An economic system that serves everyone and the planet is necessary for our survival by David Korten

We’re running out of time. There’s spreading awareness of the institutional failure that is driving humans toward self-extinction, and related calls for a deep transformation of our economy. This is happening in every quarter, from college campuses to the Vatican to the U.S. presidential debates. Everywhere we hear calls for an economy that serves the well-being of people and Earth. Pope Francis has spoken of the social and environmental failures of an economy devoted to the idolatry of money. Workers and their unions are joining in with the wrenching observation that “There are no good jobs on a dead planet.” There is a related rising awareness of the need for a serious update to how we study and think about economics and prepare our future leaders. With few exceptions, economics, as it’s taught in universities, relies on the same badly flawed theories and ethical principles that bear major responsibility for the unfolding crisis. It values life only for its market price; uses GDP growth as the defining measure of economic performance; assures students that maximizing personal financial return benefits society; recommends policies that prioritize corporate profits over human and planetary well-being, and ignores the natural limits of a finite planet. Here are eight guiding principles for a reformed economic theory to guide our path to a new economy for the 21st century. Principle 1: Evaluate the economy’s performance by indicators of the well-being of people and planet; not the growth of GDP. Growing GDP serves well if our goal is only to increase the financial assets of the rich so they can claim an ever-growing share of the remaining real wealth of a dying Earth. If our priority is to meet the essential needs for food, water, shelter, and other basics for all the world’s people, then we must measure for those results so that we can get the outcomes we really want. Principle 2: Seek only that which benefits life; not that which harms life. We should seek to eliminate war, financial speculation, consumption of harmful or unnecessary products, and industrial agriculture that pollutes the soil, air, and water and produces food of questionable nutritional value. We can eliminate most driving by designing infrastructure to support people living close to where they work, shop, and play. We can eliminate most global movement of people and goods by keeping production and consumption local, using recycled materials, and substituting electronic communication for global business travel. The labor and resources thus freed up can be redirected to raising and educating our children, caring for the elderly, restoring the health and vitality of Earth’s regenerative systems, rebuilding the social infrastructure of community, and rebuilding physical infrastructure in ways that reduce dependence on fossil fuels and simultaneously strengthen our beneficial connections with one another and nature. Principle 3: Honor and reward all who provide beneficial labor, including nature; not those who exploit it to get rich. Life depends on the labor of nature and people. Too often, the current economic system rewards those claiming ownership rather than those performing useful labor. Instead we should follow the model set by traditional societies, in which we earn our share in the surplus of the commons through our labor in service of it. Much of the current economy’s dysfunction can be overcome by eliminating the division of society between owners and workers—a problem corrected through worker ownership combined with an ethical frame that recognizes our well-being depends on much more than just financial return. Principle 4: Create society’s money supply through a transparent public process to advance the common good; not through proprietary processes that grow the profits of for-profit banks. In a modern society, those who control the creation and allocation of money control the lives of everyone. It defies reason to assume that society benefits from giving this power to global for-profit banks dedicated to maximizing profits for the already richest among us. The system of money creation and allocation must be public, transparent, and accountable to the people. It must reside in democratic governments and be administered by public banks supplemented by individual community-owned, cooperative banks whose lending supports local home and business ownership. Principle 5: Educate for a lifetime of learning in service to life-seeking communities; not for service to for-profit corporations. Most university economics courses currently promote societal psychopathology as a human ideal and give legitimacy to institutions that serve only to make money, without regard for the common good. We must prepare youth for future leadership that builds on a moral foundation that recognizes our responsibility for one another and Earth, favors cooperation over competition, and prioritizes life over money and community well-being over corporate profits. No one knows how to get where we now must go, and education cannot provide us with answers we do not have. Education can, however, prepare us to be lifelong learners, skilled in asking the right questions and in working together to find and share answers. Principle 6: Create and apply technology only to serve life; not to displace or destroy it. Technology must be life’s servant. Deciding how to apply technology based solely on what will produce the greatest short-term financial return is madness. Humans have the right and the means to assure that technology is used only to serve humanity as a whole, such as by eliminating destructive environmental impacts, restoring the regenerative capacity of Earth systems, facilitating global understanding, and advancing social justice, cooperation, and learning. Principle 7: Organize as cooperative, inclusive, self-reliant, regenerative communities that share knowledge and technology to serve life; not as incorporated pools of money competing to grow by exploiting life. We can meet our needs through constant cyclical flows of resources. That was our standard way of living until less than 100 years ago. We can do it again. Urban and rural dwellers can rediscover their interdependence as cities source food, timber, fiber, pulp, and recreational opportunities from nearby rural areas and rural areas regenerate their soils with bio-wastes from nearby urban areas and enjoy the benefits of urban culture. Suburbs can convert to urban or rural habitats. Principle 8: Seek a mutually beneficial population balance between humans and Earth’s other species; not the dominance of humans over all others. The health of any natural ecosystem depends on its ability to balance the populations of its varied species. This means maintaining free access to reproductive health care options and removing barriers to women in education and the workplace. Only starting from this point can we both maintain a free society and manage our population size. The basic frame of 21st century economics contrasts sharply with that of the 20th century economics it must now displace. The new frame is far more complex and nuanced. Yet most people can readily grasp it because it is logical, consistent with foundational ethical principles, and reflects the reality that most people are kind, honest, find pleasure in helping others, and recognize that we all depend on the health of our Mother Earth. David Korten wrote this article for YES! Magazine. It is excerpted from a longer working paper “A 21st Century Economics for the People of a Living Earth” written as input to various discussions mentioned in this article. He holds M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the Stanford Business School and was a professor at the Harvard Business School. He is co-founder of YES! Magazine, president of the Living Economies Forum, and author of When Corporations Rule the World. Also printed in Vox Populi. Illustration by Hurca.

Happy 4th of July, America

Nearly 43 percent of American citizens continue to support a bully who is contemptuous and ignorant of the Constitution of the United States of America; a bully who wondered why the U.S. can't use nuclear weapons; a bully who was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan and other white extremists and populists; a bully who has empowered fascists and white nationalists; a bully who appointed Wall Street bankers, industry insiders and special-interest lobbyists to plunder this country’s resources and money while many members of the Republican Party are complicit; a bully who has violated the emoluments clause; a bully who praised Wikileaks and called on Russia's help with his election; a bully who appointed a supreme court justice who was accused of sexual assault; a bully who withdrew the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council; a bully who has enriched the super-rich at the expense of the working people; a bully who has rolled back protections for workers and consumers to benefit corporate interests and donors; a bully who sided with Vladimir Putin over the U.S. Intelligence Agencies on the world stage in Helsinki; a bully who helped the Saudis cover-up a murder of an American journalist; a bully who disparaged Gold-Star parents; a bully who attacked John McCain for being captured and a judge for his Mexican descent; a bully who called immigrant Mexicans "rapists" that "bring drugs and crimes"; a bully who proposed banning Muslims from entering this country and killing the families of terrorists or suspected terrorists; a bully who bragged about his genitalia and grabbing women's genitals; a bully who denies the reality of climate change, lifts restrictions on fossil fuel production, and dismantles environmental regulations; a bully who is responsible for the largest reduction of protected lands in the U.S.; a bully who attacks American media; a bully who extols Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, Rodrigo Duterte, and other despots and attacks American allies; a bully who constantly attacks the U.S. Intelligence Agencies and the Rule of Law; a bully who ignores the legislative and judicial branches of government and their Balance of Power; a bully who exacerbates hatred toward Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Muslim Americans and degrades veterans, women, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals and the disabled; a bully whose policy has taken children from their parents and placed them in cages…

Nearly 43 percent of American citizens continue to support his malignant narcissism, his moral relativism, his white nationalism, his perfidious nationalism, his hateful racism, his infectious nihilism, his outrageous iconoclasm, his ruthless competition, his constitutional ignorance, his puerile dereliction, his embarrassing idiocy, his provocative transgressions, his mocking disrespect, his impetuous vulgarity, his belligerent intimidation, his pathological lying, his obsessive vindictiveness, his hypocritical cowardice, his compulsive xenophobia, his callous misogyny, his lawless demagoguery, his insufferable bigotry, his disgusting buffoonery, his histrionic rallying, his dangerous idiocy, his droning voice, his repulsive self…

-Glen Brown

The Ever-Growing Problem of Plastics in the Ocean

"After investigating, the El Valle Wildlife Rescue Center determined that the sperm whale was killed by gastric shock to its stomach and intestines after ingesting 64 pounds of plastic. The autopsy found plastic bags, nets, ropes, plastic sacks, and even a plastic jerrycan in the whale's stomach and intestines.

"Experts found the inner walls of the whale's abdomen to be inflamed due to a bacterial or fungal infection. This is likely a result of the whale unable to expel the plastics from its system, resulting in peritonitis.

"The male sperm whale, an endangered species protected in the US under the Endangered Species Conservation Act, weighed over 6 tonnes and measured 33 feet long. Sperm whales typically eat squid and live around the same lifespan as humans, averaging 70 years.

"As a result of the whale's death, the Murcia government launched a campaign against dumping plastic waste into the coastal town's water. The coastal community is working to raise awareness of the ever-growing plastic problem in oceans and the need for beach cleaning.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that plastic in our oceans is a core threat to marine life in the decades to come. Approximately 5 trillion pieces of plasticare estimated to be floating around the world's oceans based on a recent study. To make matters worse, marine experts believe the total weight of plastic in our oceans could outweigh fish in the world's oceans by 2050..."  

For the entire article, click here. 

On the Anniversary of My Daughter's Death by Jean-Marie Kauth

This is what happened on the anniversary of Katherine’s death this year: I was sitting in a remote cabin overlooking the Wisconsin River, one of our favorite places on earth, when I thought I smelled through the open window the horribly familiar smell of pesticides. Impossible! I thought. No one would spray out here – it must be fetid mud from the lagoon by the river. Five minutes later, my son walked in and asked if I knew there was a “TrueGreen” (Chemlawn) truck in the neighbor’s driveway. We rushed to close all the windows, open to what we had thought was the pure, pure breeze. Despite being now chemically sensitive, I went out to confront the young man spraying the toxic chemicals.

“I can smell the pesticides all the way inside,” I said, though the cabin is a good 100 feet from the neighbors, on its own 10-acre plot.

“It’s the neighbor’s, not you.” (Moot point, if I can smell it.) “I can give you a number to call….”

“What about you? Do you know that these chemicals increase not only your own risk for cancer, but for any children you might have? Please don’t do it anymore.”

Though perhaps I should have given him more information to look up himself, I took refuge inside. One son reminded me we had laundry on the line, which at least we could rewash, and the other son had to be asked please not to sleep on the porch, which was most contaminated. If you can smell pesticides, there are, without doubt, molecules in the air. I dealt with PTSD from Katherine’s exposures and death all night.

Incidents like this have happened more often than I could count, driving down the highway, staying in hotels, or in my own home. It is impossible to completely avoid such exposures. Why do people, for negligible reasons, spray pesticides for weeds or mosquitoes?

Even people I respect in public health have a blind spot about spraying for mosquitoes, and indeed, in cases of multiples deaths from West Nile, or God forbid, malaria, as climate change creeps up on us, it may be worth the trade-off to adulticide. But first should come larviding, and education about emptying breeding grounds for mosquitoes. And if spraying occurs, everyone should be thoroughly notified and behaviors altered; they must close windows, not go outside, and not touch items that were outside for several days afterwards at least. 

But mostly, these chemicals are sprayed without thinking things through: if we understand that these same organophosphates drifting off farm fields cause higher levels of cancer, autism, and lower IQs in children of immigrant farm workers, why do we think suburban children, sleeping under a haze of these chemicals sprayed straight in their windows at night, are not equally vulnerable? Research shows that they are. According to some studies, ALL rates are about as high among rich white kids in the suburbs as kids of other ethnicities. Hispanic children in California are a different story (cf. Brenda Eskenazi’s work). We count deaths from West Nile; we do not account for those cancer deaths caused by pesticide exposure.

Don’t get me started on people who spray chlorophenoxy herbicides like 2,4-D and other pesticides for lawns. There are absolutely no tangible benefits, while they, their children, and their dogs all incur higher rates of various cancers, Parkinson’s Disease, and other maladies. Whole provinces in Canada have banned cosmetic pesticides for these reasons, so most Canadians are safe from casual exposures like this.

All this is to say – you cannot imagine the price you could pay for negligent decisions about seemingly trivial matters in a society that does not regulate chemicals that are designed to kill all life. Rachel Carson made this case more than 50 years ago, and surprisingly little has changed. We are killing our children to avoid minor nuisances. Shockingly, we are killing other people’s children as well. What may be legal can be very far from moral or ethical. Particularly because of the lack of commonsense regulation, we each have a responsibility to make sure not to do more harm than good – to our loved ones – and to others.’

Katherine Kauth (February 12, 1994 - June 22, 2002)

More articles by Jean-Marie Kauth can be found here. 

Walgreens: “By Any Other Name Would [Be Greed]”

Walgreens Will No Longer Provide Health Benefits for Retired Employees:

“Walgreens said in a September letter reviewed by CNBC that it would no longer subsidize medical benefits for its former employees who hadn't turned 64 by March 31, citing ‘rising and unpredictable healthcare costs’…

“Some 550 retirees receive the subsidies from Walgreens before they turn 65 and are eligible for Medicare. Under the age restrictions laid out in the September letter, they won't receive the payments, which vary in amount based on employees' years of service.

“Neither will employees who were eligible for the benefit upon retirement under the old rules, which made it available to employees who had turned 50 by May 2017 and had worked at the company 20 years. (Employees still needed to be at least 55 with at least 25 years of service at the time of retirement to receive the benefit).

“Walgreens tightened the requirements for the subsidies in the past, eliminating eligibility for new hires and younger employees, but until last fall, the company had stopped short of touching the payments of retirees who were already receiving them.

“‘Pre-65, I do think it's unusual to take people who already have a subsidy right now and eliminate that subsidy,’ said Derek Guyton, a partner in the health and benefits business at Mercer, owned by Marsh & McLennan. ‘What's more common is you tell people way ahead of time you're not going to have this subsidy when you get to 55 or what have you. That obviously has happened a lot and continues to happen, but taking it away from people, some employers consider that almost an employment contract.’

“Walgreens has said it is working on a ‘lower-cost, unsubsidized retiree health program starting in 2020,’ according to an October letter it sent to retirees. It has yet to provide details on its plan.

“Walgreens spokesman Phil Caruso said that the company reviewed a host of factors before deciding to change eligibility requirements for the subsidies.

“‘We are continuing to work toward a new retiree healthcare program for 2020, paying particular attention to the transition impact for those with current subsidized coverage,’ he said. ‘We will continue to update our retirees.’

“The drugstore chain employed roughly 354,000 people as of August, according to its annual report…

“Despite its profits [Recent Quarter Earnings Rose 4.6% to $34.53 Billion], the drugstore chain is under pressure from investors to cut costs.

“Pharmacies are getting paid less to fill prescriptions as insurers squeeze them. Prices of the drugs they're dispensing aren't increasing at the same rates they used to as drug makers face pressure from lawmakers. People also aren't buying as much candy and soap at drugstores, instead buying convenience items online on sites like Amazon.

“The company earlier this year ramped up cost-cutting after CEO Stefano Pessina called its second-fiscal quarter the most difficult quarter since Walgreens acquired Boots Alliance in 2015. [Pessina’s Net worth Is $10 Billion. His Net Worth Was $15.3 Billion in 2015. He Earned $14.7 Million in 2017. The Average Hourly Rate for Employees Is $12.33]. Walgreens now expects to save $1.5 billion annually by 2022, executives told Wall Street analysts on a conference call in April.

“In cutting the subsidies for early retirees, Walgreens reduced its benefit plan obligation by $201 million in 2018 from the previous year, the company said in its annual report…” [There Are 13,200 Walgreens Stores in 11 Countries. The Company’s Net Worth Is $47.95 Billion (as of June 21, 2019). The Average Hourly Rate for Pharmacy Technicians Is $12.88; the Average Hourly Rate for Retail Shift Supervisors Is $12.98; the Average Hourly Rate for Customer Service Associates Is $8 - $12].

For the entire article, click here.

“We are in the midst of a national crisis”—Kurt Bardella

“Thursday, May 2, 2019, felt like the end of checks and balances in America. It was the day that the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee stood by and supported the executive branch’s decision to ignore a lawful subpoena issued by the legislative branch. At this moment in time, we no longer really have co-equal branches of government. And without this system, created with care by the Founding Fathers, we edge ever close to a dictatorship.

“I spent five years working for Republicans on the House Oversight Committee during the Obama administration and I can tell you the level of blatant obstruction we are seeing from Trump and his cronies is on a totally different level from what the GOP was dealing with. At this point, the only real recourse for Democrats is to compel cooperation is to initiate impeachment proceedings and activate broader powers to enforce their subpoenas as Congress did with President Richard Nixon. This executive branch is flagrantly undermining the legislative branch. And it clearly thinks it can get away with it.

“Our entire federal system is predicated on the idea that fidelity to our constitutionally mandated rules of governance supersedes political party. That even in the most partisan of environments, Republicans and Democrats acknowledge and respect the role that the branches of government play in limiting absolute power. But what happens when that respect is obliterated? When one branch of government decides to go rogue and ignore the constitutional authority of another?

“Unfortunately, this is no longer a theoretical exercise to be examined and debated in the safe confines of a civics class. It is happening right now, before our very eyes.

“Democracy is about choice. The people who serve in Congress weren’t installed by decree or birthright, but by a free vote of free people. By ignoring the authority of the Congress, Trump and his followers are ignoring the will of the American people. By shutting out the legislative branch, Trump and his administration are thumbing their noses at the Framers’ framework, and everything it represents.

“If there is a policy this White House does not like, it unilaterally changes it. If there’s a question Trump officials don’t want to answer, they don’t show up, as Attorney General William Barr did. If there’s information they want to keep hidden from the American people, they sue a co-equal branch of government to keep it secret.

“And the problem is just getting worse. Barr, who sounds increasingly like a White House spokesperson and not top law enforcement officials, defied a subpoena to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on May 2. The Department of Trump — I mean, Justice — ignored a subpoena deadline to produce to Congress the unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and the underlying evidence used to compile it. This prompted House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to send a final counteroffer to Barr. But on Monday, Barr again failed to comply with the subpoena; the committee will vote to hold him in contempt on Wednesday.

“Also last week, the White House informed House Democrats that it would not comply with a request for documents related to security clearances. Our Supreme Leader — I mean President, Donald J. Trump — has sued two banks in an effort to block them from complying with subpoenas from the House Oversight Committee related to his and his family’s finances.

“Partisanship and obstruction is sadly not uncommon in America’s political system. But by continuing to push the boundaries, Trump has exposed a flaw within the framework of our political composition. Congress is effectively powerless to make the executive branch do anything. They can issue subpoenas. Those subpoenas can be ignored. They can hold people in contempt. But of course, any U.S. attorney capable of prosecuting contempt can be fired by the attorney general. If they go to court, it’ll take years to get resolved.

“Moreover, when it comes to Trump and Congressional Republicans, there is little good faith left — if any. There certainly isn’t much trust. With the backing of the White House, Republicans believe they can effectively bully Democrats. And Democrats, led by the conventionally cautious wisdom of lawmakers like Rep. Nancy Pelosi, are increasingly trapped by the process. If they remain unwilling to deviate from conventional tactics, they will not be able to gain much progress in these very unconventional times.

“Last November, millions of Americans voted in favor of having a stronger check on power by ushering in a new Democratic majority in the House. They voted to give Democrats the power of the congressional gavel, the power to issue subpoenas, the power to conduct vigorous oversight. That mandate is being ignored by the president and his henchmen. It is up to Democrats to protect and defend the will of the people and they must do so boldly. There is no place for traditional tactics or negotiations. We are in the midst of a national crisis — a real one, not the manufactured one at the southern border. Who will stand up for the Republic?”

Trump’s Subpoena Obstruction Has Fractured the Constitution’s System of Checks and Balances by Kurt Bardella

Cancer-Causing Ingredient in Weedkiller Found in Cheerios

Glyphosate is found in the weedkiller Roundup, which is sprayed on oats before harvest.

ALMOST TWO DOZEN CEREAL and snack products were found to contain glyphosate, the cancer causing ingredient in the weed killer Roundup.

An analysis released today by the Environmental Working Group's Children's Health Initiative found that 21 of General Mills' oat-based cereals and snacks were contaminated with glyphosate and all but four products contained levels higher than what EWG scientists consider safe for children. The nonprofit environmental research organization's benchmark for levels of the ingredient deemed safe for kids is no more than 160 parts per billion.

The product containing the lowest level of glyphosate was Nature Valley's Dark Chocolate & Nut version of Fruit & Nut Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars, which measured at 76 ppb. The highest level of glyphosate, 833 ppb, was found in Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch.

Regular Honey Nut Cheerios contained 147 ppb. Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cheerios contained 729 ppb. Nature Valley's Maple Brown Sugar Crunchy Granola Bars measured glyphosate at 566 ppb, while its Soft-Baked Blueberry Oatmeal Squares measure at 206.

The ingredient used in the weedkiller, which is sprayed on oats before harvest as a drying agent, was classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015. It was classified as a known carcinogenic by California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in 2017.

There have been several lawsuits brought against Roundup's manufacturer Bayer-Monsanto alleging that its weedkiller causes cancer and that the company has known about it for years. More than $2.2 billion has been awarded to victims.  

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