Better Democracy and
Capitalism
A Timistic Vision of Humanity
for the Third Millennium
Lifehours: A New
Currency
Uniting the Symbols and Substance of Our Time
Thesis
The problem with currencies throughout
history has been the ability of a few people (hereditary kings, habitual
politicians, currency speculators, and tenured economists) to manipulate
the value of currency to the detriment of many people.
Humanity needs a currency that is simultaneously substance and symbol--the lifehour. The lifehour is a currency whose time has come and will come. How soon it will be the real currency to stop the manipulative theft is up to people like you. The essence of currency is found in the expression, "What is your time currently worth?" If a person solves a problem, one is creating or saving time. That created, quantifiable time is what you are currently worth. That saved, quantifiable time is the absolute, existential, honest basis of what constitutes a profit, literally and figuratively. Profit comes from Latin, pro esse, that is, forward existence, being or time. If no time is created then there is no profit. There clearly is no profit if time is wasted, stolen or destroyed. The above synopsis of currency is what economics should have as a bedrock and foundation. For the purposes of economic and political reform through the website that you are visting--Better Democracy and Capitalism--the lifehour is a barter or accounting system for solving the problems of our world. Like all currencies, it has life only to the degree that it is accepted, traded and used by the productive people of a society. If you believe
then your efforts on behalf of a better life will not be wasted or unrewarded. As more people acquire lifehours, it's existence becomes a reality. You can record your lifehours--the hours of your life--spent in promoting Better Democracy and Capitalism . You will receive lifehour credits--future tax credits: volunteerism for of time and money. America is in the process of a leverage buyout of public policy making from a board of directors composed of corrupt habitual politicians. The Grade AAAA bonds for this leverage buyout are lifehour tax credits. Pretty slick, if you think about it. The realization, creation and facilitation of the ultimate currency as lifehour tax credits of, by and for Better Democracy and Capitalism. Some will view lifehours as a debatable, marketable concept. They are wrong. As a currency, lifehours are as much a part of the future as currents of water. Upon the liquidity of these immutable financial instruments will float humanity to a rennaissance of hope and civility. On a soft note--pun intended--lifehours are the ultimate soft money of political campaigns, $3 billion for starters.You can't get much softer than creating money out of thin air. Rather than being soft money to promote special interests, this existential soft money will promote the general interest of better democracy and capitalism. Lifehours transcend and terminate all other soft money funds in public policy-making. Promising tax benefits for a political or economic agenda is not new. Habitual politicians get elected promising tax exemptions, supports and credits. But they do this only if you promise to help them get elected. Your lifehour tax credits accumulate as a result of your solving problems or helping develop a better, more democratic problem-solving process through the internet. The difference is how Democratic Capitalism is a process that organizes and rewards people for leading themselves in solving their problems. The difference is that no one is pulling out old promises from the closet every 2,4, or 6 years, empty political promises to lead and cure. The lifehour tax credit is better than the vouchers for schools. As vouchers portend to increase choice and accountability, the lifehour will increase the quality of public policy-making. In part, the lifehour will flush out the habitual politicians who are responsible, more than anyone, for bad politics and bad schools. If we are going to have vouchers, let's start at the top with the best one, the lifehour tax credit for those who will vouch for better government. The habitual politicians cater to enfranchisement if it will buy them vote. The Democrats knowing that certain groups are less likely to make the effort to go to city hall to register to vote, pushed a law to register people to vote in lots of places, the so-called motor voter law. Will they spend money to let us vote for ourselves to replace them? No. So we must create the system and the money for so doing: on-line democracy and capitalism: colfilperhone and lifehour tax credits. When WE, the people, have the power, we will retroactively value our efforts for better democracy and capitalism. When lifehours have become a law of the land for use in rewarding citizens for their community service, your accumulated lifehours will be amortized over twenty (20) years for annual reduction of your annual tax dollar obligation to the federal government. If you have 2000 lifehours, then you will be able to take a yearly 100 lifehour credit in current dollars as tax dollars. If the average hourly wage is $10, then the deduction is $1000. If $12.50, then $1250. There is a precendence for ending political and economic injustices through government bonds: compensated emancipation. The amortization of lifehours over 20 years should be a wash in dollar for dollar tax costs to the tax payers. In the face of dollars saved by solving our problems, the taxpayer will come out ahead. The targeted cost of implementing Better Democracy and Capitalism is $3 billion. That is an annual cost of $100 million per year : thirty-three cents per American each year! Basically, the cost of each billion dollar lifehour accrual is a per annum debt of ten cents for each American over tweny years. Is it worth it? Asked another way, "Will the American people begrudge giving $3 billion to those who act stop the habitual politicians that have given us:
Will Americans object? No. Using future taxes to promote increased civil and voter rights is not new. The U.S. government spent tax dollars to promote civil rights and voting rights. Or, consider the petty lipservice to reducing campaign fraud by allowing a 1040 checkoff a three dollar contribution to the Presidential Campaign. More anciently, consider Abraham Lincoln's proposal of compensated emancipation. Some of those tax dollars came from deficit spending, i.e., we will pay for this problem-solving by borrowing from future tax receipts. That is what lifehour tax credits is all about ... except. Except we the people will determine what problems to solve through a democratic process.
Frequent Higher Smiles: People receive frequent flyer miles for doing little
or nothing. Lifehours are analogous. For many long-standing problem-solvers
in many community services (
Red Cross, Candy Stripers, Big Brothers/Big Sisters
The management level/multiple index multiplies the lifehour time by a variable based on how many people are supervised. (Wow, from where did this gobbledy gook from a wonk come?) A brainbee is available for lifehours.
Index: The following links provide the theoretical foundations and justify the practical means by which more and more people will earn and own lifehours for their services in promoting better democracy and capitalism
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