Message From Tom Atlee of the Co-Intelligence Institute!

Dear friends,

As stocks, retirement savings, and so many other investments tumble, the very real question arises of what to do with our money, to maximize safety and return.

The unfolding collapse of the global financial system is so profound that other questions also arise: What about the fundamental values and dynamics underlying the entire arrangement? What about the possibility that now is the time for a shift to something better?

These questions -- where to put our money and how to shift the system -- are potentially a hot combination: We could put our money in things that take care of us while they shift the system.

In other words, we could invest in activities that will provide at least as much social, ecological, and spiritual benefit as financial returns -- and seek safety in community and sustainability.

After all, maximization of profit and interest -- regardless of its source -- unleashed the profound backlash that is impacting us all. We reap what we sow. We are all connected. We are now being called to become stewards of the world and agents of its transformation, even as we care for ourselves and those we love. This fresh "call" is a transformational version of the old injunction to "do well by doing good." It includes investing, lending, social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, gifting, and many other creative uses of money to create value in the world.

The articles below address this. They point out:

* We can invest in CREDIT UNIONS which, by both spirit and regulation -- and being owned by their members -- are grounded in the welfare of those members and their communities, and so do not tend to wander off into the kind of wild profit-seeking that has infected so many banks and investment houses -- leaving credit unions far less vulnerable to collapse. http://en.wikipedia.org/w...

* We can invest in our LOCAL ECONOMY, in small local businesses upon which we and our neighbors will depend more and more if, as expected, the non-local money-dependent systems continue to deteriorate. We can support their ability to support us. See http://www.livingeconomie... (Consider how "investment" supports productive activity -- in ways which can go beyond financial returns -- while "speculation" gambles for maximal returns in risky financial deals.)

* We can invest in and support SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES which provide more dependable sources of energy, food, housing, wise democracy, community resilience, and other forms of physical and social capital. This could involve local initiatives, national or international programs, or the development of widely applicable social and technological innovations, visions, and information systems. For organizations addressing sustainability issues see http://wiserearth.org.

* We can contribute to efforts to CHANGE THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEMS. Many commentators have noted that a small percentage tax on speculative financial transactions would provide vast amounts of money for all sorts of socially beneficial work. Others have noted how counter-productive it is that we tax income and production, but not pollution and other environmentally and socially destructive activities -- and that GDP measures money spent, not actual value created (and explicitly omits sharing, non-monetized production (like mowing your own lawn or cooking your dinner) and the productivity of nature, like oil, oxygen, and beauty). The discrepancy between rich and poor people is extreme and dysfunctional -- in the U.S. the top one percent own more than the bottom 91% and the lower 50% owns only 2.5% of the national wealth. "Economy" means management of a household, and shares the same root (household) with "ecology" (the relationship between living organisms and their home environment). Building trusteeship into our economic system is one of our greatest evolutionary challenges and most promising opportunities. (There's an interesting parallel perspective through which green economists have computed that more is lost each year through the destruction of nature than through the financial crash. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/h...)

As large-scale systems cease to provide what we need and as transportation and mass consumption get more costly -- to our pocketbooks, to our communities, and to our environments -- we will increasingly turn to our neighbors, local resources, and sustainable systems for support and livelihood.

A recently published book on "transpartisanship" -- VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: The Transpartisan Imperative in American Life by A. Lawrence Chickering and James S. Turner http://www.davinci-societ... -- finds that the common ground between heretofore polarized "sides" lies primarily in community-based solutions. (The transpartisan movement http://www.transpartisan.... is a political dialogue initiative in which leaders and citizens from both Left and Right seek common solutions together. If you want to participate, there's a major gathering being planned for next February.)

This community-centered trend is turning up in widely diverse fields in transition -- from journalism to prison reform, from welfare systems to agriculture. It indicates an emerging realization that we are all in this together.

Perhaps most relevant to the current financial crisis, a local community-economics approach has been developing for years. It is based at least as much on mutual aid, sharing, gifting http://en.wikipedia.org/w..., and local exchange systems (including local and complementary currencies http://www.complementaryc...) as it is on the greater money economy. It includes the realization that often happiness is best pursued through simplicity and delight in the free, shared, and non-material dimensions of life. (My last mailing, "Money and the Crisis of Civilization" by Charles Eisenstein http://tinyurl.com/4boxrn addressed this topic with poetic clarity.)

From a systems-thinking perspective, too, localization makes sense because the feedback loops are tighter. It is easier to rein in craziness at the local level than at higher levels, and there is less chance of creating gigantic disasters. Of course, some realms of governance -- for example, the health of oceans -- require higher levels of management. But a bias towards appropriate decentralization and local co-creativity is a major facet of systemic wisdom.

Your money can make a difference in these things, in the shift to a saner and more sustainable, joyful, meaningful, life-enhancing culture. It is one more way -- and possibly a more powerful and uplifting way -- to take care of yourself and those you love.

Coheartedly,
Tom

PS 1: To learn more about using your money to co-create a sustainable society, see Co-op America's website http://www.coopamerica.or... which includes guidance for socially responsible investing http://www.coopamerica.or... and points to the Social Investment Forum http://socialinvest.org which (among other things) compares various socially responsible mutual funds http://socialinvest.org/r....

PS 2: If you would like to consider a secure investment in the physical co-op home of the Co-Intelligence Institute, Nonviolent Communication work, and other world-shifting initiatives, check out our revolving loan fund at http://walnutstreetco-op.....

PS 3: Finally, an excerpt from a note from an apocryphal Hopi elder, circulating the web: “This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go off the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally... All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration."

======================

TRUSTEESHIP
Supposing I have come by a fair amount of wealth --
either by way of legacy, or by means of trade and
industry -- I must know that all that wealth does not
belong to me; what belongs to me is the right to an
honourable livelihood... The rest of my wealth belongs
to the community and must be used for the welfare
of the community.... It is my conviction that it is
possible to acquire riches without consciously doing
wrong... and become its trustee.... I am inviting those
people who consider themselves as owners today
to act as trustees.
-- M. K. Gandhi
http://tinyurl.com/4gl2vr

=======================

OUR NEXT BRAINSTORM: WHAT ACTIONS CAN WE TAKE TO BAIL **OUT OF** WALL STREET?
By Catherine Austin Fitts and Carolyn Betts, Esq.
http://solari.com/blog/?p...

The time has come to purge these people from our lives. How do we do it? Since our readers had such great ideas on the bumper stickers brainstorm (yes, we are making some!), we thought we would invite ideas on what to do now that Congress has given Wall Street another trillion dollars and a get out of jail free card.

Here are ten ideas that we wrote up to get us started. Sound off with actions you think we can take!

(1) Vote with your feet and our money in your personal banking affairs. Take all the money you control out of big money-center, tapeworm banks and financial institutions and put it in local credit unions, thrift institutions, savings banks and state chartered banks http://solari.com/archive....

(2) Take control over your retirement savings. Listen to our audio seminar, Positioning Your Assets for Growth in Uncertain Times http://solari.com/store/a... and use what you learn to protect your assets. Look for more ways to use your investments to increase self-sufficiency for you, your family and your community. Look into the requirements for self-directed IRAs, which will allow you to invest in such things as precious metals, commodities, real estate, local small businesses and offshore investments that are not publicly traded or otherwise on the usual lists available to small investors. If you are limited in your investment options because your retirement funds are in your employer’s 401K, research the list of permitted investments and purge your portfolio as much as possible of tapeworm companies. While you’re at it, talk to the investment folks at your company and urge them to adopt anti-tapeworm investment strategies.

(3) Support state legislative efforts to amend state securities and tax laws to facilitate investing in loans and equity in community businesses by middle-class investors. Remember that safeguards to protect investors from unscrupulous snake-oil, penny stock and chinchilla salesmen are good, but in the name of protecting “unsophisticated” investors without substantial holdings ($200K annual income and $1MM net worth excluding residence), federal and state securities laws have effectively forced the “little guys” to invest in the tapeworm. Why is it easy for people of moderate means to lose money in the lottery, but almost impossible to invest in each other’s businesses? (The answer is Wall Street does not want us to be able to invest in each other – they want us to go through them.)

(4) Use your influence to urge institutions and governments you deal with to vote with their feet and the money they control. Urge others to do the same. Make a list of these institutions and governmental and quasi-governmental units and write letters, go to meetings and otherwise get involved in the processes by which they make decisions about where they deposit and invest their cash. Here’s a list to get your creativity flowing:

a. Everyone who asks you to contribute money: charities, college and private school endowments and churches
b. State, local and union pension funds
c. City and county governments and government-related entities (e.g., water company, school board, county general fund, bond reserves)

For more ideas on pools of capital in your community, see http://solari.com/blog/?p....

Another thing to keep in mind is that big pools of money like huge charities or charitable pools (e.g., United Way, Red Cross, etc.) and college endowments (e.g., Harvard, with its $30 billion endowment) are usually controlled by members of the tapeworm. This money generally is deposited and invested in the tapeworm. Boards of directors of these institutions are loaded with the good ole boys who may be put in their places to bolster the prestige of their employers and garner social acceptance for institutions whose activities you and I might not approve of (e.g., consider the motives of Archer Daniels Midland in sponsoring public television shows). Reconsider your options so that you invest in causes where you know your contributions are not used this way.

(4) Spend money locally and reduce dependence on big box stores. Make a list of family expenditures over the last year and categorize them in terms of whether they are local or “tapeworm” oriented and whether they are discretionary or non-discretionary. Look at the discretionary category and the money you spent at “tapeworm” restaurants, big box stores, chain stores and similar outfits. Then identify a local alternative for each one, keeping in mind that some big names are franchises owned by local small businesspeople who need our support. If you don’t know, go to your local stores and ask who owns them. Also remember that while local grocery stores may be preferable to chains, even at chains you may have the option to choose locally-grown and organic foodstuffs, which both support local and regional farmers and contribute to your family’s health and well-being.

When you make out your Christmas list or school shopping list, see how many items you can identify that can be purchased through non-tapeworm sources. Of course, while you’re at it, remember that you’ll get a “two-fer” in heaven, or more bang for your buck, if your spending decisions favor goods that are produced (a) in this country or at least a country that supports fair labor standards, (b) using green technologies or packaged in recyclable materials, (c) by companies whose employment policies, community contributions, garbage, trash and toxic waste disposition policies, business dealings, production methods and other policies are “net energy plus” and have a positive return on investment to the community.

(4) Prepare for more power outages, cash shortfalls and other emergency situations. More central controls leads to more unstable systems. We need to protect ourselves from the risk of relying on unstable systems. Since inflation in the costs of real goods are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, and who knows what kind of shortages we may be subject to for whatever reason (market manipulations, weather-related catastrophes, break-downs in neglected infrastructure, etc.), investment in the following makes both economic and strategic sense:

(a) household systems that contribute to lower energy costs and better health (geothermal, solar and wind systems, water storage tanks and wells, electronic air and water cleaners and filters),

(b) staples like toilet paper, non-perishable ingredients and foodstuffs,

(c) canned goods and bottled water,

(c) propane generators and other back-up systems,

(d) community or personal vegetable and herb gardens or local CSAs

(e) locally-slaughtered and packed sides of beef, port and lamb (preferably combine with back-up generating capacity, although homeowners’ policy riders for food spoilage are available for as little as $10/year).

(5) Find or Establish a Local Barter Network. Maybe you can’t get the credit you need to operate your small business, or take out an equity line of credit to make improvements to your home. But remember, you aren’t in this alone. Your neighbors are in the same position. Maybe your local home improvement contractor or lumber yard owner or small business supplier would like to find a way to afford piano lessons or math tutoring for his child, a professionally drafted contract or will or a new website that you could provide. Take a stand in proving that Wall Street cannot bring down our local economy and local businesses if we do not channel our money through Wall Street and the Fed and if we support each other. Used in conjunction with the local currency (see below), this is a powerful way to (a) reduce your exposure to losses from the falling dollar and the forces of inflation, (b) get new customers for your small business, (c) earn extra value in addition to your stagnating salary to help make ends meet and (d) support the local economy so that your customers and neighbors can pay their mortgages and other bills.

(6) Consider a Local Currency. Local currencies aren’t subject to devaluation when the Fed makes bad monetary decisions or Treasury invests taxpayer dollars in useless derivatives, and you don’t have to worry about FDIC insurance coverage. One way to start is to use precious metals within trusted networks. To help you get started, see our silver and gold exchange calculator, http://www.silverandgolda....

(7) Start a local version of Kiva http://kiva.org or Solari Circle for group education, action and investing in local small businesses. Get together with friends and family to decide on what the actions are that can best serve you and take them together. Turn off your TVs, simplify, start a food purchasing club, study options for sustainability and help each other with money management and savings. Many established and stable local businesses are having trouble maintaining their working capital lines of credit to keep their operations going. At the same time, there are many local people who want to take their money out of the control of Wall Street, but don’t know where to put it. Look for local leaders who are knowledgeable at angel, venture and local investment. Perhaps there is a way for you to participate with them.

(8) Let your congressperson know you won’t take this any more. Find out how your congressman/senators voted on the bail-out legislation. If they voted “no,” thank them and send a campaign contribution. For those who voted ”yes,” check out the opponent and let them know why you are doing that (see 10 Reasons Not to Bail Out Wall Street http://solari.com/blog/?p...).

(9) Educate yourself and your children about what you really need to know in the future. Urge local public and private schools, community colleges, technical schools and sources of adult education (e.g., community centers, churches and retirement homes and centers) to adopt curricula to teach both children and adults about:

(a) Community self sufficiency and community organizing.
(b) Economics and how the money REALLY works,
(c) What the US Constitution stands for and civic values,
(d) How to fix things: cars, washing machines, plumbing systems, etc. and
(e) The history of our currency (the Federal Reserve, fiat currency, abandoning the gold standard, etc.), NAFTA, the Great Depression and American stock market crashes, financial scandals and crises and what were the causes and solutions.

(10) Start a local solar energy panel franchise, geothermal drilling company or other green business. Retire from your tapeworm job or take the opportunity after a job loss or cut-back to get off the tapeworm job grid. Do business with people you know you can trust. Contribute to a positive return on investment in your community.

--------------------------

Excerpt from
http://hazelhenderson.com...
NERVOUS INVESTORS SEARCHING FOR NEW ASSET CLASSES
by
Hazel Henderson, President
Ethical Markets Media, USA

Even if you were lucky and got your money out of a failed bank – like the US-based IndyMac or the UK's Northern Rock – what are you to do with it? Find another bank? Most offer interest below the rate of inflation. Even the US Treasury's TIP-bonds which are "inflation-protected" are tied to suspect measures of inflation: the "headline" CPI (Consumer Price Index) at 5% and the "core" rate (stripped of food and energy) are both unrealistic (see www.shadowstats.com for more accurate indicators). Will individual investors resort to ”putting their cash in their mattresses”? What will be the next "asset class" beyond gold, for all that nervous money to find?

My prognosis is that additional searches will find a group of new assets that will provide a long-term return. These are shares of companies geared to the ecological and social sustainability of human societies and providing a healthier planet for our children. These equity assets are all available but hidden in plain sight due to obsolete economic models. Many are too small to qualify for big pension portfolios and are traded over the counter or on NASDAQ and other smaller exchanges. Obsolete accounting methods used by traders, asset managers and security analysts keep their minds hypnotized by the indicators of the dying, fossil-fueled Industrial Era.

The asset-allocation models still used on Wall Street, in London and other stock markets label sectors as :”Energy,” “Retail,” “Military,” “Health,” “Pharmaceuticals,” etc. These still focus on the old sector. Even “Technology“ is still dominated by dot.coms, even as Silicon Valley has rushed into “green" energy. Another example is "Energy" which is still dominated by oil, coal, gas and nuclear, all heavily subsidized by taxpayers and in decline, while wind power (which added 35% of newly installed electricity in the US in 2007); solar (growing at 35% per year); geothermal (which is gearing up to power millions of homes in the US) are overlooked and have been largely ignored by mainstream financial media. Similarly, Whole Foods Markets and the growth of organics are buried under Wal-Mart, Target and Costco in "Retail" and holistic, preventive health care, fitness clubs, etc., are buried in "Health" under the weight of the medical-industrial complex and "big pharma."

Thankfully, all this is changing rapidly with the birth of new indexes for clean technology, renewable energy and other "green" and "ethical" mutual funds as well as new ETFs in wind energy, the fastest growing, cheapest new electricity source (one third the cost of building equivalent nuclear power plants). You can find all the best new newsletters and indexes at www.ethicalmarkets.com.

So, my candidate for the best new asset class is all the entrepreneurial companies that make up the Sustainability Sector. Many of these have quietly out-performed the Dow and S&P indexes. For full disclosure I admit I am invested in this new sector. The financial media can make this new “green economy” visible by also reporting daily on the growth and profitability of this Sustainability Sector. Then all that cash, declining in value daily, could find a home in building the energy independent future we need in the USA and to grow the green economy worldwide.

Hazel Henderson is author of Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy (2007) and co-creator with the Calvert group of the Calvert-Henderson-Quality of Life Indicators regularly updated at www.Calvert-Henderson.com. She can be reached at www.EthicalMarkets.com and her TV shows are at www.EthicalMarkets.tv.