Far too many are leery of cooperatives. Not just from lack of familiarity, but from their way-too-close association with the darkness of Socialism. When a co-op's members or a co-op itself is involved in anything illegal, it only stains it's reputation for their entire movement.
Three recent examples will show why this vital part of a Distributist economy and state must be wary of all taint. (All reports were dated February 23.)
1: According to an article from the “progressive” newspaper Seattle Weekly, the state of California allows co-operatives for the buying of so-called “medical marijuana”. Even though the negative effects of marijuana are well-known, those pushing to legalize this drug are using these type of co-ops for such a purpose.
2: According to a report from the news website allAfrica.com, the deputy head of the Zambia Cooperatives Federation warned of fake co-ops getting government provided fertilizer. He demanded total obedience to legal guidelines for operating co-ops, and not cheat it's members of their dividends and benefits.
3: According to an article from The Jakarta Post of Indonesia, police on the island of Bali had to shut down a co-op suspected of running a Ponzi scheme. The police chief said the co-op was illegally running an investment firm, promising members a 150% rate of return. The Post reported that 62,000 investors could get at their money when police shut the co-op down.
As the old saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” As part of a Distributist State, co-operatives have the power to change an economy and social structure for the better.
But bad actions on a co-op's part will only hurt their image. It will give ammunition for it's rivals in the Capitalist and Socialist camps. So it must continue to weed out those that would break the law and blacken it's reputation. Let the co-operative movement be a model of both innovation and moral righteousness.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Decentralize The Grid Now!
A non-negotiable tenet of Distributist Thought is decentralizing ownership of the means of production to as many as possible. One of those means of production is electricity generation.
With the continuous advances in developing low-level technology over the years, it's now possible to generate your own power. This is true for individual homes and local communities. Not only does these advances help homes keep the lights on during emergencies, but it also makes the overall electricity supply safer from terrorist attacks. For the more power generators there are, and the smaller they are, the less tempting a target for sabotage they are.
With this in mind, there are some links from a Cambridge, MA man active in promoting energy conservation and both solar and "micro-power" generation. This link HERE talks of three projects he'd love to get people involved in, promoting more public acceptance of solar power.
And this link HERE from the - alas - rabid pro-Democrat website Daily Kos speaks of employing parked cars or trucks as auxiliary generators. There's also a link HERE on how both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford did a joint project creating an electric house powered with "on-site generators". And all before World War One!
We can do this now to ensure a more pro-Distributist energy policy where we live. At the same time, we can get on both Congress' and Big Energy's case. Demand they get out of the way of average folks making and promoting alternative energy for themselves and their neighborhoods.
Stick it to the Socialists and Capitalists ruining America's energy future. Promote this today! Act on this today!
With the continuous advances in developing low-level technology over the years, it's now possible to generate your own power. This is true for individual homes and local communities. Not only does these advances help homes keep the lights on during emergencies, but it also makes the overall electricity supply safer from terrorist attacks. For the more power generators there are, and the smaller they are, the less tempting a target for sabotage they are.
With this in mind, there are some links from a Cambridge, MA man active in promoting energy conservation and both solar and "micro-power" generation. This link HERE talks of three projects he'd love to get people involved in, promoting more public acceptance of solar power.
And this link HERE from the - alas - rabid pro-Democrat website Daily Kos speaks of employing parked cars or trucks as auxiliary generators. There's also a link HERE on how both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford did a joint project creating an electric house powered with "on-site generators". And all before World War One!
We can do this now to ensure a more pro-Distributist energy policy where we live. At the same time, we can get on both Congress' and Big Energy's case. Demand they get out of the way of average folks making and promoting alternative energy for themselves and their neighborhoods.
Stick it to the Socialists and Capitalists ruining America's energy future. Promote this today! Act on this today!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
NEW FILIPINO CO-OP LAW SIGNED
One of the hallmarks of a Distributist economy is the preservation and expansion of cooperatives. A new law recently signed by the president of the Philippines has done just that and more.
According to the magazine BusinessWorld Online, the new law allows cooperatives to give its members better access to training, as well as better educational and financial services. It also requires more attention to detail of a cooperative's accounting practices, as well as expanding the areas of business where cooperatives may be created.
This is positive news for the Philippines, which has for many years been on the cutting edge in promoting Distributism to the Third World. Congratulations are due to the Philippine government, and may other nations follow their example.
According to the magazine BusinessWorld Online, the new law allows cooperatives to give its members better access to training, as well as better educational and financial services. It also requires more attention to detail of a cooperative's accounting practices, as well as expanding the areas of business where cooperatives may be created.
This is positive news for the Philippines, which has for many years been on the cutting edge in promoting Distributism to the Third World. Congratulations are due to the Philippine government, and may other nations follow their example.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Von Mises Is No Saint
From November of 2008, our colleague John C. Medaille at The Distributist Review writes a powerful article on Ludwig Von Mises, one of the leading figures of Austrian School Libertarianism.
In his piece called "Can Mises be Baptized?", Mr. Medaille writes on how so many influential American Catholic pundits were seduced by Mises' take on Capitalism. It is such a hard-hitting piece, it generated ninety-nine responses.
You read correctly. Ninety-nine of them!
Go HERE to read both article and comments. Hefty buy solid reading.
In his piece called "Can Mises be Baptized?", Mr. Medaille writes on how so many influential American Catholic pundits were seduced by Mises' take on Capitalism. It is such a hard-hitting piece, it generated ninety-nine responses.
You read correctly. Ninety-nine of them!
Go HERE to read both article and comments. Hefty buy solid reading.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
FIGHT THE OBAMA REGIME!
As of noon Eastern Standard Time, Barack Obama will be sworn in as America's 44th President.
This is indeed a dreadful day for America.
For another man will occupy the White House who is...
Committed to killing the unborn through abortion.
Committed to promoting the Sexual Revolution.
Committed to destroying small businesses and cooperatives through over-regulation and high taxation.
Committed to promoting so-called “free trade”.
Committed to continue two un-Constitutional wars in areas of the world that didn't attack America.
Committed to keeping America in the United Nations, the WTO and the IMF.
Committed to destroying privacy and anonymity in our daily lives and financial dealings.
Committed to see America, Russia and the rest of the world swallowed up in a Global Servile State.
Just like Bush before him....
And Clinton before him...
And the first Bush before him...
We at the Voice will do our utmost to oppose the Obama regime in the only way we can...
With prayer, penance and promoting Distributism through this blog and our daily efforts. And we invite you to do the same, wherever in the world you read us.
Thank you and please pray for us.
This is indeed a dreadful day for America.
For another man will occupy the White House who is...
Committed to killing the unborn through abortion.
Committed to promoting the Sexual Revolution.
Committed to destroying small businesses and cooperatives through over-regulation and high taxation.
Committed to promoting so-called “free trade”.
Committed to continue two un-Constitutional wars in areas of the world that didn't attack America.
Committed to keeping America in the United Nations, the WTO and the IMF.
Committed to destroying privacy and anonymity in our daily lives and financial dealings.
Committed to see America, Russia and the rest of the world swallowed up in a Global Servile State.
Just like Bush before him....
And Clinton before him...
And the first Bush before him...
We at the Voice will do our utmost to oppose the Obama regime in the only way we can...
With prayer, penance and promoting Distributism through this blog and our daily efforts. And we invite you to do the same, wherever in the world you read us.
Thank you and please pray for us.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
NEW TOY LAW HURTS MORE THAN HELPS
Over the last couple of years, toys made overseas – especially from Red China – were found to have lead, which is a threat to young children. Congress passed a new law recently to force businesses to test all 12-and-under children's products for both lead and a chemical that makes plastics bendable. The products listed also includes children's clothing.
But this law has been written too broadly, and threatens the economic health of many stores and domestic toy and clothing makers. And many, if not most of them, are small stores and manufacturers.
Why are they affected by this badly written law? They can't afford to test their clothing for lead and other chemicals. Large manufacturers will be able to bear the costs of this new regulation. But as is sadly typical, small businesses and cooperatives won't and so they go out of business.
Furthermore, thrift shops and consignment stores who sell children's clothing won't be able to do so after February 10th. That is when the law comes into effect. Also under the law, any untested toys or clothings will be considered “hazardous” and must be destroyed. Even if the clothing has no lead at all.
This means many poor and middle-class families, under this law, would be forced to buy their children's clothes at the national chain stores. The same chain stores that imported the toxic toys from Red China and other countries in the first place.
This law would even threaten the ability to legally buy used children's things from yard sales, or even on Amazon and Ebay. Work-at-home mothers making children's clothes for extra money would also be forced to shut down. It would even be illegal to donate used children's clothing to emergency shelters and crisis pregnancy centers.
To call this law anti-Distributist would be an understatement!
This horrid law – called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act – can be modified for the better. But only if Congress acts now before the law takes effect on February 10th. We at the Voice urge you to call your Congressman and Senator, and demand this law be changed NOW!
As a poster on the Traditional Catholic forum Fisheaters summed it up:
“There are so many problems with this: It hurts American business, it goes against the rights of consumers and small business owners, it's oppressive to the poor, it's dangerous for children, it's wasteful and bad for the environment, it's going to put people out of work, it's amazingly heavy-handed, it puts us even more in China's pocket.”
To get more detailed info on this bill, as well as how to demand it be changed for the better, please click HERE. Please do it now!!!
But this law has been written too broadly, and threatens the economic health of many stores and domestic toy and clothing makers. And many, if not most of them, are small stores and manufacturers.
Why are they affected by this badly written law? They can't afford to test their clothing for lead and other chemicals. Large manufacturers will be able to bear the costs of this new regulation. But as is sadly typical, small businesses and cooperatives won't and so they go out of business.
Furthermore, thrift shops and consignment stores who sell children's clothing won't be able to do so after February 10th. That is when the law comes into effect. Also under the law, any untested toys or clothings will be considered “hazardous” and must be destroyed. Even if the clothing has no lead at all.
This means many poor and middle-class families, under this law, would be forced to buy their children's clothes at the national chain stores. The same chain stores that imported the toxic toys from Red China and other countries in the first place.
This law would even threaten the ability to legally buy used children's things from yard sales, or even on Amazon and Ebay. Work-at-home mothers making children's clothes for extra money would also be forced to shut down. It would even be illegal to donate used children's clothing to emergency shelters and crisis pregnancy centers.
To call this law anti-Distributist would be an understatement!
This horrid law – called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act – can be modified for the better. But only if Congress acts now before the law takes effect on February 10th. We at the Voice urge you to call your Congressman and Senator, and demand this law be changed NOW!
As a poster on the Traditional Catholic forum Fisheaters summed it up:
“There are so many problems with this: It hurts American business, it goes against the rights of consumers and small business owners, it's oppressive to the poor, it's dangerous for children, it's wasteful and bad for the environment, it's going to put people out of work, it's amazingly heavy-handed, it puts us even more in China's pocket.”
To get more detailed info on this bill, as well as how to demand it be changed for the better, please click HERE. Please do it now!!!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Cobbett Classic Reprinted
William Cobbett (1763-1835) was an English writer, politician and author, much like Belloc was. He was one of the many who would lay the foundation for what, a century later, would be known as Distributism.
Chesterton wrote a book about him in tribute to this pioneer of economic and political decentralization, which can be found HERE.
A heretofore little-known work of Cobbett's, called THE EMIGRANT'S GUIDE, is now being reprinted by Economic Justice Media, publishing arm of the Virginia-based Center for Economic and Social Justice. More info on this book and where to buy it can be found HERE.
We at the Voice encourage you to buy and read this book. And then act on what you read.
Chesterton wrote a book about him in tribute to this pioneer of economic and political decentralization, which can be found HERE.
A heretofore little-known work of Cobbett's, called THE EMIGRANT'S GUIDE, is now being reprinted by Economic Justice Media, publishing arm of the Virginia-based Center for Economic and Social Justice. More info on this book and where to buy it can be found HERE.
We at the Voice encourage you to buy and read this book. And then act on what you read.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
