Creating Wealth

by Gwendolyn Hallsmith

  12. In systems diagrams, the feedback between variables, represented by the arrows, is either positive or negative. Positive feedback (marked as a +) means that the next variable changes in the same direction as the previous one, so if you’re talking about healthcare, lower access to treatment leading to lower individual health is positive feedback. Negative feedback (marked as a 0) means the next variable changes in the opposite direction as the previous one, so lower health leading to a higher demand for treatment is negative feedback. The important thing is the effect of the feedback — the words higher and lower are used here for illustration. Another important symbol illustrates when there is a delay in the feedback; in these diagrams, delay is indicated by two lines: /0/.

  When the combination of feedback in a system is positive, this creates a reinforcing feedback loop, symbolized here with an R. Reinforcing feedback is a vicious or virtuous cycle — things are getting worse and worse, or better and better. When the combination of feedback in the system is negative, this creates a balancing feedback loop, symbolized here with a B. In these systems, there is equilibrium — the system behaves as if it were seeking a goal of staying in balance. When there is delay in the timing of feedback between variables, systems can change from being reinforcing to balancing and vice versa over time; when there is a number next to the B or the R, it means that after delay, the system dynamic has changed. Sometimes there are several changes in the system, which would be illustrated by R1, B2, R3 and so on.

  13. Dennis and Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers and William Behrens. The Limits to Growth. Signet, 1972; Donella H. Meadows, Jorgen Randers and Dennis L. Meadows. Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update. Chelsea Green, 2004.

  14. R2 calculation courtesy of Chris Martenson, from a presentation he made in Reykjavik, Iceland for the Balaton Group in September of 2010.

  15. John Maynard Keynes. Economic Consequences of the Peace. Harcourt Brace, 1920, chapter 6.

  16. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc. v. Broughton et al., and City of San Diego v. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc. [online]. [cited January 17, 2011]. dockets.justia.com/docket/california/casdce/3:2008cv00926/271052/.

  17. Stephen A. Zarlenga. The Lost Science of Money: The Mythology of Money, The Story of Power. American Monetary Institute, 2002.

  18. Personal conversations with city leaders over the past 20 years.

  19. Calculated by the authors from the Milennium Development Goals.

  Chapter 3

  1. Merriam Webster dictionary, s.v. “capitalism” [online]. [cited October 25, 2010]. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capitalism.

  2. See Figure 1 in Chapter 7 for details.

  3. See a full development of this approach in: Bernard A. Lietaer. The Future of Money: Creating New Wealth, Work and a Wiser World. Random House, 2001.

  4. Total volume of outstanding Frequent Flyer Miles is estimated at 14 trillion, worth about us$700 billion: Jenni Roth. “Die schlummernde Weltwährung: Fluggäste haben 14 Billionen Bonusmeilen angesammelt.” Der Tagesspiegel (17 Januar 2005).

  5. Time Bank is a trademarked term of Time Banks USA and will be capitalized throughout this book.

  Chapter 4

  1. Bernard Lietaer. The Mystery of Money. Riemann Verlag, 2000, p. 182.

  2. M. I. Finley. The Ancient Economy, Sather Classical Lectures Volume 43. University of California Press, 1985. Cited in Lietaer, p. 166.

  3. Lietaer, p. 209.

  4. Lietaer, p. 173.

  5. Bernard Lietaer and Stephen Belgin. Of Human Wealth: Beyond Greed and Scarcity. Human Wealth Books and Talks, 2005.

  6. See L. Randall Wray. Understanding Modern Money: the Key to Full Employment and Price Stability. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006.

  7. See Bernard Lietaer and Stephen De Meulenaere. “Sustaining cultural vitality in a globalizing world: the Balinese example.” International Journal of Social Economics, Vol 30#9 (September 2003).

  8. The term comes from renowned economist Neva Goodwin, who felt it important to give a positive name to that portion of the “non-market” economy.

  9. In 1981, the value of the economic production by households was estimated by Robert Eisner and his colleagues at Northwestern to total $1,709 billion. That amounted to 37.5% of the “extended GNP” of $4,560 billion. In 1998, Redefining Progress, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, pegged the value of household work in 1998 at a total of $1.911 trillion — about ¼ the size of the US gross domestic product (GDP) that year.

  10. Edgar Cahn. It’s the Core Economy stupid: An Open Letter to the Non-Profit Community. [online]. [cited October 27, 2010]. timebanks.org/documents/CoreEconomyOp-Ed_000.pdf.

  Chapter 5

  1. RealtyTrac.® US Foreclosure Market Report, November 13, 2008. [online]. realtytrac.com.

  2. Lynn Adler. “US 2009 Foreclosures Shatter Record Despite Aid.” Reuters News Service, January 14, 2010. [online]. [cited September 6, 2010]. reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60D0LZ20100114.

  3. RealtyTrac.® US Foreclosure Market Report, August, 2010. [online]. [cited September 6, 2010]. browse.realtytrac.com/2010/foreclosures/.

  4. United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics website: bls.gov.

  5. Ross Colvin. “Family Homelessness Rising in the United States.” Reuters News, November 12, 2008.

  6. US HUD, Community Planning and Development. Neighborhood Stabilization Program Grants. [online]. [cited October 28, 2010]. hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/neighborhoodspg/.

  Chapter 6

  1. A Native American and African American poet from Hartford, CT. Born in 1820, she is the first woman to have published a book of poems and essays in the United States.

  2. US Census Bureau News. “College Degree Nearly Doubles Annual Earnings.” Census Bureau Reports, March 28, 2005.

  3. US Census data.

  4. 2000 US Census.

  5. Grace E. Merritt. “College-Loan Ploys Probed.” Hartford Courant, June 25, 2007.

  6. Steve Kroft. “For-Profit Colleges: Costly Lesson.” 60 Minutes. CBS News, January 30, 2005.

  7. With gratitude to David Orr for contributing this component. See also: Beyond Bells and Whistles. Retention Rate Model. [online]. [cited November 2, 2010]. cofc.edu/bellsandwhistles/research/retentionmodel.html; The National Learning Laboratory. [online]. [cited November 2, 2010]. know.org.

  8. The original funding source was finally not used for this purpose. See Bernard Lietaer. “A Proposal for a Brazilian Education Complementary Currency.” Paper presented for publication in the International Journal for Community Currency Research, Vol. 10 (2006). [online]. [cited November 2, 2010]. www.uea.ac.uk/env/ijccr/abstracts/vol10(3)lietaer.html.

  9. Such an expiration penalty is a form of demurrage. See Chapter 4 and Bernard Lietaer and Stephen Belgin. Of Human Wealth: Beyond Greed and Scarcity. Human Wealth Books and Talks, 2005, pp. 104–110.

  10. Encyclopaedia Britannica.

  Chapter 7

  1. National Endowment for the Arts. Artists in the Workforce: 1990–2005. Research Report #48 (May 2008).

  2. CollegeGrad.com. Career Information — Artists and Related Workers. [online]. [cited April 15, 2009]. collegegrad.com/careers/proft21.shtml.

  3. Murray Whyte. “‘Starving Artist’ Image Only Too True.” Toronto Star, March 31, 2009.

  4. International Average Salary Income Database. United States Average Salaries and Expenditures. [online]. [cited April 15, 2009]. worldsalaries.org/usa.shtml.

  5. United Artists Reserve Note. [online]. [cited August 30, 2010]. artistreservenote.com.

  6. US Bailout. Fluxus Bucks the Next Currency? March 14, 2009. [online]. [cited August 30, 2010]. usabailout.blogspot.com/2009/03/fluxus-bucks-next-currency.html.

  Chapter 8

  1. Martin Cohen. “Beyond Debate?” The Times Higher Education, December 10, 2009. [online]. [cited December 17, 2010]. timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=409454.

  2. Alan Durning with Anna Fah
ey, Eric de Place, Lisa Stiffler and Clark Williams-Derry. Cap and Trade 101: A Climate Policy Primer, July 2009 Federal Policy edition. Sightline Institute. [online]. [cited November 4, 2010]. sightline.org/research/energy/res_pubs/cap-and-trade-101.

  3. Ibid., pp. 27–28.

  4. This carbon currency system was developed with substantial input from David Johnston, founder and President of What’s Working (whatsworking.com).

  5. See their website: builditgreen.org.

  6. Fiona Harvey and Stephen Fidler. “Industry caught in carbon ‘smokescreen.’” Financial Times, April 25, 2007. [online]. [cited January 10, 2011]. ft.com/cms/s/0/48e334ce-f355-11db-9845-000b5df10621.html#ixzz19jbUUwWe.

  7. Ibid.

  8. See Lietaer, The Future of Money, note on page 71: “See Kobayashi, Kazunori Community Currency (Unpublished Senior Thesis, May 9, 1999). . . .”

  Chapter 9

  1. Clive Humby, Terry Hunt and Tim Phillips. Scoring Points: How Tesco Continues to Win Customer Loyalty, 2nd ed. Kogan Page, 2008.

  2. LoyaltyMatch website. [online]. [cited November 5, 2010]. loyaltymatch.com.

  3. Patent application title: Point Of Interaction Loyalty Currency Redemption in a Transaction. [online]. [cited November 5, 2010]. faqs.org/patents/app/20100211469.

  4. Swissinfo.ch. Cash substitute greases business wheels. October 21, 2009. [online]. [cited December 12, 2010]. swissinfo.ch/eng/business/Cash_substitute_greases_business_wheels.html?cid=7613810.

  5. Cyclos Project. [online]. [cited November 8, 2010]. project.cyclos.org/.

  6. Chartered Banker. “Complementary Currencies: Hands Up for a Money Revolution.” [online]. [cited January 22, 2011]. www.charteredbanker.com/Home/Member_and_Students/Chartered_Banker_Magazine/December_2010_January_2011/Dec_Jan_Features/Dec_Jan_Money_Revolution/.

  Chapter 10

  1. David Schab and Nhi-Ha T. Trinh. “Do Artificial Food Colors Promote Hyperactivity in Children with Hyperactive Syndromes? A Meta-Analysis of Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials.” Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Vol. 25#6 (December 2004), pp. 423–434.

  2. Stephen Daniells. “FDA urged to ban artificial colors linked to hyperactivity.” Foodnavigator — USA website, June 4, 2008. [online]. [cited December 8, 2010].

  3. OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. Health at a Glance 2003 — OECD Countries Struggle with Rising Demand for Health Spending. [online]. [cited December 8, 2010]. oecd.org/document/6/0,2340,en_2649_34631_16560422_1_1_1_1,00.html.

  4. Ernst & Young. Gesundheitsversorgung 2020. Frankfurt, 2005. [online]. [cited December 8, 2010]. rsf.uni-greifswald.de/fileadmin/mediapool/lehrstuehle/flessa/Gesundheitsversorgung_202020.pdf.

  5. OECD Health Data 2006: How Does the United States Compare. [online]. [cited October 16, 2009. oecd.org/dataoecd/29/52/36960035.pdf.

  6. All data on bankruptcy through medical bills comes from Elizabeth Warren. “Sick and Broke.” The Washington Post, Wednesday, February 9, 2005, p. A23. [online]. [cited December 8, 2010]. washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9447-2005Feb8.html.

  7. B. D. Smedley and S. L. Syme, eds. Promoting Health: Intervention Strategies from Social and Behavioral Research. Institute of Medicine, 2000.

  8. J. E. Fielding. “Getting Smarter and Maybe Wiser.” American Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 11#2 (November–December 1996), pp. 109–111.

  9. IRSA, Association of Quality Clubs. “The Economic Benefits of Employee Fitness.” 1992. fitresource.com.

  10. Michael Murphy. The Future of the Body: Explorations Into the Further Evolution Of Human Nature. Tarcher, 1992.

  11. The benefit is mainly manifesting in such programs after the second or third year. So 100 dollars or Euros spent in an preventive care program for employees each year will have a return after the third year of 300 dollars or euros. R. Z. Goetzel et al. “What is ROI? A Systematic Review of Return on Investment Studies of Corporate Health and Productivity Management Initiatives.” AWHP’s Worksite Health, Vol. 6, 1999; J. C. Erfurt, A. Foote, M. A. Heirich. “ The cost effectiveness of worksite wellness programs for hypertension control, weight loss, smoking cessation and exercise.” Personnel Psychology, Vol. 45#1, March 1992, pp. 5–27; L. Chapman. Proof Positive: An Analysis of the Cost Effectiveness of Worksite Wellness, 6th ed. Chapman Institute, 2008; Don R. Powell. “Characteristics of Successful Wellness Programs.” Employee Benefits Journal, September 1999, pp. 15–21; S. G. Aldana. “Financial Impact of Worksite Health Promotion and Methodological Quality of the Evidence.” The Art of Health Promotion, Vol. 2#1, March–April, 1998; L. Chapman. “Methods for Determining Economic Return.” The Art of Health Promotion, Vol 4#6, January–February 2001; L. Chapman. “Meta Evaluation of Worksite Health Promotion Economic Return Studies.” The Art of Health Promotion, Vol. 6#6, January–February, 2003.

  12. Time Bank Models — Elder Care. [online]. [cited January 22, 2011]. besttimebank.org/Links/TimeDollar/ElderCare.htm; David Boyle. “The Co-Production Principle and Time Dollars.” [online]. [cited January 22, 2011]. timebanks.org/documents/Co-ProductionPrinciple.pdf.

  13. This cash-in option deserves more explanation. Businesses providing goods or services that are supporting preventive healthcare could become certified through a formal evaluation process that determines the economic impact on future medical costs. Basically, any thing or service that has been able to convincingly demonstrate an impact on reducing future medical care costs could qualify for this process.

  The discount and conditions for cashing-in should be designed to be covered by a reduction in medical costs made possible by the preventive programs and by home care activities (which reduce the length of a hospital stay for example). Furthermore, there should be some discount in cashing in the Tokens to encourage business owners and preventive healthcare providers to use them rather than always cashing them in. The cost of the cashing-in program should be paid by those entities that derive the direct financial benefits (reduction in costs) from a healthy society (e.g., HMOs, businesses, insurance companies and governments).

  14. Laura Petreccca. “Cost conscious companies re-evaluate wellness programs.” USA Today, June 19, 2009.

  15. Ibid.

  16. “Should Smoker’s Pay a Surcharge?” HR.BLR.com. April 7, 2006. [online]. [cited October 26, 2009]. hr.blr.com/news.aspx?id=17927.

  17. Petrecca, “Cost Conscious.”

  Chapter 11

  1. Recent archaeological discoveries have found the remains of Ur; it’s called Tell-y-Mukayyar and is located near the city of Nasiriyah, south of Baghdad in modern Iraq.

  2. All data in this paragraph from US Censuses from 2002 and 2005.

  3. National Research Council Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of Elder Abuse and Neglect. Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in an Aging America. National Academies Press, 2002.

  4. Child Maltreatment 2003. Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services, 2005.

  5. Time Bank® is a trademark of TimeBanks USA. Instead of putting the little ® next to all the references, we have capitalized the words instead.

  6. TimeBanks website. “The Five Core Values of Time Banking.” [online]. [cited December 7, 2010]. timebanks.org/five-core-values.htm.

  7. Care Bank® is also a trademark of TimeBanks USA.

  8. National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. Selected Demographic Indicators for Japan. [online]. [cited January 22, 2011]. ipss.go.jp/p-info/e/S_D_I/Indip.html.

  9. A l’écoute du Japon — Information Bulletin of the Japanese Mission to the European Union. July 3, 1995, pp. 7–8.

  10. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Service Credit Banking Project Site Summaries. University of Maryland Center of Aging, 1990.

  11. Junko Edahiro. “Locally Sustainable Economy Supported by Community Currency.” Via3Net website. [online]. [cited November 30, 2009]. via3.net/pooled/articles/BF_DOCART/view.asp?Q=BF_DOCART_137159.

  Chapter 12

  1. J
. E. Yellen. “The Transformation of the Kalahari !Kung.” Scientific American, Vol. 262#4. 1990, pp. 96–105.

  2. Bernard Lietaer and Steven Belgin. Of Human Wealth: Beyond Greed and Scarcity. Human Wealth Books and Talks, 2005.

  3. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2005 Revision.[online]. [cited November 13, 2008]. un.org/esa/population/publications/WUP2005/2005wup.htm.

  4. Northeast Bankcorp, Inc. v. Governors, FRS, 472 U.S. 159 (1985) at 165.

  5. Tom Philpott. “A reflection on the lasting legacy of 1970s USDA Secretary Earl Butz.” Grist: Environmental News and Commentary, February 7, 2008. [online]. [cited November 13, 2008]. grist.org/comments/food/2008/02/07/.