Opinion
Creating an Economic Ecosystem
by Brian Stark
Green Party of the United States

As I look ahead at the upcoming election year I've gotten thoroughly depressed. Yes, the Republicans have dismal approval ratings and even the conservative-owned media are reporting some of their scandals. The problem is few Americans identify with any other political leaders. There are a lot of reasons for this, but only a few of those reasons are the fault of the Republicans.

There is a saying, "If you always do what you always did you'll always get what you always got." We need to change and adapt if we are going to make a connection. Right now I think most Americans want to make a connection with their leadership. Emphasizing scandal and calling for impeachment will never make that connection. 

Don't get me wrong, I think the Republicans deserve scandal and impeachment. What I'm saying is Americans want more. What they want is a way out of this mess. First we have to change the direction of the national discussion. Instead of focusing on what's wrong about the Republicans and Democrats, we have to talk about what's right with the Greens. Then we need to present some organic solutions which clearly seem feasible. By organic I mean solutions need to be able to promote growth without the government having to control and sustain the growth.

Very briefly, I want to present the idea of our society as an economic ecosystem. Ecosystems operate on many different levels. Most importantly, everything in an ecosystem lives in balance with everything else. When one part of the system becomes unbalanced and expands or shrinks too much the whole system dies. I think most of us can see our economy the same way, but when solutions are presented they focus on one side or element of the system.

Many liberals still have a soft spot for Socialism. The greed of Capitalism is distasteful to many. However, Capitalism isn't supposed to be based on greed. The greed system is Mercantilism. Capitalism is supposed to be based on balance. As for Socialism, its main problem is it isn't organic. What I am proposing is a balanced, or Liberal Capitalism, in which the government serves as gardener or ranger keeping the system balanced.

If we look at our economic ecosystem we see there are workers, managers, big businesses, small businesses, banks, markets, consumers, and producers. As sunlight and water sustain an ecosystem in nature, capital sustains an economic ecosystem. In order for an economic ecosystem to thrive, however, capital must flow throughout the system. If too much collects in one place the ecosystem stagnates.

There are three main circulators of capital. These are banks, investment markets, and governments. Governments are an obvious choice for political candidates. Liberals use government to increase the capital in circulation while conservatives use government to concentrate capital in one area. I, however, want to talk about banks. Banks in many ways are gatekeepers of capital. Liberals tend to mistrust banks for that very reason. Bankers use their status to keep certain groups of people out of the ecosystem. This has nothing to do with how banks function, it is a result of who owns the banks. Unlike investment markets and governments, banks can operate in a decentralized system. This means banks don't need to be owned by ruling-class individuals or shareholders. Any individual with enough money, or any organization, can open and run a bank. Banks also can have objectives, besides preserving class structure.

What I am proposing is the Green Party open its own bank. I suspect the Greens can scrape together enough money to open one or more banks. Unlike other banks, Green banks would operate in neighborhoods where banks currently don't operate. The purpose is to open the gates of opportunity to people who don't have it. Right now, disempowered neighborhoods can only get banking services from check cashing and pawn shops. Both of these operations are legalized loan sharking. High-interest loans and no credit rating prevent people on the bottom from ever having a chance to get ahead. No banks means there is no capital for new businesses. No banks means there is no way for people to put their money where it can earn interest.

To be successful these banks would need to be more than banks as we know them now. They would need to make financial planners and investment brokers available to their customers. They would also need to enable people with skills and drive to learn how to start and run a business. Without that training the banks would only be lending money to businesses doomed to failure. What I find most amazing about the Green Party is it works like a system outside of the system. We need to harness that system if we are to make real change.

Back to Spring 2006