permaculture

[Sean Maley <semaley@yahoo.com>]

Tommy Tolson <healinghawk@earthlink.net> wrote:My point is that those 
preaching the non-political path avoid politics no more than anyone else. You 
don't avoid politics when you 
 
 Well said.  I use an assessment of control mechanisms to make my own 
judgments.  I like to put slack in the rope to observe intent.  After seeing 
a person lay down traps and take up my bait, I start setting my own traps.

In a positive direction, we should always begin with personal responsibility. 
 From there we must test each proposal with the three ethics.

For instance, we know that people shouldn't "own" land, as it takes many 
people to honor the land.  Therefore, land trusts become integral to the 
discussion of organizing any people interaction with the land in an 
"ownership" climate.

There are various microclimates of land trusts and not all political climates 
necessitate them.  However, where appropriate, a trust allows the control 
point to move from one person to many (a "trust" in my climate is simply a 
liability umbrella, or corporation, for "property", as in currency, real 
estate, and other stakes in things of "value").

Since "property" will be picked up by the "state" as "taxable", there are 
various ways of dealing with this.  However, most taxes in my climate are 
assessed through "wages" ("wealth" compensating "labor").  This leaves taxes 
on "land" relatively low.  Therefore, more "wealth" can be reinvested in the 
land if "wages" can be captured in a sink.

Capturing "wealth" in this climate requires a "charity".  A charity, here, 
merely means a corporation that benefits and is supported by more than just a 
few people and isn't limited to a specific "class" of people ("persons 
interested in Permaculture" verses "persons who took the PDC").

In this climate, there is still a requirement to "earn" money to pay taxes, 
but the most effective way involves first having a charity that benefits land 
and people.  One can then work towards the minimum tax level as a basement 
"wage" or "business activity" requirement.  The surplus from making a living 
can then be sunk into the charity.

In the USA, start with IRS Form 990 to decide if you have enough support to 
start a charity.  You can also go to the guidestar.org web site to look 
through 990 forms already filed or search for existing Permaculture charities 
(48 results).  Then decide who meets the ethical needs for where you live.  
If none exists, consider a new charity to meet this need.

Remember the difference between peer-to-peer and service oriented networks.  
I envision a peer-to-pear Permaculture mutual support network/charity.  
Somebody still needs to operate the charity, so remember to organized it in a 
way that doesn't create control points (pass around and share 
legal/accounting responsibilities equally around the network, etc).

Are we all on the same page for the next steps?


-Sean.
 
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