Alternatives to the established systems by which our societies have been operating.
START FROM HERE
If we’re lucky enough to be in a small town or village, we have the advantage of scale: We can get together as a community to decide on the issues that must be dealt with.
In a larger town or city, neighbourhoods can form into individual communities bounded by waterways, ravines, parkland, farms edging the city, industrial parks, and or major roadways, as the case may be. In high-density zones, those communities might be a few blocks in size.
Do we need to maintain the “wards” set in place by what we call government? No. Voting districts were not set up to enable the public to gather to make decisions together. Nor were they created to allow small businesses to provide products, services, and employment within easy walking distance of homes.
Considerations when forming communities from neighbourhoods of large towns or cities:
Size
Districts need to be small enough in terms of number of inhabitants to allow all to join in meetings to identify issues and needs, put forth ideas and suggestions, and come to decisions that benefit everyone.
Food access
The more agricultural potential, the better ― whether parkland or other open land, balconies, roofs, or yards that can accommodate gardens and, perhaps, some livestock.
Business
Existing businesses that serve the community may be of use, but consider also whether there is means to make new home-based businesses or to use existing structures for manufacturing or other operations that can increase self-sufficiency of the community.
Housing
Can the availability of habitations be increased or decreased, or existing homes improved?
WORKING TOGETHER
WARNING:
What follows is NOT a way to win in the current BAR legal system. Online gurus claim you can do this or that to ensure victory in a BAR court; they have led many people down the garden path to fines and or jail time. In reality, the only way to win in the BAR system is not to get involved in it at all.
A deep dive into the truth of the BAR legal system is too large a topic for this site, but can be found in the videos of Frank O’Collins.
We suggest, here, not a way to game the existing system but a complete alternative to it ― or, more correctly, a new way of thinking about law. Whether an alternative is put into practice by hardy souls in defiance of existing courts and governments or only after the current system collapses will depend entirely upon the courage of the people and the situations that arise.
What is law?
When it comes down to it, the purpose of real law is to ensure that people respect each other’s rights and get along.
But does our current system accomplish that? No.
What we call law is a none-too-readily accessible mishmash of often conflicting bylaws, mandates, regulations, legislation, statutes, constitutions, and other edicts that are upheld by uniformed men and women with no more knowledge than the public of exactly what those “laws” are, and by the private courts of the BAR (British Accreditation Registry) with their black-robed priest-judges making decrees that rarely provide justice.
So, what should law be?
To accomplish its true purpose, law must be simple, understandable, and known to all. Further, no one can be above the law.
Whether law needs to be formally codified is open to debate. Historically, most societies got on well without writing rules; they simply passed them by word of mouth.
The basics of how to get along:
Reminder: See Warning above.
Let’s start with the obvious: Treat others as you would wish them to treat you.
Specifically,
- cause others no harm or loss,
- speak no false witness or deception, and
- accept no wrongdoing.
Since there are always some who just don’t want to play nice, we can add a set of Golden Rules of Law,
- All are equal under the law and no one is above the law.
- All law must be applied equally, without bias or favouritism or contradiction from instance to instance.
- All are responsible for their own actions and inactions and the consequences of those actions and inactions.
- Free Will to make choices ― whether advisable or not ― is the right of every HUman being, and denial of Free Will, including and not limited to slavery, is harm.
- No being and no organization can own a HUman being, any part of the body of a HUman being, or the soul or spirit or energy of a HUman being of any age.
- Every child is born innocent.
- Debt dies with the debtor, and obligations may not be transferred to another upon the death or default of the debtor.
- Crime is the responsibility only of the perpetrator and any instigator that may have deliberately caused the perpetrator to act wrongfully, and such responsibility may not be transferred to another.
As a guide to those making the rules:
- All law and rules must be spoken, whether to become law or to be claimed or disclaimed or decided as action in law, and the written form of any law or action in law exists solely to record the law or action accurately for ease of reference and that it may be shared and known by all. What is written is not law in its effect. Why speak law? Because the sound carries the energy of intent. But make sure the intent is just and fair.
- All law and rules must align with the Basics and Golden Rules as described above, with intent to promote harmony and justice for all.
- All law and rules must be simple, to the point, consistent, honest, reasonable, useful, moral, respectful of all, and provide a sensible and fair remedy in the case of violation of the law or rule.
- No law or rule may attempt to force immorality, treachery, dishonesty, impossible actions, harm, or promotion of fallacies.
- No law or rule may marginalize or otherwise harm individuals, families, identifiable groups, areas, or communities, but must benefit all.
And actions in law must
- be public, not claimed through a private court of any kind;
- have a cause; that is, stem from a harm or injury. If there is no injury caused, there can be no claim of harm;
- have been intended to injure or harm or be the result of willful negligence or ignorance;
- not be based on fraud;
- not be based on an indirect or distant cause;
- not be based on intent that did not result in injury;
- not profit or otherwise benefit a wrongdoer; and
- jurists in an action of law may not profit or otherwise benefit from participation in the action or be biased for or against the claimant or the defendant.
Keep in mind that Law is the foundation, the general standards on which we base our behaviour and our interactions so as to maintain harmony; therefore, laws apply universally.
On the other hand, rules may be based on custom or local conditions and might apply only to a given community or during a given period of time. However, rules may also be adopted across regions and countries, if broad application is beneficial to all involved. An example is driving on the right-hand side of the road, a practice common over most of the world.
There we have a foundation on which to operate in a reasonable and harmonious manner. The ideas above are not codified laws and maxims, not a complex system put together over decades (and do we really need complicated structures?); nonetheless they can form the basis of a useful system in any community starting from scratch in the event that malodorous muck has hit the fan.
BUSINESS
Proponents of capitalism insist there is no better way to form an economy. But that system is based on money and encourages monopoly and false values. It has led to the corporate tyranny that has infested the world to enrich the few and impoverish the majority. Nor are Socialism and Communism better, for both are fraud: claiming to distribute wealth fairly, but in fact siphoning all wealth and power to a few corporations and individuals.
Do we need money? It does serve an exchange purpose under some conditions. However, people got along without it for thousands of years to not only survive but thrive, using barter and simple gifting without need of direct exchange. And commodities exchange is much more efficient among regions or countries.
Returning to a barter and gifting economy, though not impossible, would take time to implement and require acceptance of the public. An alternative, at least on a temporary basis, is creation of local currencies used only within communities that accept it, as countries once accepted guilders, florins, livres, guineas, and anything else that passed for currency at the time. For now, any remaining coins and bills of the old system could supplement the new money, with both given an established standard value instead of the unreliable floating-value of the old system.
Banking needs an overhaul, too, taking it out of the hands of global corporations and putting it back into the hands of the people whose money is held in accounts: banks run by and for the people, under scrutiny by the community council or congress and inhabitants, created to manage the money flow.
The New Blueprint for Humanity has a Banking and Financial Systems Solution.
Money flow: By thinking of it as energy in motion, like water in a stream, it becomes clear that if the flow is dammed it stops and stagnates. If it flows freely, round and round, it benefits all the community.
Money transactions should be based on trust. That is, if A owes B and C owes A, B gets paid only after C pays A. All must therefore trust each other to meet obligations and wait, if necessary, or accept alternate payment should someone in the chain have difficulties. That is only fair, don’t you think? And in the past, individuals and communities managed well on such a system of trust and flexibility, before trust was eroded by thieves both individual and corporate.
As for business operation, that too requires a major re-think. Below is an option proposed by the group known as THI.
Cooperative Business Guidelines
Rationale:
Cooperative business is a business and psychological and social solution. The new way is a system designed to distribute and share people’s energy fairly, for the benefit of all involved and for the benefit of communities and regions in which such businesses operate.
The existing Corporate Model failures are:
1. At the top of the system, all the benefit is creamed off by leadership/owners who give little or nothing back to the community or the country in which their business operates.
2. Middlemen and brokers do little but receive much.
3. Staff have no input and their expertise and knowledge are devalued.
4. Staff are unmotivated as they have little to no incentive to do their best.
5. Profit margins are kept as high as possible to ‘feed’ the leadership, middlemen, brokers and owners.
6. These businesses are effectively designed to fail.
New Cooperative Business Model
1. The leadership (owners, managers, brokers) is much smaller, with heavily reduced salaries.
2. Wage disparity is minimized, with top salaries no more than approximately three (3) times higher than the lowest salaries, or disparity is eliminated entirely. Every job/task is recognized as being as important as the next, all contributing to the success of the business.
3. Wasted spending for unnecessary frills (hotels, meals, flights, ‘taxable vacations’ and expensive meetings, etc.) is eliminated.
4. There are no outside shareholders. All staff members own the cooperative business fully, with equal shares.
5. There are no ‘backdoor’ deals, no commissions, no kickbacks, no bribes.
6. Cooperative businesses have much less overhead and lower costs and can afford higher salaries for all.
7. Profit margins are kept in the 10% to 15% (ten percent to fifteen percent) level.
8. Downstream consumers receive lower-priced goods and services, which increases sales.
9. Some of the profits can be allotted for re-investment into new projects. A portion of the company profits can and should be reserved to help pay for people who cannot work in the short term due to health issues, family needs, or other unfortunate circumstances.
10. Promotions are made by the staff, from the bottom up; each staff member has an equal vote and voice.
11. Businesses have an ‘idea box’ and the staff are encouraged to use it and bring these proposals to meetings for discussion.
12. Staff meet regularly to discuss problems and solutions as well as progress and ongoing work. The leaders of the business need to spend much less time managing the business due to happier and more empowered staff.
13. Staff are encouraged to learn each other’s jobs, enabling understanding of all functions to better see the “big picture” and possible issues and solutions from multiple perspectives. This also aids job transfers within the company, and ensures there will be someone available to work at a given function if someone goes on vacation or otherwise becomes unavailable to do the job.
14. Three weeks of holidays for all staff, plus mandatory holidays, ensures all are rested and revitalized.
15. Reduce the number of hours worked such that staff can have at least three (3) days off a week. The extra time can be used to work on their own development, spend time with family, share their knowledge with their industry (talk to other businesses and suppliers), volunteer in their community, help others, etc. The company can even pay its people to help train other businesses, including competitors.
16. The staff size should be kept to 160 (one hundred and sixty) people or less to ensure a sense of community.
17. Use of automation and technology must be considered with care as there are pitfalls to their use that may not be evident at the outset. Employing staff and relying on skill and craftsmanship are encouraged.
Examples and Benefits
A business incubator service helps those with great ideas but little business experience to get started with funding, forms, documents, legal and tax requirements, acquiring grants, etc. As a result, more businesses start and flourish, employ workers, and contribute to the community.
Building homes and selling at cost plus 10% (ten percent) allows single people and families to afford a home, thus increasing community stability, enabling people to spend more of their income on both essentials and other items, thereby improving the economy.
Small manufacturing operations employ staff locally, buy from local suppliers, increase prosperity in the region, increase supply security of the products, are more responsive to customers, and provide better products.
Another question to consider:
Why should communities not own businesses? By funding an enterprise, the community would not only benefit from the product or service, but would gain an income source to help manage other community needs.
TAXES AND MORE
In the event of the collapse of governments, or even before if communities decide to sever ties with corporations purporting to be governments, taxes would no longer be paid. But neither would various monetary transfers be available any longer, including pensions for seniors and payment of employees of services previously funded by government, such as postal workers.
What to do? How could communities operate?
A community council or congress could create its own tax, based on local currency and any remaining currency of the old system. An alternative to the rate payments of towns and the income and sales taxes of countries was proposed long ago: a modest flat land tax paid annually. This would allow the community to fund its needs without causing inflation, as sales and income taxes tend to do. And a low flat rate would not only be affordable but foster a sense of trust not possible in a society in which taxes fluctuate on the whim of those in political power.
[The single tax was proposed by Henry George in his book Progress and Poverty. Both the original and a version edited for clarity in modern terms are available in digital and print formats through various book retailers.]
Perhaps the inclusion of payments in kind could be instituted as well, as was common in the past: farmers providing foodstuffs, weavers providing cloth, etc.
As for money, according to John Titus in this video, money is actually created out of thin air when banks make loans―a fact that has been proved beyond doubt by a man named Richard A. Werner. Debt is created, but not the interest to pay it back. Yes, the Federal Reserve has been printing notes and coins, but as seen in its own records, cash amounts to a small fraction of the “money supply.” Would simply changing laws to require all money be backed by a commodity such as gold make currency trustworthy? Not likely. After all, commodities are valued in the current system by banks that decide that gold, for example, is worth X dollars one day and Y dollars another.
On the other hand, banks and other corporations could be prohibited from creating money and valid Treasuries could create it as real money instead of debt. And decide its value in a reasonable manner to create a stable currency. Something to think about.
As for the UN, IMF, World Bank, WEF, and governments pushing Central Bank Digital Currency, check out another Titus video here. We need to re-think how we operate in our societies, not re-Set our societies. (Set is another name for Satan.)
Note: The New Blueprint for Humanity has tax solutions to consider.
Starting over is no easy task and involves a great many assessments and decisions, all by whole communities as well as individuals and families.
We have it to do. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get started on the most magnificent task that HUmanity has undertaken in a very long time.
