[Altruistic-Economics] [GiftEconomy] (no subject)

[Tereza Coraggio]

Hi, Frank

I like your use of scare city. I agree completely, also, that a gift- 
exchange or money-exchange of commodities doesn't get to the heart of  
the matter. As consumers, these are all exchanges of products someone  
else made, with their labor and resources. Taking land and shelter out  
of the commodity exchange is the only way we can return to being  
producers. In effect, we have nothing to give that's our own.  
Everything we have is stolen from someone else, under the guise of  
money as a real thing.

My own solution to this dilemma is to give neighbors food I've cooked  
with ingredients as local or fair-trade as possible, and then they  
give donations for people fighting for land and sovereignty in those  
producer countries. This week, I'll focus on the International Labor  
Rights Forum, who's sponsoring a tour of sweatshop workers from  
Bangladesh and Pakistan - excerpt below. We just set up a website page  
describing the process at http://thirdparadigm.org/fith.php.

I also agree with the quote at the end of your message, that it's not  
more money that will save us, but needing less money because our food  
and energy are created by us. But imagine if there was a fair exchange  
of houses and property - through the work you did caring for people in  
the community, you paid off a community "mortgage" on your house. When  
you were too old to work, you'd reverse-mortgage it back to the  
community - "buying" the services of other people who'd care for you.  
It could work the same way as bank mortgages now, except that it would  
be an honest exchange system, not for the profit of bankers.

In solidarity,
Tereza
Here's the ILRF info, hope it's not too long for your phone: This  
year’s speaking tour will feature the first hand accounts of labor  
violations from two speakers. Kalpona Akter, a former child factory  
worker, from the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) will  
speak about her work supporting working women, the rights of children,  
and the security of working families and communities in Bangladesh.  
Zehra Bano, the General Secretary of the Home-Based Women Workers  
Federation of Pakistan, will share her intimate knowledge of the  
plight of soccer ball workers especially related to home-based and  
stitching center workers.

There will also be a broader focus on public procurement which is the  
purchasing of goods by a government to be used in the public sector.  
This can include everything from fire fighter uniforms to school  
lunches. Governments in the US, whether it is a local, state or  
federal branch, can be some of the largest purchasers of manufactured  
goods. They need to buy uniforms and equipment for their offices,  
employees and schools. These purchases are usually very large and  
therefore the purchases are an opportunity to encourage the use of  
strong labor standards as a prerequisite for any business that wants  
to sell products to the government.


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