Difference between revisions of "Draft GPUS Platform Amendment Economic Sustainability Chapter Introduction"
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| + | 2010 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY CHAPTER | ||
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| + | The Green Party envisions an economic system that can function continuously within the ecosystems that it depends on. Our current economic system – based on ever-increasing extraction of resources from a finite planet – is seriously flawed. A sustainable economic system would discourage harmful externalities like waste and pollution, and encourage responsible use and stewardship of the natural environment. We envision an economic system that provides for the economic rights of all people, including a basic level of security necessary for personal dignity, freedom, and development. We also believe that everyone has the right to participate in the economy and be fairly rewarded for their work. There is much work to be done in the transition to a sustainable civilization, and public policy should set America on the track to a just and sustainable economy. | ||
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| + | The Green Party seeks to alter or abolish government policies that have accelerated the concentration of economic power and reinforced unsustainable practices. Greens call for a progressive tax structure to shift the burden from the many who struggle with taxes to the few who can easily afford them. We also support shifting taxes from that which benefits society, such as labor, to that which harms society, such as pollution. We call for government to prioritize programs that benefit our communities and cut reckless spending on programs that jeopardize our future. We seek to end the federal government’s practice of spending more on weapons of war than on programs of social uplift, year after year. We believe it is irresponsible to continually run up the national debt while shortchanging state and local governments. Greens recognize that for the economy to be sustainable and fair to future generations, long-term fiscal responsibility is imperative. | ||
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| + | The Green Party stands for community-based economics and economic decentralization. We believe that the only model of long-term economic security and sustainability is for communities to be largely self-sufficient in the production of their necessities. A legal structure that favors the profits of transnational corporations over all else cannot produce a fair, sustainable economy. Greens call for a legal structure and trade policy that protects working people, small businesses, communities, and the environment. | ||
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| + | Community-based economics keeps money circulating largely in the local economy, rather than going to distant corporate headquarters as soon as a purchase is made. It includes family farms and community-supported agriculture, farmers’ markets, credit unions, nonprofit community-development corporations, incubator programs to aid start-up small businesses, apprenticeship programs in local businesses, local currency, community-focused banks, and trade with adjacent regions. Community-based economics makes communities more vibrant, sustainable, and resilient in the face of external economic shocks. Strong local economies create broad prosperity and improved quality of life. Greens support measures at all levels of government to stimulate and strengthen community-based economics. | ||
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| + | The Green Party views economics not as an end in itself, but as a service to community development through the building and strengthening of community bonds that constitute the social fabric. We encourage an approach to economic policy that recognizes that not all values can be monetized. We can learn from indigenous people who believe that the Earth and its natural systems are to be respected and cared for in accordance with ecological principles. Concepts of ownership should be employed in the context of stewardship, and social and ecological responsibility. We support environmental and social responsibility in all businesses, whether privately or publicly owned. | ||
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| + | 2004 PLATFORM INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY | ||
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No economic system is sustainable unless it accommodates the ecosystems on which it depends. Our current system – based on the notion of perpetual economic expansion on a finite planet – is seriously flawed. We urgently need to apply human ingenuity to the goal of using far less from nature to meet our needs, which is a different goal from exploiting nature and Third World people so that we can meet the invented and implanted false “needs” that advertisers continually push at us in a grow-or-die type of economy. We need to acquire the ability to distinguish between need and greed, in spite of what the media assure us we “need.” We also need to restore a progressive tax structure, rather than continuing to move money toward the top echelons of society while squeezing everyone else. Such a restoration, plus the end to the bankrupting military adventurism and imperial designs, would significantly reduce the huge federal deficit that has been imposed on the American people since 2000. | No economic system is sustainable unless it accommodates the ecosystems on which it depends. Our current system – based on the notion of perpetual economic expansion on a finite planet – is seriously flawed. We urgently need to apply human ingenuity to the goal of using far less from nature to meet our needs, which is a different goal from exploiting nature and Third World people so that we can meet the invented and implanted false “needs” that advertisers continually push at us in a grow-or-die type of economy. We need to acquire the ability to distinguish between need and greed, in spite of what the media assure us we “need.” We also need to restore a progressive tax structure, rather than continuing to move money toward the top echelons of society while squeezing everyone else. Such a restoration, plus the end to the bankrupting military adventurism and imperial designs, would significantly reduce the huge federal deficit that has been imposed on the American people since 2000. | ||
Revision as of 16:14, 30 March 2010
2010 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY CHAPTER
The Green Party envisions an economic system that can function continuously within the ecosystems that it depends on. Our current economic system – based on ever-increasing extraction of resources from a finite planet – is seriously flawed. A sustainable economic system would discourage harmful externalities like waste and pollution, and encourage responsible use and stewardship of the natural environment. We envision an economic system that provides for the economic rights of all people, including a basic level of security necessary for personal dignity, freedom, and development. We also believe that everyone has the right to participate in the economy and be fairly rewarded for their work. There is much work to be done in the transition to a sustainable civilization, and public policy should set America on the track to a just and sustainable economy.
The Green Party seeks to alter or abolish government policies that have accelerated the concentration of economic power and reinforced unsustainable practices. Greens call for a progressive tax structure to shift the burden from the many who struggle with taxes to the few who can easily afford them. We also support shifting taxes from that which benefits society, such as labor, to that which harms society, such as pollution. We call for government to prioritize programs that benefit our communities and cut reckless spending on programs that jeopardize our future. We seek to end the federal government’s practice of spending more on weapons of war than on programs of social uplift, year after year. We believe it is irresponsible to continually run up the national debt while shortchanging state and local governments. Greens recognize that for the economy to be sustainable and fair to future generations, long-term fiscal responsibility is imperative.
The Green Party stands for community-based economics and economic decentralization. We believe that the only model of long-term economic security and sustainability is for communities to be largely self-sufficient in the production of their necessities. A legal structure that favors the profits of transnational corporations over all else cannot produce a fair, sustainable economy. Greens call for a legal structure and trade policy that protects working people, small businesses, communities, and the environment.
Community-based economics keeps money circulating largely in the local economy, rather than going to distant corporate headquarters as soon as a purchase is made. It includes family farms and community-supported agriculture, farmers’ markets, credit unions, nonprofit community-development corporations, incubator programs to aid start-up small businesses, apprenticeship programs in local businesses, local currency, community-focused banks, and trade with adjacent regions. Community-based economics makes communities more vibrant, sustainable, and resilient in the face of external economic shocks. Strong local economies create broad prosperity and improved quality of life. Greens support measures at all levels of government to stimulate and strengthen community-based economics.
The Green Party views economics not as an end in itself, but as a service to community development through the building and strengthening of community bonds that constitute the social fabric. We encourage an approach to economic policy that recognizes that not all values can be monetized. We can learn from indigenous people who believe that the Earth and its natural systems are to be respected and cared for in accordance with ecological principles. Concepts of ownership should be employed in the context of stewardship, and social and ecological responsibility. We support environmental and social responsibility in all businesses, whether privately or publicly owned.
2004 PLATFORM INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY
No economic system is sustainable unless it accommodates the ecosystems on which it depends. Our current system – based on the notion of perpetual economic expansion on a finite planet – is seriously flawed. We urgently need to apply human ingenuity to the goal of using far less from nature to meet our needs, which is a different goal from exploiting nature and Third World people so that we can meet the invented and implanted false “needs” that advertisers continually push at us in a grow-or-die type of economy. We need to acquire the ability to distinguish between need and greed, in spite of what the media assure us we “need.” We also need to restore a progressive tax structure, rather than continuing to move money toward the top echelons of society while squeezing everyone else. Such a restoration, plus the end to the bankrupting military adventurism and imperial designs, would significantly reduce the huge federal deficit that has been imposed on the American people since 2000.
Foremost, the Green Party stands for community-based economics and regional trade. We believe that the only model of true economic security is for a community and area to be largely (not entirely) self-sufficient in the production of its necessities. Through foreign trade, they can then export that which is extra, and that which they could afford to lose should environmental disasters, social unrest in their trading partners’ countries, or other disruptions disturb the flow of their trade.
We support not the corporate dominance of “free trade” – which, through the machinations of the World Trade Organization places the desires of transnational corporations above the level of national laws – but true “fair trade,” which protects communities, labor, and the environment. Community-based economics and regional trade keep money circulating largely in the community and the region, rather than going to distant corporate headquarters as soon as a purchase is made. This is the most rational model for economic security. It includes family farms and community-supported agriculture, farmers’ markets, credit unions, nonprofit community-development corporations, incubator programs to aid start-up small businesses, apprenticeship programs in local businesses, local currency, community-focused banks, and trade with adjacent regions. Consumers in this type of market economy prefer to patronize locally owned businesses because each purchase has a positive rippling effect in the community. Unlike other political parties in the modern era, the Green Party views (even community-based) economics not as an end in itself but as a service to community development through the building and strengthening of community bonds that constitute the social fabric.
We can learn from indigenous people who believe that the Earth and its natural systems are to be respected and cared for in accordance with ecological principles. Concepts of ownership should be employed in the context of stewardship, and social and ecological responsibility. We support environmental and social responsibility in all businesses, whether privately or publicly owned.
