game over.
Imagine a world where we joyfully support one another so that basic shelter, food, water, healthcare, and education are easily accessible by every individual as human rights in an unhindered and dynamic environment.
Carrying the positive bits of capitalism forward, we discard what doesn’t work for a cooperative trickle-up economy. Generating win-win, we can uplift all of humanity sustainably while protecting the environment.
The power of this new economy has been quietly at work behind the scenes waiting for momentum to bring it into the spotlight. The time is now.
Non-profit cooperatives (NPCs), employee-owned businesses, some private foundations and charities that are not used solely as tax shelters, open-sourcing, and crowdfunding are all examples of trickle-up economy business models. Gaining favor and traction, properly managed organizations in service of the common good are thriving regardless of market manipulation.
Capitalizing at the grassroots level, each one of us has an opportunity to accept responsibility for being the face of change in the world by supporting paradigms that well-serve all parties instead of mostly executives and shareholders off the backs of low-compensated employees.
A floor and not a ceiling, a thriving trickle-up economy allows you to create a limitless personal micro-economy as you embrace your inner genius. It’s when we come together to collaborate that the cost to the individual is small, the rewards potentially exponential.
Backing these business models, your investment is returned to you in the form of reduced costs on products or services, and sometimes even in cash as with Be the Change Grants.
Herein lies unlimited human potential and capital. Wealth returned to circulation; we create a universal higher standard of living and greater opportunity. Even better, NPCs, crowd funding, and open-sourcing eliminate the need for resource-draining safety nets required to offset the negative benefits of a win-lose economy.
It’s no longer about competing with your neighbor for materialism; it’s about joining together, allowing great ideas to flow unhindered, and enjoying the river of wealth that follows.
Who starts the trickle? You do!