Nothing brings people together like 'free'. Free stuff. Free food. Just add that magic 4-letter word in front of almost anything, and you’re sure to find a few takers.
Our mission at The Global Assembly is to help “save money and build stronger neighborhoods”.
Getting neighbors to talk to one another again is the first step to any community-building program. Our easy-to-use Facebook groups aim to do for goods what time credits do for services: Allow people to exchange with each other at no cost.
Have extra stuff laying around the house you’d like to get rid of? Post it in the giveaway group and invite your friends. Anyone can ask for what they want, and if you don’t see what you’re looking for, you can make a post to ask if anyone has it. You don’t only have to give away things- you can lend or share them too. Bam. It’s that easy.
Once people are comfortable around their neighbors, you can begin working on more intimate ways to save money like buyer’s clubs, food boxes and church dinners. But without the initial foundation of trust time credits/giveaway groups provide, closer community cooperation can never happen.
It goes without saying that The Global Assembly can’t do this by itself. We're willing to work with anyone who wants to help spread the word- and develop the giveaway group in tandem with our primary time credit program.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Discover Contributism
Do you pay taxes? Actually, that's a trick question- everyone pays taxes, whether they're income taxes, property or sales taxes baked into the price of everything you buy. Congratulations, you're a contributist.
"Contributism" is just a fancy way of describing what happens when a community intentionally gets together and pools resources to accomplish common goals. Today, we each give a certain amount of money. With Ubuntu, we each give a certain amount of time- and reap immense benefits for it.
Why should you care? Because no man is an island. We can’t create the future we want on our own. What if your body worked the way most communities did? Your feet won’t move, because they’re on strike and want better working conditions. Your brain demands higher pay because it believes it’s the most important body part. Your legs fly off and walk away in search of a better school district. Before the day is up, you’ll be waking up dead as every cell strikes out on it’s own. The funny thing is, no cell can survive by itself. They thought they would get rich quick, but instead they’ll just die.
Do you ever ask why things are the way they are? Why we always compete for crumbs instead of cooperating to bake bigger pies? It wasn’t always like this.
Ubuntu is an ancient African philosophy that could roughly be translated as “human kindness”. In African villages, although there was inter-village competition for resources, within the village everyone was taken care of as long as they helped contribute to the tribe’s wellbeing. Resources were shared and nobody went hungry, because the tribal leaders understood that when some people are unhappy, everyone suffers.
"Contributism" is just a fancy way of describing what happens when a community intentionally gets together and pools resources to accomplish common goals. Today, we each give a certain amount of money. With Ubuntu, we each give a certain amount of time- and reap immense benefits for it.
Why should you care? Because no man is an island. We can’t create the future we want on our own. What if your body worked the way most communities did? Your feet won’t move, because they’re on strike and want better working conditions. Your brain demands higher pay because it believes it’s the most important body part. Your legs fly off and walk away in search of a better school district. Before the day is up, you’ll be waking up dead as every cell strikes out on it’s own. The funny thing is, no cell can survive by itself. They thought they would get rich quick, but instead they’ll just die.
Do you ever ask why things are the way they are? Why we always compete for crumbs instead of cooperating to bake bigger pies? It wasn’t always like this.
Ubuntu is an ancient African philosophy that could roughly be translated as “human kindness”. In African villages, although there was inter-village competition for resources, within the village everyone was taken care of as long as they helped contribute to the tribe’s wellbeing. Resources were shared and nobody went hungry, because the tribal leaders understood that when some people are unhappy, everyone suffers.
Contributism is Ubuntu updated for the modern age. It’s fitting that an old African way of thinking could be key to creating racial justice for today’s black communities. It’s clear that we need more cooperation if we want to alleviate our most pressing concerns like poverty and crime. Contributism allows low-income communities to leverage the things they already have- vacant land, jobless people and skills- and turn them into productive assets which generate prosperity. Even better, we can do it all without spending a dime.
“Take care of your community, and your community will take care of you.”.
A mature Ubuntu community is so abundant that with everyone pitching in 10 hours per week, all members’ basic needs of food, housing and electricity can be met. Now, if you want fancy clothes, a new Ferrari or 52’’ LED TV, you’ll still need to work for it- but nobody who contributes will be allowed to go hungry or homeless.
How does it work? The idea is beautiful in its simplicity. Spend one hour helping your community, and you’ll get an hour of help in return- For example, if you help build houses for an hour, you can give a credit to Mark so he can help clean up for an hour. Mark can then pass the credit on to someone else, and the cycle continues. Specific community projects are accredited by an elected council of elders consisting of respected church leaders, organizational officials and other respected citizens. The most important thing is that everyone’s time is valued equally- because everyone has a limited amount of it.
The Global Assembly works with organizations to help spread the concept of Ubuntu within their congregations and communities. One way we assist is by helping organizations “monetize” services they already provide- in other words, charging a small fee (maybe 15-30 minutes) in community time credits. A good example is homeless dinners or church/school room rentals. By providing incentives to work for credits, more and more people are motivated to get involved. The small amount of time asked for is a good way to let people “get their feet wet”, as most of the other projects require more than an hour of work.
Another is partnering with local service-oriented businesses to accept time credits (anything that can be measured in time, like haircuts, beauty parlors or movie theaters). We personally ask members where they’d like to spend their time credits, then approach the business with our value proposition. It’s not a one-way deal: In exchange for accepting time credits, businesses themselves become places where people can earn them through volunteering. The cost savings allow them to lower their prices, and eventually attract more traffic.
Goals
Our short-term goal is to bring together local churches to establish a transitional council of elders and a few test projects in Gary, Indiana. These initial projects would mostly focus around community agriculture, housing and local services. Long term (2-5 years), we aim to use contributism as the foundation of a complete plan to revitalize the city and make it self-sufficient in food, energy and housing. You can find that plan and suggested community projects here if you’d like to learn more.
Would you like your organization to have a seat on the council of elders? Contact David Jackson on Facebook if you’re interested.
“Take care of your community, and your community will take care of you.”.
A mature Ubuntu community is so abundant that with everyone pitching in 10 hours per week, all members’ basic needs of food, housing and electricity can be met. Now, if you want fancy clothes, a new Ferrari or 52’’ LED TV, you’ll still need to work for it- but nobody who contributes will be allowed to go hungry or homeless.
How does it work? The idea is beautiful in its simplicity. Spend one hour helping your community, and you’ll get an hour of help in return- For example, if you help build houses for an hour, you can give a credit to Mark so he can help clean up for an hour. Mark can then pass the credit on to someone else, and the cycle continues. Specific community projects are accredited by an elected council of elders consisting of respected church leaders, organizational officials and other respected citizens. The most important thing is that everyone’s time is valued equally- because everyone has a limited amount of it.
The Global Assembly works with organizations to help spread the concept of Ubuntu within their congregations and communities. One way we assist is by helping organizations “monetize” services they already provide- in other words, charging a small fee (maybe 15-30 minutes) in community time credits. A good example is homeless dinners or church/school room rentals. By providing incentives to work for credits, more and more people are motivated to get involved. The small amount of time asked for is a good way to let people “get their feet wet”, as most of the other projects require more than an hour of work.
Another is partnering with local service-oriented businesses to accept time credits (anything that can be measured in time, like haircuts, beauty parlors or movie theaters). We personally ask members where they’d like to spend their time credits, then approach the business with our value proposition. It’s not a one-way deal: In exchange for accepting time credits, businesses themselves become places where people can earn them through volunteering. The cost savings allow them to lower their prices, and eventually attract more traffic.
Goals
Our short-term goal is to bring together local churches to establish a transitional council of elders and a few test projects in Gary, Indiana. These initial projects would mostly focus around community agriculture, housing and local services. Long term (2-5 years), we aim to use contributism as the foundation of a complete plan to revitalize the city and make it self-sufficient in food, energy and housing. You can find that plan and suggested community projects here if you’d like to learn more.
Would you like your organization to have a seat on the council of elders? Contact David Jackson on Facebook if you’re interested.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
How to solve Gary's property tax problems once and for all.
42%.
It's almost become a regional joke. It's whispered through the halls of power to describe all of Gary's failings in one number.
Our property tax collection rate is abysmal. But can you blame people for not paying? Our city has lost so much population that the people left are paying twice as much for half the services our next-door neighbors get in Porter County. Less money means less ambulances and firemen, less teachers who are all poorer-paid, and a school system constantly on the precipice of complete collapse. The state of emergency never ends- it's just the new normal. If you call a policeman for a nonviolent crime, you can count yourself lucky if they show up within the hour. Yet, somehow we make it work. Everyone knows things shouldn't be this way. Most just accept it and resign themselves to thinking that things will never change. I don't.
In reality, Gary doesn't have a property tax problem- it has a city services problem. If there was some way for the city to provide services at a lower cost (or even free), it would go a long way to solving most of our city's issues and making what little money we do have last longer.
What if I told you there is?
Even better, what if I told you that there was a way we could motivate ordinary citizens to help make it happen?
That's right. Everyday people like you and me working to not just keep our city's proverbial lights on, but make it a better place. Getting local officials on board is only one small piece of the puzzle- but a very important one nonetheless.
The answer is simple. Allow people to do community service in exchange for an up-to 75% abatement on property tax. Full discount isn't provided since the city still needs some money for operating expenses, maintenance and office supplies. Many other cities already allow people to pay fines with service time, and this is only the logical next step.
This solution is radical, and I would be a fool if I expected anyone to seriously consider it if I didn't prove how it not only saves the city money and time, but is also necessary if we want to jumpstart revitalization efforts.
First, a question:
What is the purpose of property tax? It's not to make public servants wealthy. Ideally elected positions would be unpaid, but since everyone has bills that's impractical. The theory is that residents pitch in a certain amount of money yearly to help pay for city services, correct? That's not that big of a leap to contributism- where community members each pitch in a certain amount of time weekly to help maintain their communities and in return receive unimaginable abundance. There are so many benefits to this system that after you're finished reading this paper you'll want to beat down the doors of your city hall and demand it's immediate implementation.
"Take care of your community, and your community will take care of you".
First, let's talk green: Here's a financial analysis to explain how this benefits local government.
Money speaks. Even if you don't believe in charity or humanitarianism, adopting this policy just makes sense economically speaking.
The average property tax bill for a house in Gary is $3500 dollars, based on the median home value of $48,700 (Zillow) and a tax rate of 0.07 cents/$100 derived from the DLGF. Half of our houses cost more, and half cost less. From anecdotal evidence, I can say most in my neighborhood pay closer to $4000.
If one working-age adult lives in that house and does 10 hours of community service per week, (which they obviously would, otherwise taxes wouldn't be collected in the first place), assuming a wage of $10 per hour, that's $100 worth of work weekly. Taking out a two week break for Christmas and New Year's, 50 weeks of service translates to $5000 worth of value created for the community.
Immediately, the city earns a profit of $1000. But that's not all. The city actually pays more than $10 an hour to it's employees: The added price of salaries, insurance, unions and benefits makes it closer to $25 an hour. That means the amount of work we can do with what we have doubles.
If that wasn't enough incentive, every adult living in a home would be asked to join the program to receive this discount and all the benefits listed in our action plan. If there are two adults living in a home, as is the case with couples or healthy families, then the profit Gary receives skyrockets to $6000 worth of extra city services. Even if just one household takes the city up on it's offer, the city saves $6000 every single year.
And you can believe once citizens fully understand how this isn't just an isolated program, but part of a complete plan to revitalize the city, you'll find thousands of homeowners eager and willing to sign up. It's a win-win for everyone involved! First in line should be the over 10,000 unemployed adults living in town. Eventually, everyone in Gary- all 70,000 of us- should be contributing to the community's wellbeing. That comes later.
Employment and Budget Data
The City of Gary employs roughly 1,400 people. The school district, 2000, Housing, 117, Library 47, and Airport 16. Altogether, a total of 3580 people were employed by local government units in Gary, not counting the Sanitary District where there was no data available. (DLGF). A good 30-50% of those jobs can be done by community members or otherwise shared.
Yearly budgets average around $58 million dollars. In 2015, the yearly salary budget amounted to $36 million. We could probably cut that in half. What could we do with an extra $10 million each year? There's plenty of room for savings.
Imagine doubling the number of police officers walking the streets.
Imagine all of our libraries not just open, but thriving.
Imagine our old schools transformed into productive spaces that help feed and raise money for projects all over town.
Imagine all of our parks and streets regularly cleaned by local residents who get rewarded for taking pride in their community.
I can already see it. Can you?
Now, let's talk green- the color of growth and urban renewal.
When most people think "community service", they see people cleaning up litter, feeding the homeless and maybe working at a nursing home. Those are all great things- but that isn't what we mean when we say "community service".
We're talking about projects and programs that will help (literally) rebuild Gary- transforming it within 5 years into an abundant city that's beyond self sufficient in food production, energy and housing. We mean reversing the flow of money- from one where Gary residents do all their shopping in Merillville and Hammond to one where surrounding communities do all their shopping in Gary. Think it's impossible? Think again. These projects are detailed in the Ubuntu action plan for racial and economic justice, but here are a few examples:
- Large scale community agriculture: Efforts at urban farming have been scattered and piecemeal because there's no unifying incentive for people to participate, or serious plan. Every inch of Gary should be productive in some way, and this even includes open fields of grass. Being abundant means that you produce far more than you can ever possibly use. A rule of thumb is to produce three times the amount of food that your community requires. We then sell this food to surrounding cities at half-price and use the money to fund the other projects. Try as they might, Walmart can't get it's employees to work for free. Since our prices can't be beat, guess where everyone will come to shop?The process begins with a well-advertised farmer's market and "Made in Gary" bazaar situated directly off 80/94.
- Building new housing and renovating existing properties: Using open schooling to train residents in masonry, carpentry, plumbing and wiring, we can mobilize large "reconstruction mobs" to help create new, efficient housing in a short period of time. Reconstruction mobs don't build one house here and there- they work one block at a time to create cohesive neighborhoods. Mobs of 20-100 people each trained in a specific aspect of the homebuilding process work in an assembly-line system, moving from house to house to complete a specific task. People given these houses then pay off their debt by helping to build two more homes for other people. Suddenly, an unstoppable chain reaction of revitalization takes off and gathers speed. To lower the costs, smaller single-person homes can be built with shared community kitchens and laundromats. Each home can be built for approximately $15,000, paid for by the resident over 10 years.
Sand, clay and cement are the perfect material for these homes, since they're very inexpensive, durable and widely available. Adding just a bit of water to a 75-20-5 mix of sand, clay and cement allows them to be compressed into bricks and wall panels.
http://www.earth-auroville.com/maintenance/uploaded_pics/cseb.pdf
- Volunteering for desk work at city departments, schools and libraries: Community residents can easily fill the roles of desk secretaries and librarians, saving the city hundreds of thousands in salaries each year. This would be perfect for older citizens who aren't adept at physical work.
There are many other programs included in the reconstruction process and detailed in the action plan, but these are a good start.
- A practical guide to how this program would work.
This video was created by a group in Britain who's done the same thing- to excellent result.
Residents who do one hour of community service get one hour's worth of time credit that they can use to trade with other neighbors for an hour of their time. All time is valued equally because all of our contributions matter- and we all have a limited amount of time on Earth. Let's say Bernice spends one hour at West Side cleaning up or doing secretary work. She earns a time credit that she can then give to Shawn to mow her lawn.
10 hours is the minimum people can do each week to be eligible for benefits. For those who work overtime, they get time-and-a-half: 1.5 "hour" credits/hour. The physical time credits are not given to the city- those belong to the volunteer as a reward for their work. The tax is "paid" via the initial work done by the citizen.
To encourage people to go further, I propose discounts increase the longer you stay on.
10 hours - $50 discount
20 hours - $125 discount
50 hours - 5% discount
100 hours - 15% discount
200 hours - 30% discount
300 hours - 45 % discount
400 hours - 60% discount
500 hours - 75% discount (max)
Local service-oriented businesses also get in on the action. By accepting time credits, they also become eligible as places to earn them. A great example is the barber shop who offers haircuts for 1 hour's worth of TC. Now, someone who volunteers to help sweep up hair will be eligible to earn free haircuts on an hour-for-hour basis.
A community job resource will be created to post job and project listings- with people encouraged to stick to a single project for a week, though the exact specifications will be set by the person listing the job.
So there you have it. With people given the autonomy to choose how they want to help the city, tax collection rates will improve- along with the entire region. Thanks for reading, and if you'd like to make a difference, share this with your councilman! http://www.gary.in.us/city-departments/
It's almost become a regional joke. It's whispered through the halls of power to describe all of Gary's failings in one number.
Our property tax collection rate is abysmal. But can you blame people for not paying? Our city has lost so much population that the people left are paying twice as much for half the services our next-door neighbors get in Porter County. Less money means less ambulances and firemen, less teachers who are all poorer-paid, and a school system constantly on the precipice of complete collapse. The state of emergency never ends- it's just the new normal. If you call a policeman for a nonviolent crime, you can count yourself lucky if they show up within the hour. Yet, somehow we make it work. Everyone knows things shouldn't be this way. Most just accept it and resign themselves to thinking that things will never change. I don't.
In reality, Gary doesn't have a property tax problem- it has a city services problem. If there was some way for the city to provide services at a lower cost (or even free), it would go a long way to solving most of our city's issues and making what little money we do have last longer.
What if I told you there is?
Even better, what if I told you that there was a way we could motivate ordinary citizens to help make it happen?
That's right. Everyday people like you and me working to not just keep our city's proverbial lights on, but make it a better place. Getting local officials on board is only one small piece of the puzzle- but a very important one nonetheless.
The answer is simple. Allow people to do community service in exchange for an up-to 75% abatement on property tax. Full discount isn't provided since the city still needs some money for operating expenses, maintenance and office supplies. Many other cities already allow people to pay fines with service time, and this is only the logical next step.
This solution is radical, and I would be a fool if I expected anyone to seriously consider it if I didn't prove how it not only saves the city money and time, but is also necessary if we want to jumpstart revitalization efforts.
First, a question:
What is the purpose of property tax? It's not to make public servants wealthy. Ideally elected positions would be unpaid, but since everyone has bills that's impractical. The theory is that residents pitch in a certain amount of money yearly to help pay for city services, correct? That's not that big of a leap to contributism- where community members each pitch in a certain amount of time weekly to help maintain their communities and in return receive unimaginable abundance. There are so many benefits to this system that after you're finished reading this paper you'll want to beat down the doors of your city hall and demand it's immediate implementation.
"Take care of your community, and your community will take care of you".
First, let's talk green: Here's a financial analysis to explain how this benefits local government.
Money speaks. Even if you don't believe in charity or humanitarianism, adopting this policy just makes sense economically speaking.
The average property tax bill for a house in Gary is $3500 dollars, based on the median home value of $48,700 (Zillow) and a tax rate of 0.07 cents/$100 derived from the DLGF. Half of our houses cost more, and half cost less. From anecdotal evidence, I can say most in my neighborhood pay closer to $4000.
If one working-age adult lives in that house and does 10 hours of community service per week, (which they obviously would, otherwise taxes wouldn't be collected in the first place), assuming a wage of $10 per hour, that's $100 worth of work weekly. Taking out a two week break for Christmas and New Year's, 50 weeks of service translates to $5000 worth of value created for the community.
Immediately, the city earns a profit of $1000. But that's not all. The city actually pays more than $10 an hour to it's employees: The added price of salaries, insurance, unions and benefits makes it closer to $25 an hour. That means the amount of work we can do with what we have doubles.
If that wasn't enough incentive, every adult living in a home would be asked to join the program to receive this discount and all the benefits listed in our action plan. If there are two adults living in a home, as is the case with couples or healthy families, then the profit Gary receives skyrockets to $6000 worth of extra city services. Even if just one household takes the city up on it's offer, the city saves $6000 every single year.
And you can believe once citizens fully understand how this isn't just an isolated program, but part of a complete plan to revitalize the city, you'll find thousands of homeowners eager and willing to sign up. It's a win-win for everyone involved! First in line should be the over 10,000 unemployed adults living in town. Eventually, everyone in Gary- all 70,000 of us- should be contributing to the community's wellbeing. That comes later.
Employment and Budget Data
The City of Gary employs roughly 1,400 people. The school district, 2000, Housing, 117, Library 47, and Airport 16. Altogether, a total of 3580 people were employed by local government units in Gary, not counting the Sanitary District where there was no data available. (DLGF). A good 30-50% of those jobs can be done by community members or otherwise shared.
Yearly budgets average around $58 million dollars. In 2015, the yearly salary budget amounted to $36 million. We could probably cut that in half. What could we do with an extra $10 million each year? There's plenty of room for savings.
Imagine doubling the number of police officers walking the streets.
Imagine all of our libraries not just open, but thriving.
Imagine our old schools transformed into productive spaces that help feed and raise money for projects all over town.
Imagine all of our parks and streets regularly cleaned by local residents who get rewarded for taking pride in their community.
I can already see it. Can you?
Now, let's talk green- the color of growth and urban renewal.
When most people think "community service", they see people cleaning up litter, feeding the homeless and maybe working at a nursing home. Those are all great things- but that isn't what we mean when we say "community service".
We're talking about projects and programs that will help (literally) rebuild Gary- transforming it within 5 years into an abundant city that's beyond self sufficient in food production, energy and housing. We mean reversing the flow of money- from one where Gary residents do all their shopping in Merillville and Hammond to one where surrounding communities do all their shopping in Gary. Think it's impossible? Think again. These projects are detailed in the Ubuntu action plan for racial and economic justice, but here are a few examples:
- Large scale community agriculture: Efforts at urban farming have been scattered and piecemeal because there's no unifying incentive for people to participate, or serious plan. Every inch of Gary should be productive in some way, and this even includes open fields of grass. Being abundant means that you produce far more than you can ever possibly use. A rule of thumb is to produce three times the amount of food that your community requires. We then sell this food to surrounding cities at half-price and use the money to fund the other projects. Try as they might, Walmart can't get it's employees to work for free. Since our prices can't be beat, guess where everyone will come to shop?The process begins with a well-advertised farmer's market and "Made in Gary" bazaar situated directly off 80/94.
- Building new housing and renovating existing properties: Using open schooling to train residents in masonry, carpentry, plumbing and wiring, we can mobilize large "reconstruction mobs" to help create new, efficient housing in a short period of time. Reconstruction mobs don't build one house here and there- they work one block at a time to create cohesive neighborhoods. Mobs of 20-100 people each trained in a specific aspect of the homebuilding process work in an assembly-line system, moving from house to house to complete a specific task. People given these houses then pay off their debt by helping to build two more homes for other people. Suddenly, an unstoppable chain reaction of revitalization takes off and gathers speed. To lower the costs, smaller single-person homes can be built with shared community kitchens and laundromats. Each home can be built for approximately $15,000, paid for by the resident over 10 years.
Multiple homes can be connected townhome-style so that families can live together.
Sand, clay and cement are the perfect material for these homes, since they're very inexpensive, durable and widely available. Adding just a bit of water to a 75-20-5 mix of sand, clay and cement allows them to be compressed into bricks and wall panels.
http://www.earth-auroville.com/maintenance/uploaded_pics/cseb.pdf
- Volunteering for desk work at city departments, schools and libraries: Community residents can easily fill the roles of desk secretaries and librarians, saving the city hundreds of thousands in salaries each year. This would be perfect for older citizens who aren't adept at physical work.
There are many other programs included in the reconstruction process and detailed in the action plan, but these are a good start.
- A practical guide to how this program would work.
This video was created by a group in Britain who's done the same thing- to excellent result.
Residents who do one hour of community service get one hour's worth of time credit that they can use to trade with other neighbors for an hour of their time. All time is valued equally because all of our contributions matter- and we all have a limited amount of time on Earth. Let's say Bernice spends one hour at West Side cleaning up or doing secretary work. She earns a time credit that she can then give to Shawn to mow her lawn.
10 hours is the minimum people can do each week to be eligible for benefits. For those who work overtime, they get time-and-a-half: 1.5 "hour" credits/hour. The physical time credits are not given to the city- those belong to the volunteer as a reward for their work. The tax is "paid" via the initial work done by the citizen.
To encourage people to go further, I propose discounts increase the longer you stay on.
10 hours - $50 discount
20 hours - $125 discount
50 hours - 5% discount
100 hours - 15% discount
200 hours - 30% discount
300 hours - 45 % discount
400 hours - 60% discount
500 hours - 75% discount (max)
Local service-oriented businesses also get in on the action. By accepting time credits, they also become eligible as places to earn them. A great example is the barber shop who offers haircuts for 1 hour's worth of TC. Now, someone who volunteers to help sweep up hair will be eligible to earn free haircuts on an hour-for-hour basis.
A community job resource will be created to post job and project listings- with people encouraged to stick to a single project for a week, though the exact specifications will be set by the person listing the job.
So there you have it. With people given the autonomy to choose how they want to help the city, tax collection rates will improve- along with the entire region. Thanks for reading, and if you'd like to make a difference, share this with your councilman! http://www.gary.in.us/city-departments/
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Global Assembly?
The Global Assembly is a worldwide network of individuals who want to build stronger, friendlier and more fulfilling sustainable communities- all while saving money. We network and communicate through the web, share ideas and expertise on how to improve our neigbhorhoods and most importantly, work towards implementing our transition plan. [link]
What purpose does it serve?
We serve two main purposes: The first is to develop a set of open-source community tools that allow any neighborhood to become more self-sufficient, and the second is to serve as a powerful common brand to unite all the disparate sustainability community efforts, advocacy and projects under. While each project is almost entirely independent, by using the same name and logo we can show solidarity and present a united front.
Think of "The Global Assembly" as a brand similar to Coca-Cola or Delta. It's a specific catch-all term for a series of like-minded local organizations.
Does it cost money to start a local assembly? How can I start one?
Never! We set it up for you, for free. In later stages as local assemblies swell in strength and numbers, we may request a non-monetary contribution of collected community service hours.
Here's a guide on how to open a new assembly: http://globalassembly.blogspot.com/2015/08/start-local-assembly.html
What is Ubuntu/Contributionism? Who developed it?
Ubuntu is an ancient philosophy of compassion that originated in historic Africa. We really have no way of knowing who originally developed it. It just naturally arose out of a common need to bind the community together. Ubuntu stands in direct opposition to our current competition-based, dog-eat-dog, every man for themselves ideology. Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu both used Ubuntu principles in their revolutionary fight for freedom and subsequent battles to unite a county. Today Micheal Tellinger, a historian from South Africa continues to research Ubuntu and apply it to our social system in order to create a new model that promotes social wellbeing and self-worth. For more information, visit http://www.ubuntuplanet.org
What's the difference betwen Contributionism and Contributism?
Almost none, Contributionism is the name Micheal Tellinger uses for Ubuntu philospohy, The Global Assembly prefers Contributism because it's easier to pronounce. Another small difference that has a large effect is the use of Time Banking in Contributism and greater level of actionable detail.
Are you affiliated with the Ubuntu Party/Micheal Tellinger?
Not officially, but we do share a core philosophy and general idea for transition to a more sustainable economic system.
That sounds like Communism!!
It's not. Contributism and Communism have next to nothing in common. Communism uses money, is centrally planned by a far away, out-of-touch government and run as a dictatorship. Contributism is locally-managed, free-market and supports entrepreneurship by making business creation easy. In communism, you don't have a choice and very little personal freedom. In Contributism, other than the 10 hours per week spent volunteering on community projects (just 2 hours per day!), you have the rest of your life to do what you love.
You're also forgetting the most important difference:
Communism failed everywhere it has ever been tried.
Contributism has been a major success in communities across the globe for thousands and thousands of years.
It only "failed" when Europeans invaded and colonized the America and Africa in their insatiable quest for power. "Failed" really isn't the right word. Contributism was destroyed by the mass genocide and destruction of native peoples around the world.
Is The Global Assembly related to the Buy Nothing Project?
No, we are two separate teams. The idea was inspired by them and looks similar in the beginning- but we have different goals. As both groups grow, you will see more differences start to develop. For example, our assemblies aim to open community time banks and promote supper clubs while the BNP is mostly focused on community giveaways. We aren't competitors, and we would love to work with BNP in the future since they have an excellent social media team.
Why don't you just start a political party and engage in the political process TM?
Participating in the "political process" doesn't work when the elections are rigged. We suggest that if you do vote, vote for protest candidates.
Are you the New World Order?
No.
Start a Local Assembly
The Global Assembly is a international network of people who want to save money and build stronger communities. A lot of time, the two are closely related! We want to do more than just give away free stuff. As we grow, we aim to start community projects, neighborhood supper clubs, help promote renewable energy and much, much more- volunteers are free to bounce ideas off of each other in our forum. Each assembly is part of a network of worldwide groups we officially set up and monitor so that every group has the same culture of community service and generosity.
Want an assembly in your own neighborhood? If you’d like your community or project to be a part of The Global Assembly, we need to set up your group for you – Please don’t try to do it all by yourself. There is a specific series of steps that need to followed, plus our logo, name, documents, artwork and photography are all copyrighted. Here’s how we can set up your new group for you:
- Let us know that you would like to admin a group by sending David Jackson a private message on facebook. This David Jackson! (Yes, there are a lot of them and we will be creating a gmail address soon) We’ll set up a Facebook Group for your neighborhood – Since you know your town better than we do, think about what area makes sense as a single group; you’ll want an area large enough to gather a critical mass of members, but not so large geographically that it will be difficult for members to connect in person to share things. Our groups serve areas of UP TO 100,000 people, so please try to keep your region within that upper limit.
- Your group will need a few local volunteers to help run it. In the beginning, one should be enough, but as it grows you'll want to be able to add more. Volunteers are responsible for answering questions, advertising/inviting new members and helping maintain the group by enforcing the rules. After the initial setup, the group will basically run itself and you can focus on helping recruit members. If you can't volunteer to admin your local assembly or you don't have the time, recruit a friend who can! Going forward, the instructions will assume you're one of the administrators.
- If you don’t already have a Facebook account, you’ll need to create one. Global Assemblies connect and communicate online via Facebook group pages, so each member needs a Facebook account. It's free, just like the rest of the setup.
- You'll be notified when we've finished setting up your group, afterwhich you'll be invited to join. Once you become a member, you will be upgraded to administrator status. Global Assembly central will co-admin with you to provide support, answer initial questions and make sure your launch goes swimmingly. We'll also give you access to our private support group, where volunteers from around the world will be ready to assist you, answer questions and share ideas.
- Invite your local friends to the new group, ask each of them to invite their friends, and so on and so forth. If you don't have facebook friends (even if you do, this is a good idea) print out a bunch of paper coupons with the group name and this message: "Got extra stuff at home you'd like to get rid of? Join Global Assembly [insert your town here] on facebook! Give/get anything you want away, free! Carry a bunch with you when you go out. When you go to the store or local fast food joint, start conversations with the people you see and pass the "coupons" out. You can easily print about 20 coupons to a page in MS word/Google Docs. If push comes to shove and you don't have a printer, you can use handwritten paper tabs.
- Start posting! Groups need to see examples of every way people use local assemblies: Stuff being given away for free, people unafraid to ask for what they need, items up for loan and sharing. The more there is to scroll through, the easier it is for new members to see how things work, and the more inspired everyone will be to post their own things. Be sure to comment on submissions to get the group going.
- It’s that simple!
Our Mission
I've only got one question for you.
Do you know your neighbors? No, I don't mean saying 'hi" every once in a while when you see them outside- I mean, really know your neighbors, to the point where you wouldn't be afraid to ask them for something you need, let them babysit your child or have them over for dinner.
Chances are, the answer is no. That's what we're trying to fix- our mission is to build friendlier, happier, more sustainable and abundant self-sufficient communities that save money.
Times are tough for a lot of people, and nothing brings people together like a good old fashioned free giveaway. CNN may say that our economy has recovered, but for many of us, it just doesn't feel the same. Really, what changed? Most still have to work hard only to barely scrape by, while the top 1% get richer and richer off of everyone elses's contributions. Even if you're lucky enough to have a nice, well paying job, you still have to march to someone else's beat. Something's missing..
Times are tough for a lot of people, and nothing brings people together like a good old fashioned free giveaway. CNN may say that our economy has recovered, but for many of us, it just doesn't feel the same. Really, what changed? Most still have to work hard only to barely scrape by, while the top 1% get richer and richer off of everyone elses's contributions. Even if you're lucky enough to have a nice, well paying job, you still have to march to someone else's beat. Something's missing..
The Global Assembly believes that we all have natural, god-given talents. We also believe that everyone should be able to use their talents to not just survive, but thrive.
When we unite to work together as a community, each of us doing what we love- you'll be amazed at how much we can accomplish and how fast we can accomplish it.
This is how things are meant to be- and how they were not too long ago. We weren't meant to waste 40 years of our life as 9 to 5 corporate wage slaves. Our goal is to develop, then implement a set of community-based programs and solutions which allow everyone to work less, work together and have more of what matters.
When we unite to work together as a community, each of us doing what we love- you'll be amazed at how much we can accomplish and how fast we can accomplish it.
This is how things are meant to be- and how they were not too long ago. We weren't meant to waste 40 years of our life as 9 to 5 corporate wage slaves. Our goal is to develop, then implement a set of community-based programs and solutions which allow everyone to work less, work together and have more of what matters.
In a short and uncertain life, time is our most valuable resource. Everyone deserves the freedom to use it the way they see fit. This isn't a fantasy or unattainable dream. We have a real plan, one with achievable, step-by-step goals that anyone can accomplish. Want to learn more? Click this.
These free giveaways are only the beginning- an icebreaker, if you will. By creating active, friendly and local gift economies, neighbors feel more comfortable talking to each other and working together to make their community a better place. We can move on to bigger and better projects like community supper clubs, clean energy solar co-ops and open schools which make learning or sharing skills free and easy for people of all ages. Who knows, we may even end up creating an entirely new economy that works better for everyone. Either way, there's only one way to find out. Why not join us?
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