A Golden Age

[NOTE: These posts are an ongoing presentation, meant to be read beginning with the earliest and ending with the most recent. If not read in that order, there is a potential loss for the reader in an overall understanding of what is being presented. You have been warned.]

Well, here’s what is going on. We have a new economy. It’s an economy based upon metaphysics, based upon ideas, based upon information. And we’ve got to figure out how it works. Now, long ago it occurred to me that it might be possible for anyone, even me, to figure out a framework for dealing with the new economy. And although there are those who will challenge what I am about to present as a fantasy, as a fiction, as a figment of imagination, as a bunch of crap, I feel that all of those phrases could be just as well applied to the old economy. After all, I have often wondered, can anybody name one principle in physics that backs up any economic principle? The principles of physical economics are nothing more than theory. So I’m going to share with you my theories. I feel that they are just as valid for consideration as the joke that is presently in process of unraveling.

I contend that economics, as it has been practiced, is nothing more than an overblown fantasy, a creation of fertile imaginations, but not based upon anything that could verify its validity or lend it the least smell of reality. So hey, if that fantasy was good enough to last all of these years, then maybe mine can make the grade. So here’s how I see it.

The wealth of our economy is based upon ideas coupled with their implementation. In other words, you take an idea and bring it into manifestation and it adds value to the world’s wealth. And since this is based upon metaphysics rather than upon physics, the wealth doesn’t disappear or dwindle away with time. The ideas remain valid. So who owns all of this new wealth. Well, to tell you the God’s truth, nobody knows. Oh, we have played games in the past to “protect” intellectual property, but that’s really like saying that it is possible to own a cloud. Don’t look now, but didn’t it just dissipate?

Well, try this on for size. I don’t think that anyone can claim ownership of an idea. I like the way Bucky Fuller used to put it when he said some of his best ideas seemed to have a sense of mustiness, as if they had been sitting on a shelf for a long time. And isn’t that the way ideas are? They’ve always been there. They are just waiting to be discovered. They are just waiting for someone to be open-minded enough to allow them to enter into the realm of our experience, our consciousness, and the opportunity to manifest themselves. The idea that someone can “own” that idea just because they opened their consciousness to receive it is nothing but pure crap. Often when someone “gets an idea,” if truth be known they are not the only one in the world to get that idea. We just saw that happen to me over the use of “metaphysical economy” by myself and Hakim Bey.

Intellectual property rights have nothing to do with ownership of an idea. They have to do with exploitation of an idea. In other words, whomever gets it to market first and has the sharpest lawyers wins the bragging rights. Of course that scenario could lead to large conglomerates taking over ideas as their own and screwing the “originator” of the idea. Hmmm. Sounds familiar. Reminds me of a friend, who had just been shafted by his company, but before he could leave he received a single check for an invention of his that his employer “owned.” He showed me the check and referred to it as whore money. That was all that we was going to get. Any future revenue generated by “his” idea would go straight into the coffers of the company that had just given him the boot.

My view is that ideas belong to everyone. Why? Because everyone can potentially be the channel for any idea to make its way off of the shelf and into our lives. But the value of that idea, the wealth generating potential of that idea belongs to everyone. And what is the value of that idea? Well, as I have already explained, it’s whatever people want to agree upon it to be. So here’s my proposal. Now I also believe that the individual(s) sharp enough to “recognize” the value of the idea that they “receive” should be rewarded. And just as we created elaborate, though distorted, patent and copywrite laws for the old economy, so, too, we can create new, and fairer , laws for handling this issue in the new economy. Hell, under such a system, I probably would qualify for sharing considerably in the new wealth merely because of what I am about to say.

I think that everyone in the world, that’s right, not any particular group, but everyone, should receive $1,000 per year. How is that for starters? Oops, I forgot something. I meant to say $1,000 per year times their age. Think about that for a moment. Think about what it would mean to you personally. Think about what it would mean to your family. Think about what it would mean for your parents. Think about what it would mean for all children, everywhere. Think about what it would mean for people who feel trapped financially in an abusive relationship. $1,000 a year times your age. For everyone in the entire world. How would your life change if right now you were to be given $1,000 times your age in years? And furthermore, you knew that you were going to receive the same thing next year plus an additional $1,000 because you would be a year older. And what do you have to do in exchange for that money? What are you talking about? This is a gift, a gift to you from the universe for being a human being. Consider it as a payment to encourage you to live up to your potential without having to sacrifice it on the altar of the old rat race.

Now there is something that you can do. And we’ll get into that after awhile, but the key here is to realize that I said “can do,” not “must do.” Don’t worry, like I say, we’ll flesh that all out shortly.

I shared this with a young 20-something about a half dozen years ago and she said, “well, I make more than that already.” To which I replied, “I didn’t say that you had to quit your job.” Wow, that adds a new perspective. I bet we could figure out a way to keep the old economic system and at the same time run this new one in parallel. In fact, that makes perfect sense, because that’s what essentially has been happening anyway.

One thing that I want to get very clear here, however, that nowhere am I talking about taking anything away from anyone else. Even if your gain is ill-gotten, you have nothing to fear from what I am talking about. This is not a redistribution of wealth. This is opening the floodgates to the true source of all wealth. And opening it so that all benefit equally.

So, obviously, what we will have to do is to figure out how much “money” we will have to extract from the “cosmic bank account” to pay everyone $1,000/year times their age. That figure will then be our starting benchmark for the total amount of wealth that is immediately available from the new economy. I know that my choice of $1K/year*age is arbitrary, but what the hell, it’s the best, and most equitable, that I have been able to come up with.

Now for a few tweaks. I think that ½ of that which is paid annually to minors should go into a special savings account to be held until their maturity. At 21, that would mean that every person achieving that age would have an immediate nest egg of $105,000 plus an income for that year of $21,000. If we “mature” them at 18, they will have an $85,500 nest egg and an income of $18,000 for the year.

I realize that there are some potential problems here. Will this encourage people to have many children so as to accrue extra free money? Example: a couple is driven to achieve high fertility and has 5 children, ages 2,4,6,8 and 10. That’s an extra $30k/year for their family, and that figure will climb at the rate of $2,500/year. Hey, honey, let’s have another one. Perhaps we could have a child tax on the parents for every child over X number. Harsh? If they are doing this for financial reasons, then they should be hit with a balancing of financial consequences. If they are doing it because they are just hot and don’t know any better, then they obviously need some behavioral counseling regarding personal control and personal responsibility. My God, there are a lot of potential possibilities for handling these situations. An additional possibility will make itself obvious when we talk about education (sometime in the future).

Another possible problem is inflation. Perhaps something will have to be done regarding certain price controls. Now, don’t get freaked. I’m not talking about across the board. It may evolve through creating a system whereby metaphysical income is valid for certain types of purchases, such as the basics of food, clothing, and shelter (and its accompanying support network of utilities, etc.), and those prices are protected against inflation.

Anyway, the bottom line is that we begin with a Metaphysical economy source fund of X trillion or quadrillion dollars that is paid annually to every human being on this spaceship called earth. In addition, people can make additional money through the old familiar system of “business as usual.”

Now, so far, unlike any other system that I have heard proposed for altering our economic outlook, I don’t think that I have offended anyone by threatening to take something away from them in order to give it to another. So let’s see how much further we might push the envelope.

I’m a firm believer in doing away with all taxes. I am amused by proposals such as the flat tax, but the fact of the matter is that every single scheme that comes along is trying to figure out how to switch the burden of “paying for all of this” without pissing off too many people. Let’s skip all of that elaborate sleight of hand and just scrap the entire tax system all together. Instead, let’s look to the same source that we have tapped for putting everyone on an annual payroll. Let’s determine what the needs of people as community are, from local to global, and tap the metaphysical source for the funds needed to bring everyone’s standard of living up to a successful par throughout the world. Now, for those of you “in business” don’t start complaining. Just think of all of the “business” that is going to come your way, if, that is, you are providing a product or service that is important.

Years ago, at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, Bucky Fuller had a thought assignment in one of his classes where they “created” a fictional company called Obnoxico that created useless “stuff,” the kind of things one might find in an airport gift shop. A peculiar thing happened, however, when several of his students took the idea and ran with it. They actually created a company called Obnoxico and began making money off of the crap that they were producing and selling If we began by setting up a system of what constitutes “essential” systems and artifacts and their value and cost and the metaphysical economic cost and then just issued those “metaphysical” funds, who would have a problem with that. Hmmm! I managed to throw taxes on the woodpile in just two paragraphs. What’s next?

How about this thing called “health insurance.” This strikes a particular chord with me because of an experience that I had about 20 years ago. I had a hernia and was fortunate to have a doctor who, through creative reporting to insurance, got me immediately into surgery by claiming the hernia to be incarcerated. Turns out that he was right and his move quite possibly saved my life, whereas if he had waited for the insurance company to make the call, I might have died. But something else happened while I was with him that I have never forgotten. He had been in medicine since World War II. He told me that he had tired of medicine and was going to do a semi-retirement thing where he would be a part-time doctor at a military hospital facility. “You see,” he said, “several years ago big business came in and said to the doctors, ‘boys, there’s money to be made here; step back and let us show you how it’s done.’” As far as he was concerned, the medical field had become too corrupted with its new “bottom line mentality.” So after over 40 years he was bailing to the security and comfort of a government position. Understand, he had decided to retreat to what could be called “socialism,” due to the corruptive influence of capitalism.

Everyone, every man, woman, and child, of whatever age, should receive top of the line professional healthcare at no cost. We do it for the military. We do it for top federal elected officials. Pay for it out of the cosmic account. And switch medicine from being reactive to being proactive towards health. If we help people to live healthy lives, the money saved in the long run is astronomical. This is not a theory. This is a fact. So what the hell are we waiting for, “boys?” I have a friend whose father and brother are both MD’s, and he says the role of American medicine is to cut it, burn it, freeze it. I prefer what the eminent doctor, Dr. Albert Schweitzer said; “It is the role of the physician to entertain the patient while the body heals itself.”

Now, as far as socialism is concerned, remember way back when I told you about labels? What did I say that they lead to? Evil, that’s right. Well, the conservative capitalists’ bandying about the term “socialism,” in order to instill fear in the hearts of the American people, need to cease their foolish and unfounded claims. There are times when socialism is the better answer to a situation than capitalism. There are times when capitalism is the wiser choice. The intelligent leaders are those who can tell the difference and who can explain their reasoning to the populace without resorting to labeling, name-calling, and fear mongering. When an industry is in the throes of developing, the competition of capitalism is a system that inspires competitive growth and development. However, once that industry has achieved a level of equilibrium, and is potentially available for everyone, it is better that it become socialized, thereby continuing to offer the achieved level of quality. Otherwise capitalism will move into a merger frenzy resulting in a money-guzzling monopoly while industry quality slides ever steadily downward.

A healthy economy is not a matter of either capitalism OR socialism. It is a matter of intelligent balance between the various systems available so as to insure the continued health of the economy and the availability of the economy’s output to the widest range of the world’s citizens.

Bottom line on improving the economy is that we must embrace the metaphysical aspects of our reality. Just because it is not physically measurable is no reason for the formally educated parts of our society to ignore it. Once we acknowledge and accept it and begin to incorporate it into our models of reality, humanity will begin to move into a golden age that is almost beyond our wildest dreams. And all of this without any individual disadvantaging any other individual, and the naysayers be damned.

I have more to say on this most important topic, and I want to talk about education, for it is a key aspect to what I am presenting here, but it’s getting late, I want to get this posted, and this is a good place to take a breath.