Disclaimer: IAN: an economist, trade rep, or labor lawyer; just interested in this discussion and finding myself at a unique opportunity in this time, at our moment in history. So this series of diaries will be a little stream of consciousness, a little on topic.
I\We inhabit a singular whirling planet, all together, and we all do better with fair trade; Brazilian bananas and sugar cane, our staples and iPhones, barter of sorts, an honest accounting, across the Americas! (and ROW as well; local-er is more sustainable tho if say bread can be baked locally rather that shipped.) People building, preserving, conserving, saving. Water distribution will be an economy to be a public utility always, a nominal right., like health care, and good meals — jam from Georgia peaches and butter from Vermont, millstones from Germany say, and localish wheat on a table made in Appalachia. Cooked in an outdoor convection oven made in the US. (I’m not selling rock crushers). Sustainable and productive consumerism, malls of juice bars, spreading wealth around.
Oh this tapestry, so rich and diverse, and access to all thanks to safe and secure trade. to democratic and equal access, and fair trade means human rights, too. Dignifying craft, labor. Employees, workers earning what their positions are worth, not an artificial number dreamed up by a staff accountant trying to show a profit to the owners/shareholders (sometimes the very same people as they buy into the company 401k. but think about all the middle people, & the fees. Although we shouldn’t all have to be brokers to retire; SPY or other index funds do alright). Dignity in your position, you job or career, what you have chosen to spend your life doing means having time for your children, or parents. It means not having to settle for the “not the right” job because of such unpaid “benefits” when did such obvious life issues become benefits? (Were they always, just finally recognized by Ted Kennedy well into our evolutionary climb?))? It means the person harvesting the berries in our cereal is able to put cereal on their table too. That means the price of berries will find it’s real worth. It also means apple pickers will be able to afford berries, so we can grow more of them. That, in turn, means we have to really care about the planet. Runoff like with Lake Okeechobee. (I wish Sen aspirant Patrick Murphy could be tasked with oversight of fixing THAT mess!) . So such env impacts are baked into final cost, as are labor costs.
Well run ports, well secured (hire Vets!), shore & containers, sea worthy single wides (another calculus, solving multiples at once) hoisted onto ships that have now become floating independent cities, protected by national navies, floating city states (incorporated) fishing communities say out 20 miles or 40. dunno if that’s even possible. (Growing seahorses from briny powder, polishing stones with grit) freshwater gardens onboard, and greenhouses on or sealed into the clear deck then exotic brackish mutants, sea grasses, seeds traded say from Africa, fair trade again, and pears from Spain or, better, MX. Now Somalis can aspire to sustainable agriculture, sustainable marine stewardship, because growing millet will pay decent wages when sold in say Morocco.
— wheats from the midwest, sea grasses from the gulf, the algae blooms to deadly flowers
— briny cucumber, ocara, pickled pepper
— rice again one day, different exotic strains from the LA bayous. Houston then a center of trade. Chilies, curries.
Wild varieties of rices, of beans, corn/quinoa, sweet potatoes/yams; this worldwide diversity made possible at the most economic trade possible via fair trade. This is how we all do better.
& of course NY, Portsmouth. The Caribbean, sweet sea grape wine, mangrove bogs, pears from France; of course the cheeses from everywhere, and beer, and bread. Cashews from BR paid for in Bolivars. An EU model.
Same with cane sugar, processed there in a sustainable way, like with bamboo. grape vines grown along cedar fencing, the wall a living testament, flora
— we can require env impact assessments, and the same in say vietnam, maybe no trade there will need to find balance w CN
I already purchase (heirloom tomatoes!, blue and red drumhead cabbage varieties) seeds raised in (I suppose) apartment labs in hi rises, in modern cities, populated, busy, growing; from Singapore, HK & CN. & nominal shipping! We want the full cost baked in, the pennies paid do not reflect the true value of the seeds but once we have fair trade established, the whole earth will be busy like West Berlin in the 70s. We will find an equilibrium of fair trade and sustainable business practice.
Human rights will follow in say IN, Micronesia, Philippines. Wherever sweatshops exist. The mom & pop pineapple shops ;) Coconut groves somewhere, avocados, oranges, dates, figs, plums, apples & grapes all thanks to global trade; imagine global fair trade!
- oikonomos
- now on to other ideas: the little greys are radiation resistant :D
- today of all days!
- This is the beginning of the next sinusoidal cycle of 11,000 years. Each age we transform; the last time, we were lemmings. Lemurs. *sigh*^X next we will be Alien or some such variant based on alternates lol
from the Secret Doctrine
"They [these teachings] will be derided and rejected a priori in this century; but only in this one. For in the twentieth century of our era scholars will begin to recognize that the Secret Doctrine has neither been invented nor exaggerated, but, on the contrary, simply outlined; and finally, that its teachings antedate the Vedas." — Secret Doctrine Vol I, intro page xxxvii.
Now that I have some time due to the leave, I’m thinking about (obviously I guess, from my username) about the sustainability of vegetable gardening. This while I was cleaning up mouse poop and pulling weeds. Of finding low impact distribution alternatives. Now union labor? Now the workers will have a say at the table, a voice in the use of work of their hands And they will be paid a fairly determined value for their work, because we were advanced enough to recognize the vast superiority of fair trade to free, or otherwise rigged, systems. A mutually agreeable arbiter to regulate dispassionately.
Especially the ports, the longshore & dockworkers, & the service workers where tourists travel, which is the coasts (primarily). Then if we can find say residual military funding we shore up port security and oversight with returning vets rather than paying for them to be outsourced to Blackwater or whoever. I have seen how ports can run well; we need the equivalent of ATCs at major shipping hubs & will often also be tourist destinations, e.g. NYC or Chicago. San Fran. We can make this an alternative to F 35s
The Fair Trade principles already work here between regions, to some extent. & that’s the original reason for a Federal Reserve, so the bankers can’t rip off farmers. We hold interest steady so when farmers need seed in early spring, they can borrow & then invest in fall at some not rigged rate, because it’s regulated. So Idaho potatoes & Iowa soybeans and Kansas corn and Texas cotton and Mexican oranges and Brazilian cashews can all be regulated by the same principles. This apart from tariffs, which fair trade does away the need for except port fees and we want to bake externalities into the accounting. This can be an agreed upon rate, possible determined by an international board of scientists (sorry, flat earthers!). We will need roads and electrical/fiber conduit on roads like I-10/I-12 thru Louisiana, over the bayous and swamps and brackish rivers.
—- Not throwing out the book on Adam Smith, JM Keynes or Benj Graham. More like a Graham not on steroids but on natural health.
— — Not throwing out the idea of republics, but local focus
Sharing: what a concept!
— — — Missionaries will feel at home with this, it promotes cultural exchange as well. The producers bringing art & music with them
Consider the picture on the right, modified to map to the current reality in some industries, like IT here in the US. The owners are squeezing out all the other sections, which is UNFAIR. When I/we were kids, we learned that fairness was a guiding principle in life. It doesn’t end with adulthood! The schoolyard bully never goes to homecoming, the nerds are happy to tho, even if life’s had it’s quirks.
Tieback to criminal justice reform (linkie: 1, 2, 3) released incarcerees with no trade can pour cement (in Brazil in the 80s a day laborer as such would make eq $4/dia, this 1992, the beginning of WJCs admin. Here, sim $100/day if skilled, ~40 if not) I don’t have current BRIC numbers at hand (need NBER cite).
The Americas could form a loose alliance (Thanks, Larry David!) sim EU. Brexit renaissance (#Bregrets, #Breginnings). Again, loosely based on the NAFTA countries’ rules, but with fair trade rules instead and wages will equalize, and there are a lot more laborers (esp in cities) than there are real trade jobs. International universal internet access now! Why is that such a radical idea when this is a communist ideal, socialism. {I and IWW go way back}
Universal access to health care and prescription medications at fair traded market value prices, with intellectual capital fairly accounted for.
Fair Trade as a concept is like GAAP for the modern world, an IFRS that accounts for workers not as liabilities but as assets.
People trust the US dollar & that’s why the debt number is so large. Chinese buyers want to own a stable currency.
We need a NEXT WHOLE EARTH CATALOG dated 7/11/2016, United Nation Day (Bernie’s endorsement of HRC, with a nod to Bill McKibben)
Next: Fair Use
Have a great night! I’ll reply as possible :) I am slow tho, so please share, liberally.
Have some DKs:
