There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world. Those who are afraid to try themselves, and those who are afraid that you will succeed

Our money, credit and tax systems are confused and overly complicated. They are designed to discourage the subversion of justice by the greedy few, but no - one really understands them.
Systems are created by humans. If they are flawed or incomplete only humans can change them. Systems should be targeted by our emotions and minds, not by socialists or capitalists. The systems we have compelled ourselves to work with determine whether our behaviour and thoughts will encourage vices like greed or envy, or virtue and the good habit of justice

Every citizen has the personal responsibility to organize with others to make their social system as fair as possible.

A simple tax shift would keep more money in the pockets of ordinary taxpayers to cover, education, housing and other basic household living expenses. Elected representatives could be more directly accountable and responsive. In one move we could eliminate the tax loopholes and exemptions for the super-rich that unjustly discriminate against poor and non-rich families.

You and I are the leaders and activists who need to come together with passionate clarity concerning the fundamentals of economic justice in order to build a powerful force and create a fair global society, a world that works for everyone, a Fair New World.

The rebuilding of Haiti can help serve this larger purpose.

Haiti's vulnerability to natural disasters, its food shortages, poverty, deforestation and lack of infrastructure, are not accidental. To say that it is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere is to miss the point; Haiti was made poor - by France, the United States, Great Britain, other Western powers and by the IMF and the World Bank.

Very few individuals and corporations in Haiti - less than 1% - own and control most of the land. The island is 99% deforested, the cash crops are exported under unfair trade deals which have led to greater and greater debt. Most of the people are landless or have no papers to show that the land they have lived on for generations is indeed theirs. Vast numbers have been trying to survive on just one or two dollars a day; children scavenge garbage dumps for scraps of food leftover from the plates of US soldiers stationed there; and that was before the earthquake.

Up to about 30 years ago, Haiti was self sufficient in the production of rice, but the terms of the IMF loan required that the island reduce tariff protections for its rice and other agricultural products.

By 1988, so much American rice had invaded the country (the US has by far the largest voice in decisions of the IMF),that it became unprofitable for many Haitian farmers to continue planting. The US rice farmers were enjoying subsidies totalling around US$1B per year. The farmers in Haiti got nothing and were forced to move to the cities to find work. That is why so many have died.

Development beyond the current crisis:

It is possible for a fair and just society to be raised from this human disaster. For basic needs to be secured for all, the land problem in Haiti must be addressed through land reform and land value taxation.
There needs to be:

• Establishment of community land trusts and allocation of land for ecological villages.
• Implementation of a transparent public finance system based on land value taxation as called for by the UN Habitat and the Global Land Tool Network.

When secure and equitable land tenure is established, the following basic human needs can be met:

1. potable water
2. reforestation
3. agricultural fields (rice and root crops) and appropriate technology
4. wind and solar energy
5. dairy farms (goats, cows)
6. cotton and hemp fields for fabric and building material
7. mangosteen, mango, pineapple, papaya, trees, nut trees/ coconut trees, ground nuts
8. holistic heath centres.
9. educational institutions
10. cooperatives.
11. small industries.

One way we can help Haitians build a better tomorrow is to convince global creditors to cancel Haiti’s $890 million international debt. Doing so will help make sure that every possible future dollar goes towards rebuilding a stronger Haiti, not to servicing old debts. This is not charity – it is justice.

Pippa Bartolotti - COEXIST

With thanks to Allanna Hartzok and Don Killoran www.earthrights.net/about/hartzok.html

I thought maybe some would like to read this now...with the telethon just getting over and some opinions on helping Haiti.

The best way to help Haiti and other developing countries is to stop our destructive foreign policy which subsidizes corporate farmers (who export food to Haiti in large quantities, thus driving down prices artificially, so indigenous farmers can't compete) at the expense of the local farmers and economy.

yep HB, that's a big problem....

Took me a while to find this. I don't subscribe to this forum. Keeps me and my big mouth out of trouble.

It would be nice if people realized that what affects one of us affects all of us. I'm a firm believer in the ripple effect. This earthquake in Haiti has shown a light on the poverty of this country that should have been dealt with years ago.

When you have people running the country living like fat rats, and the common man starving and trying to survive on a couple of bucks per day, it's just unreal to me.

I believe that more and more things will happen (natural and unnatural disasters) to reveal those living in substandard conditions.

And I pray that people that have it within their means to help, will help those less fortunate, no matter where they are.

Everyone should have their basic needs met. Fresh food, clean water, a decent place to live, clean clothes on your back, a basic car to get you around, and enough money to pay bills with a little left over for a nest egg.


I guess a girl can dream, huh?

Nice dream to share with others,,,thanx

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...I hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one...

The types of ideas mentioned in the article are not going to help the immediate needs of the people. 3 million homeless, starving people aren't going to give a rats *** about planting forests or raising taxes.

It's going to take $20-$30 billion to remove the debris and start the building of quality, well engineered housing structures.

Haiti doesn't have the money, nor do they have the ability to handle the cleanup or rebuild.

The worlds reaction to the immediate needs of the people has been as good as one could expect.. What I will be looking for is who is going to step up and continue to help after all the tv cameras have gone.

YW

Love that song

"Heal The World"
-Michael Jackson

There's A Place In
Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could
Be Much
Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No Need
To Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow

There Are Ways
To Get There
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

If You Want To Know Why
There's A Love That
Cannot Lie
Love Is Strong
It Only Cares For
Joyful Giving
If We Try
We Shall See
In This Bliss
We Cannot Feel
Fear Or Dread
We Stop Existing And
Start Living

Then It Feels That Always
Love's Enough For
Us Growing
So Make A Better World
Make A Better World...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares

We Could Really Get There
If You Cared Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
To Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YXvNuzqkfw

something I ran across that I found interesting....

Found this...no author -

We've already donated "emergency" money to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax.
"The tale of U.S. foreign aid to Haiti is maddening, as well-meaning Americans dump more and more money to alleviate suffering, only to see little or no actual improvement in the living conditions on the ground.
Since 1973, the United States has been the worlds largest foreign aid donor to Haiti, which ranks among the worlds poorest countries.
From 1990 to 2005, the U.S. sent $1.46 billion to Haiti in aid from development assistance and children's health, through the Economic Support Fund, the U.S. food program, Peace Corps, and foreign military training (although that was only $4.6 million, with $3 million coming in 1995.) More recently, "In May 2008, the Bush administration announced that it would send an additional $25 million in emergency food aid to Haiti, bringing its total emergency contribution to $45 million... Congress provided $100 million for hurricane relief and reconstruction assistance for Haiti and other Caribbean countries in the FY 2009 continuing appropriations resolution, signed September 2008. Haiti received an estimated $287 million in regular appropriations for FY 2009."" (NRO)
So why hasn't all this aid done any good? Perhaps because Haiti is rated the 3rd most corrupt country in the world.
If past is any precedent, a lot of this $100 million will end up in the Swiss bank accounts of corrupt Haitian politicians. And Haiti will ask us for even more.


^my own thoughts about all this is that we can raise a billion dollars in a week, feed another country for 6 months and adopt their children, yet we have in our own communities homeless children who have nothing to eat and no parents, we have elderly citizens who paved the way for our nation that can't afford their medicine and food at the same time. I feel for haiti I really do, but I'd much rather donate to my own community first and foremost, at least there I can see where the money is going, because I do it personally.

My thought on this is that many can and do donate to america first and ALSO to other countries. The aid we just raised went to many AMERICAN charities, just one was international, OXFAM which will no doubt be used in Haiti, but many others that will also use the money for americans. Sitting back to do nothing is just not an option for many people who care and I dont personally see why there arent enough people in America to be charitable to others around the world AS well as Americans.

Sitting back to do nothing is just not an option for many people who care

^nobody said anything about sitting back, but to handle your own communities first, it should start there and work its way out....yes it's easy to say be charitableto all, but just not realistic, and thus our frustration grows to where we end up giving where it is least helpful....Did you know that an average of 7 cents out of every dollar sent abroad actually goes towards the intended charity......where's the other 93 cents go.

so what is the other option(s), keeping in mind that in real world terms, it takes money to build and to make money. WHere do those who dont have resources and money start...?

I have seen a homeless man for the last 2 days. I saw him yesterday afternoon pulling all his possesions behind him on a little 2 wheel cart. I saw him again this morning with mud all over his back side from sleeping on the wet ground. I am not sure what my point is but who is going to help him?

Yeah, I see that all the time to Jeff..so sad

There is a spot near the local wal mart where they hang out because of all the traffic and I have many times made a big pot of spaghetti and taken a big ole plate to them. I will generally have something ready when I go to the there because I know they will be there. I will give them a smoke if they ask ..I don't give them money, help when I can. I have to take care of my boys first ya know.

I know Lo. I guess that was kinda my point. I was just thinking out loud. I didn't mean to take away from your thread. Just something that has been eating at me.

eh, not taking anything away from the thread..it is a real valid concern..so many need help, everywhere. I'm afraid it is only going to get worse before it gets better..glad my kids aren't little anymore. That would make it harder I think.

Kinda makes a person feel helpless...

Unfortunately I believe we are.