CG Finance Progress Journal

I developed two new fables today to illustrate How Unearned Income Funnels Wealth Up the Income Scale and Why Local Currency is Not Crazy.

Here’s a picture from the Gilligan’s Island fable:

Ashfield (and much of New England) has been in a state of emergency for the past two days. Thousands of trees down, the whole town without power for much of that time (many homes will have to wait a week for power, water and heat). We got off light. Our wood stove kept us warm, so we hosted some neighbors overnight. Plenty of kerosene lamps and candles. Unfortunately, our solar hot water and on-demand propane backup both require electricity, so we had no hot water. Otherwise we were quite cozy. And the moon on the ice-covered forest was magical.

With regret, I canceled my talk in Monson. That was good, because I might well have gotten stranded there, far from home.

Tonight in Shelburne Falls there was much interest and many good questions. Also some bankers, in disguise, arriving late and leaving early.

The presentation went well. Several people took a signup card home. Only one of them has signed up so far. Henceforth I will push people to sign up on the spot, at least for the mailing list.

My explanation for why we must not demonize the rich could be better. I’m working on a visual for that.

Hmm. I presented for 60 students in a class on globalization at UMass today. I pressed a wrong button at the beginning and shut the computer down. Amidst some mumbling, grumbling and ad-libs of the start of the slideshow that wasn’t running, I got the darn thing restarted. Then part way through the video segment, a PC Tuneup box popped up. I clicked on Cancel and the computer froze. And would not restart. So I wung it without visuals. And did fine! (according to my friend the professor). This gave me additional confidence for future presentations.

Q&A gives me no problems at all. I can focus on one issue at a time, without having to keep track of the logical progression of ideas and without having to remember what I have said or not said. And I know the material cold.

Then this evening I presented for a sympathetic crowd of 6, including a friend who is a reporter for a (very) small local news outlet. As I was speaking I noticed that some of my remarks might be offensive to folks with high net worth. So I clarified and inadvertently insulted those at the other end of the income spectrum. Ah well. Trip and learn. I’m working on a new slide for this too. On balance, the talk was quite good.

Tonight I had dinner with Stephen Zarlenga of the American Monetary Institute, along with three others. Stephen points out some basic problems with our national economic system and has proposed legislation (the American Monetary Act) to remedy those problems.

I agree with Stephen’s analysis in many respects, but I have two fundamental disagreements:

1. Decisions (including decisions about money) should be made at the community level, not by a central authority hundreds or thousands of miles away. Money can and should be created by communities, not by a central authority.
2. Federal legislation that would disempower those who have a controlling influence has very little chance of succeeding. Change at the community level is much quicker and is ultimately more likely to have widespread success.

Unfortunately we did not have the opportunity to discuss these issues.

For tonight’s first talk on “How to Start a Common Good Bank in Your Community”, I put together a whole new slideshow on the global problems that common good banks are designed to address. In particular, I updated, distilled and clarified my 2005 essay on The Problem With Unearned Income. This became the centerpiece of the new section, beginning with a common sense discussion of “what is money”, but quickly leading the audience down the garden path to some disturbing and unexpected common sense conclusions.

Here is one diagram that I was particularly pleased with

Only two people showed up, but they were interested and responsive and it was a great (nearly) dry run for me.

These past two days I have spent revising the presentation (adding introductory slides about money, unearned income and corporations, with followup slides about creating community divisions). Sent 250 emails today to the local list, mentioning the talks and suggesting that people forward the email to friends and neighbors.

I presented today at the Massachusetts Green/Rainbow Party Convention in Leominster. The workshop presentation went well and the table display got some traffic. Some potential investors and several signups.

I was not happy with my summary of the project in the morning plenary session. I need a pitch specifically geared toward social activists. That will have to wait.

United for a Fair Economy and Class Action offered a two-day training yesterday and today. Common Good Finance co-sponsored it, along with a few other organizations, and a ten minute presentation on CGBs was a highlight of the morning today. Here’s a good blog article about the workshop. Maya kindly took some photos, so we now have a much better one for the press:

173 press releases went out today, by email, for the December and January presentations. (46 bounced, so I have some work cut out.) Here it is, along with the rather hokey photo.

PSA / NEWS RELEASE 11/18/2008
For community calendar and local news

Contact: William Spademan
413-628-3336 (for information or interviews)
info@commongoodbank.com

Pioneer Valley Lecture Tour on “How to Start a Common Good Bank”

In December and January, libraries and community centers throughout the Pioneer Valley will host a multi-media presentation by Common Good Finance, titled “How to Start a Common Good Bank in Your Community”.

Common good banks will be a new kind of community savings bank, designed expressly for economic justice, sustainability and strong local economies, independent of the dollar.

“Common good banks will be different from other banks in at least ten important ways,” says Common Good Finance president William Spademan, “including an integrated local currency, a no-fee local credit card and hands-on democratic control of the profits.”

Common good banks will lend exclusively to socially and environmentally responsible borrowers. By design, once the first common good bank exists, any community anywhere in the world can start one in a matter of days, with no red tape and no need for a bank building. Depositors in each community will guide the bank’s lending priorities and will decide how to use the bank’s profits to advance the common good.

Locations, dates and times for the presentations are listed below. All locations are wheelchair accessible. [For a list of locations and dates or] For more information, visit commongoodbank.com or call 413-628-3336.

Common Good Finance is a partnership of many organizations, working together to design and create the first ever common good bank, here in Western Massachusetts. Pioneer Valley partners include: Class Action, Co-op Power, Earth Action, Gasoline Alley Foundation, Meadowbrook Lane Capital, New England Small Farm Institute, Peace Development Fund and Society to Benefit Everyone.