A Social Values Led Economic Update -from the dark, cavernous mind of George ...
Our first full quarter of operations completed for us on December 31. Our revenue payment is generated 30 days after the quarter end and we then allocate, print and distribute checks to over 70 prolific organizations (mostly non-profit, however DailyKos is among them -we believe in Markos' work and we are grateful for the continued support of the entire DailyKos community).
While I would have personally been delighted to be writing much bigger checks for organizations like CoopAmerica, the NRDC, WalMartWatch, FAIR, Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, United for a Fair Economy and many others --I recognize that we are in our infancy, in many respects --together we have catayzed Capitalism 2.0 (I am ex-Oracle, so I guess version numbers have a nostalgic value to me).
We know we have many technology challenges ahead, and things we must quickly implement to scale alonovo.com -and with it the new economy.
By shifting to a social values shopping paradigm, when we spend our money for products and services -by ensuring that our money does not perpetuate poor labor conditions, pollution, corruption and political influence -instead we will buy (or, at a minimum maintain an affinity for) products and services from businesses that our evolving to embody a proper and sustainable balance.
We hope that the Kos Community continues to support our effort through using our services and continuing to guide us so we evolve a better service for everyone -regardless of political affiliation. While I certainly have my personal view, in many respects alonovo.com has grown from diverse principles and thoughts that have come from across the political spectrum.
There is a different perspective (which I subscribe to) that politics are a shadow manifestation of the underlying economy -a method to allocate wealth and power. I have seen many passionate, firmly entrenched debates between liberal and conservative friends and peers and I have concluded that as long as we remain polarized as an American community -the politics will be up for grabs. I have lunch with a good friend who maintains a very conservative position and voted (egad!) for this administration. Yet, when I think about it (he is well educated, and smart) -he does not want his aquifer polluted. He doesn't want the forests clearcut and our national parks mined and/or drilled. He doesn't want to leave his house (presumably after watching Fox 'News' in the morning) and see the brown air over his house, neighborhood, state. He wants children to have access to good education. The point is, I think we perpetuate the dangerous divide in this country and neocons are all too familiar with a 'divide and conquer' strategy and have used it against liberals, moderates and conservatives.
The way we take America back is to rebuild our sense of community, respect one another and take the time to learn we generally have the same objective, regardless of side. The real enemy are large businesses that are able to dictate Governmental policy, diminish or eradicate enforcement and societal protections -while forming a taxation policy that is guaranteed to shift more wealth and power their way on the backs of most Americans (and the entire world community). It is not about buying red or blue. It is purely about green. No need to scan headline archives to see what ExxonMobil, Chevron, Enron, Halliburton and other entities have done to world while we continue to be intentionally distracted by important, yet secondary issues. We are fighting for our quality of life, and of everyone elses'. While the odds are not against us -as wealth and power continues to shift, they are stacking up.
With hope for a better future for all,
George
Founder, alonovo.com
alonovo.com: Intelligent Marketplace. It's Capitalism 2.0