Difference between revisions of "Draft GPUS Platform Amendment Economic Sustainability Chapter Introduction"

From CA Greens wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(Restoring language on green jobs, following conversation with Peggy Koteen.)
 
(23 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
2010 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY CHAPTER
+
'''2010 PLATFORM'''
  
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.
+
'''OLD CHAPTER NAME:  ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY'''
  
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.
+
'''NEW CHAPTER NAME: ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABILITY'''
  
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.
+
'''SECTION NAME: INTRODUCTION'''
  
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.
+
Green economics is rooted in ecological economics.  Our economy should serve us and our planet. Our economy should reflect and respect the diverse, delicate ecosystems of our planet.  
  
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.
+
Our current economic system is gravely flawed.  It is unjust and unsustainable because it is premised on endless economic growth and destruction of nature. Our market economy, by externalizing the environmental and social costs of greenhouse gas emissions, is creating the greatest market failure in history: climate change, and its devastating effects. Our government's top economic goal - increasing Gross Domestic Product - impels us to perpetually intensify our resource use and environmental destruction.
  
 +
Green economic policy places value not just on material wealth, but on the things which truly make life worth living – our health, our relationships, our communities, our environment, and building peace and justice throughout our nation and the world.  We aim to maximize our quality of life with a minimum of consumption. We aspire to less "stuff" but more happiness. We propose a shift away from materialism to help people live more meaningful lives as we save the planet from climate change and ever larger mountains of waste. We need to acquire the ability to distinguish between need and greed.
  
 +
We must also end the colossal waste of taxpayer funds for armaments and war, to reduce our nation’s federal debt, and fund our environmental and social needs.
  
 +
Greens intend to provide a green job to anyone who wants one. We support using the tax system to bring more equality to our nation. Rising income inequality makes us all poorer in myriad ways.  More equal societies are happier, healthier, safer and greener.
 +
 +
Greens support strong local economies and regional trade. The best model of economic security is for a community and region to be largely self-sufficient in the production of its necessities.  We support not the corporate control of “free trade” – which, through the machinations of the World Trade Organization places the enrichment of multinational corporations above the level of national laws – but “fair trade,” which protects communities, labor, consumers and the environment. Local economic vibrancy and regional trade keep more money in the community and the region, rather than going to distant corporate headquarters. This is the most sensible model for economic security.
 +
 +
Greens will change the legal design of the corporation so that it does not maximize profits at the expense of the environment, human rights, public health, workers, or the communities in which it operates.  We believe the giant multinational corporation is the world’s most potent force for environmental and social destruction.
 +
 +
Unlike other political parties in the modern era, 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.
 +
 +
Greens are defenders of the commons -- the vast trove of wealth owned by the people, the social and tangible assets we inherit from generations past. Most Americans yearn for a more vibrant and lively commons, such as a richer community life, more parks and protected wilderness, clean air and water, more silence, better access to information and knowledge, and a more nourishing culture.  We must stop big business from undermining and stealing our common wealth, such as our public forests and minerals, the fruits of federal research, the public airwaves and the Internet.
 +
  
 
----
 
----

Latest revision as of 00:49, 28 July 2010

2010 PLATFORM

OLD CHAPTER NAME: ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

NEW CHAPTER NAME: ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABILITY

SECTION NAME: INTRODUCTION

Green economics is rooted in ecological economics. Our economy should serve us and our planet. Our economy should reflect and respect the diverse, delicate ecosystems of our planet.

Our current economic system is gravely flawed. It is unjust and unsustainable because it is premised on endless economic growth and destruction of nature. Our market economy, by externalizing the environmental and social costs of greenhouse gas emissions, is creating the greatest market failure in history: climate change, and its devastating effects. Our government's top economic goal - increasing Gross Domestic Product - impels us to perpetually intensify our resource use and environmental destruction.

Green economic policy places value not just on material wealth, but on the things which truly make life worth living – our health, our relationships, our communities, our environment, and building peace and justice throughout our nation and the world. We aim to maximize our quality of life with a minimum of consumption. We aspire to less "stuff" but more happiness. We propose a shift away from materialism to help people live more meaningful lives as we save the planet from climate change and ever larger mountains of waste. We need to acquire the ability to distinguish between need and greed.

We must also end the colossal waste of taxpayer funds for armaments and war, to reduce our nation’s federal debt, and fund our environmental and social needs.

Greens intend to provide a green job to anyone who wants one. We support using the tax system to bring more equality to our nation. Rising income inequality makes us all poorer in myriad ways. More equal societies are happier, healthier, safer and greener.

Greens support strong local economies and regional trade. The best model of economic security is for a community and region to be largely self-sufficient in the production of its necessities. We support not the corporate control of “free trade” – which, through the machinations of the World Trade Organization places the enrichment of multinational corporations above the level of national laws – but “fair trade,” which protects communities, labor, consumers and the environment. Local economic vibrancy and regional trade keep more money in the community and the region, rather than going to distant corporate headquarters. This is the most sensible model for economic security.

Greens will change the legal design of the corporation so that it does not maximize profits at the expense of the environment, human rights, public health, workers, or the communities in which it operates. We believe the giant multinational corporation is the world’s most potent force for environmental and social destruction.

Unlike other political parties in the modern era, 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.

Greens are defenders of the commons -- the vast trove of wealth owned by the people, the social and tangible assets we inherit from generations past. Most Americans yearn for a more vibrant and lively commons, such as a richer community life, more parks and protected wilderness, clean air and water, more silence, better access to information and knowledge, and a more nourishing culture. We must stop big business from undermining and stealing our common wealth, such as our public forests and minerals, the fruits of federal research, the public airwaves and the Internet.




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.