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THE ECONOMY
 
1. The structure of the economy:
  a.
As far as possible, industry, trade, agriculture and commerce-almost everything-should to be managed by cooperative enterprises.
  b.
Cooperative enterprises are enterprises, which are owned and managed by the people who work in them or who are members of them. Those who do not work in or become a member of a particular cooperative enterprise have no right to own any part of the enterprise or to manage it.
  c.
Private enterprise should be limited to enterprises which are difficult to manage on a cooperative basis because they are either too small, or simultaneously small and complex.
  d.
The state or federal government should take the responsibility for setting up enterprises which cannot be conveniently managed by cooperatives because they are either too large, or simultaneously large and complex. However, such enterprises should be managed as autonomous bodies, independent of the government.
  e.
Autonomous bodies should perform functions such as providing raw materials for producers’ cooperatives, managing specialized industries, such as defense industries, conducting research and development, running essential services, such as hospitals and nursing homes, and overseeing major infrastructure projects, such as ports and airports. Autonomous bodies should be regulated by either social boards or the state or federal government.
  f.
Key industries should be managed as autonomous bodies, and as far as possible they should be run “on no profit no loss” economic policy.
  g.
The management of industrial, agricultural, trade and commercial enterprises should not be in the hands of the federal government.
  h.
The less the federal government is involved with the public in the areas of production and distribution, the better, and the less power the federal government has in these areas, the better.
  i.
The less private enterprise is provided with business opportunities and the more production and distribution is carried out through cooperative enterprises and autonomous bodies, the better.
  j.
Special facilities will have to be provided to cooperatives whenever necessary.
  k.
Banks and financial institutions also should be managed as cooperative enterprises.
   

 

2. The types of commodities:
  a.
The various types of commodities may be classified into three basic categories: essential, semiessential and non –essential.
  b.
Essential commodities are those commodities which are considered to be necessary to sustain human life. They include most foods, most clothing, medicines, education material such as text books, pure water, and various forms of energy. Semi-essential commodities include some types of food and clothing, books and other text books, most electronic goods, various household items, etc. Non-essential commodities include luxury goods.
  c.
The power to classify commodities into essential, semi-essential and non-essential commodities should be in the hands of the federal government. It should not be in the hands of the producers of the commodities.
  d.
With continued economic progress, both the number of commodities in each of the three categories, and the number of non-essential commodities reclassified as semi-essential or essential commodities and the number of semi-essential commodities reclassified as essential commodities, will increase. An item which is considered to be a luxury today will be considered to be a semi-essential or essential commodity tomorrow.
  e.
Cooperative enterprises should have the right to produce and distribute all types of commodities .In addition, they should have the sole right to produce and distribute all semi-essential and essential commodities.
  f.
Private enterprises should not have the right to produce or distribute semi-essential and essential commodities. At most, they should have the right to produce and distribute only non-essential commodities.
  g.
Essential services are those services which come within the scope of the essential commodities. Such services include hospitals, public transportation, including the railway system and the national airlines, energy producers, telecommunications, etc. The provision of essential services should be the responsibility of the federal government. However, the enterprises which provide such services should be run as autonomous bodies, independent of the government.
  h.
Some essential services, such as regional water supplies, should be regulated by the federal government but managed as autonomous bodies on the local or state level.
  i.
Essential services such as health care practices, medical centers and health maintenance clinics employing three or more health care practitioners should be run as service cooperatives, owned and managed by the health care practitioners themselves.
  j.
Semi-essential services and non-essential services come within the scope of the semi-essential commodities and the non-essential commodities respectively. As far as possible, enterprises which provide such services and employ three or more people should be managed as cooperative enterprises.
  k.
Only commodities which are made in World, by Worldn owned enterprises, and from Worldn raw materials should be permitted to carry the label “Worldn owned and made”. Commodities which are made overseas, by foreign owned enterprises in World, or from foreign raw materials should not be permitted to carry such a label.
   

 

3. The production and distribution of essential commodities:
  a.
Essential commodities include most food, most clothing, medicines, housing materials, education materials, pure water, and various forms of energy. (For policies on the production and distribution of medicines, see “Health Care”.
  b.
The preservation and utilization of agricultural land should be the responsibility of the local and state governments.
  c.
Agricultural production should be carried out through farmers’ cooperatives or farmers’-cum-producers’ cooperatives composed of actual farmers and producers’ cooperatives.
  d.
The right to distribute foodstuffs should be in the hands of consumers’ cooperatives.
  e.
Private enterprise should not have the right to produce or distribute foodstuffs.
  f.
The same basic system should be followed for the production and distribution of essential clothing and essential fuel. Producers’ cooperatives should have the sole right to produce essential clothing and fuel, and local consumers’ cooperatives should have the sole right to distribute essential, though not all, varieties of clothing, and as far as practical, essential fuels.
  g.
At most, private enterprises should have the right to produce non-essential food and fuels.
  h.
Materials used in education, such as reading and writing materials, text books, computers, etc, should be produced by producers’ cooperatives. The distribution of education materials should be through consumers’ cooperatives.
  i.
Similarly materials used for constructing houses, such as cement and metals products, should be produced by large producers’ cooperatives, and the distribution of construction materials should be through consumers’ cooperatives.
  j.
Private enterprise should not have the right to produce or distribute essential commodities, including both education and housing materials. It should have the right to produce and distribute only non-essential or luxury items.
  k.

If necessary, tax concessions such as exemption from sales tax, duties, etc, may be granted to cooperatively owned manufacturing industries which produce essential commodities.

     
4. Key Industries:
  a.
Key industries include industries which produce raw materials, the gold mining industry, defence industries, etc. Most essential services, including energy producers, the railway system, the national airlines, telecommunications regional water suppliers, etc, and major infrastructure projects, such as ports and airports, also should be classified as key industries.
  b.
Such enterprises should be regulated by the federal government, be structured as autonomous bodies, and as far as possible provide their products or services to the public on the basis of a “no profit no loss” economic policy.
  c.
As a matter of principle, key industries which supply raw materials to producers’ cooperatives will have to adopt a “no profit no loss” economic policy.
  d.
The decision whether or not a particular industry should be classified as a key industry should be made by the federal cabinet. Economic national interest decisions should not be taken by the treasurer alone.
  e.
No key industry should be owned or controlled even in part by a foreign power or foreign owned enterprise. Federal legislation should be enacted to make such a practice illegal.
  f.

In particular, no defence industry, installation or project should be owned or controlled even in part by a foreign power. The recent decision by the treasurer to permit the sale of Optus, which operates a national defence communication satellite, to Sing-Tel, a company controlled by the Singapore government, should be reversed immediately

     
5. Full employment:
  a.
The right to employment is a fundamental human right. Every effort must be made to ensure that all members of the workforce stay fully employed.
  b.
As a matter of principle, no one should be retrenched from their job unless alternative employment has been arranged for them.
  c.
If there is full employment in the workforce, all people will be automatically guaranteed the opportunity to secure the basic requirements of life.
  d.
It is not the responsibility of governments to try and provide every person individually with the basic requirements. However, it is the responsibility of all levels of government to promote cooperative enterprise and pursue policies which maintain full employment in the workforce.
  e.
Labour market policies will have to be designed keeping in mind the various levels of skill in the workforce, the level of demand for various types of labour, and the different needs of manual and intellectual workers. In addition, such policies will have to be flexible enough to create the conditions which both absorb surplus labour and supply workers to regions or sectors of the economy with deficit labour
  f.
There will have to be a continuous effort to fulfill the needs and aspirations of all the members of the workforce by taking such measures as retraining workers, starting up or expanding the appropriate enterprises, and adjusting the number of workers employed in any one sector of the economy.
  g.
It is not possible to maintain full employment in an economy which is based on private enterprise. Full employment can only be maintained in an economy which is based on cooperative enterprise.
  h.

Cooperative enterprises themselves will have to play a major role in maintaining full employment in the workforce and in meeting the needs and aspirations of workers

     
6. Increasing purchasing capacity:
  a.
Measuring the extent of people’s purchasing capacity is the best way to assess their standards of living and the economy’s health and vitality.
  b.
At the very least, purchasing capacity must be set at a level which guarantees people the basic requirements of life, which include food, clothing, housing, education, medical care, fuel, power, water ,transportation, etc. That is, the minimum level of purchasing capacity must be set at a level which guarantees people all the essential goods and services necessary to secure the basic requirements.
  c.
As a matter of principle, all the members of society must be guaranteed increasing purchasing capacity.
  d.
Increasing purchasing capacity means that all wage and salary earners in the economy will have to have their income progressively increased at a rate which is higher than the rate of inflation. Thus all wage and salary earners will have to have increasing opportunities to purchase an increasing range of all types of goods and services.
  e.
Increasing purchasing capacity is so important to people’s economic well being that it should be enshrined in the constitution as part of a bill of rights. Thus, if a government fails to pursue policies designed to provide increasing purchasing capacity, people will have the right to take legal action in a court of law against the responsible government minister.
  f.

Guaranteeing increasing purchasing capacity will have far-reaching economic consequences. For example, the principle of equal pay for equal work will have to be replaced with the principle of purchasing capacity for all. A married man with a wife and two children who is the sole provider for his family may have to be paid more than a single man with no children doing the same work. Such changes are possible only in an economy based on cooperative enterprises.

     
7. A purchasing capacity index:
  a.
A Purchasing Capacity Index, PCI, (or a Purchasing Power Index, PPL,) should be established to accurately measure the level of purchasing capacity at any given time during the progress of the economy.
  b.
The minimum level in the PCI must be set at the minimum level of income required to guarantee the people earning that income all the essential goods and services necessary to secure the basic requirements of life.
  c.
The minimum level of purchasing capacity permitted in World should equal the minimum capacity in the PCI.
  d.
The PCI should be graduated to include the incomes of all wage and salary earners in the economy, going all the way up to those earning the maximum salary.
  e.
The PCI will have to be updated at regular intervals to include all the new goods and services that becomes available in the economy. It also will have to be adjusted regularly to include both the non-essential goods and services reclassified as semi-essential or essential goods and services and the semi-essential goods and services reclassified as essential goods and services.
  f.
Thus the PCI should start with those earnings the minimum wage and graduate to those earning the maximum salary, correlating people’s income with the cost of purchasing the various types of goods and services available in the economy, and at the minimum level equal the cost of purchasing all the essential goods and services necessary to secure the basic requirements of life.
     

8. The rate of inflation:

  a.
The rate of inflation will have to be calculated over a given period of time based principally on the increased cost of purchasing all the essential goods and services necessary to secure the basic requirements of life.
  b.
This rate will have to be taken as the core of inflation.
  c.
Thus the core rate of inflation over any given period of time will have to measure the increased cost of purchasing all the essential goods and services that make up the minimum level of purchasing capacity in the PCI.
  d.
In a capitalist economy, the rate of inflation tends to fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.
  e.

In an economy based on cooperative enterprise, on the other hand, inflation is likely to stay extremely low for long periods of time. All members of society will be guaranteed the basic requirements of life, the cost of capital will remain low, capital will not be invested solely for profit, and the wealth generated by cooperative entrepreneurial ship will be spread equitably throughout society.

     
9. A just minimum wage:
  a. A just minimum wage must be set at an amount which ensures that the people earning the minimum wage are guaranteed the basic requirements of life. That is, the amount of the just minimum wage will have to be set so that it equals the minimum level of purchasing capacity allowed by society.
  b. As an initial measure, the amount of the just minimum wage will have to be set at an amount which ensures that those earnings the minimum wage have sufficient purchasing capacity to purchase all the essential goods and services necessary to secure the basic requirements. Thus the just minimum wage will have to be set at an amount which is equals the minimum level of purchasing capacity in the PCI.
  c. Thereafter, the amount of the just minimum wage will have to be progressively increased so that those earning the just minimum wage have the level of their purchasing capacity progressively increased. Progressive increases in the just minimum wage will have to be set based on increasing levels of purchasing capacity in the PCI.
  d. The just minimum wage will have to be automatically indexed to the rate of inflation.
  e. The just minimum wage can be increased either by increasing the amount of the minimum wage itself or by adjusting the related components of the minimum wage.
  f. Several components will have to be considered in the calculations of a just minimum wage, including the following:
i)
the hours in a working day; a working day should be set at eight hours work a day between the hours of 6. 00 am and 6. 00 pm, Monday to Saturday;
ii)
the hours in a working week; a working week should be set at a total of forty hours work a week, thus eight hours work a day for five working days would equal a forty hour working week; and
iii)
the minimum hourly rate of pay; the minimum hourly rate of pay should be set for work done during any working day, and the minimum hourly rate of pay for work done for a forty hour working week should equal the just minimum wage.
  g. Other components of a just wages policy should include the following:
i)
overtime; overtime should be paid for work done over and above a total of eight hours work on any working day, for work done over and above five working days a week, for work done over and above forty hours work a week, for work done between 6.00 pm, and 6.00 am, and for work done on Sundays;
ii)
flexitime;wage earners should have the right to structure their working day and working week, within certain limits, so that their time spent working is flexible;
iii)
various entitlements, incentives and special benefits, which of course must be over and above the just minimum wage.
  i.
It should be illegal for children below the age of fourteen to work in the workforce. Children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen should be limited to working twenty hours work a week, unless they are students and the work is part of their apprenticeship training. Any child or student working between the ages of fourteen and sixteen will have to be paid an hourly rate of pay which is equal to or greater than the hourly rate of pay of the just minimum wage.
  j.
No rates of pay below the rate of pay for a just minimum wage should be permitted. The rate set for the just minimum wage should be paid to all those in the public and private sectors currently earning the minimum wage.
  k.
It should be illegal for employment contracts to specify rates of pay below the rate set for the just minimum wage. Employers offering such contracts should be compelled to pay the just minimum wage.
  l.

Employee entitlements, such as superannuation funds, pension plans, retirement schemes, etc., should not be controlled by the company that is responsible for paying them. They should be paid into separate accounts controlled by totally independent financial institutions which should be managed as cooperative enterprises for the benefit of the employees.

     
10. A rational maximum salary:
  a.
Salaries should be capped at a reasonable maximum level. The amount of this rational maximum salary should be calculated by including all the components of a salary package, such as share options, incentives, performances bonuses, personal expense accounts, etc.
  b.
Just as the amount of the minimum wage will have to be progressively increased, so that the amount of maximum salary also will have to be progressively increased.
  c.
At the same time, the gap between the minimum wage and the maximum salary will have to be gradually reduced. However, the gap should never be reduced to zero.
  d.

As an initial measure, the ratio between the minimum wage and the maximum salary should be set at no more than one to ten.

     
11. A wages and salaries commission:
  a.
The Industrial Relations Commission should be transformed into a Wages and Salaries Commission.
  b.
In addition to carrying out the responsibilities of the Industrial Relations Commission, the wages and salaries Commission should have the added responsibility of setting a just minimum wage and a rational maximum salary, based on guaranteed increasing purchasing capacity. It also should set the ratio between the two.
  c.
The amount of the just minimum wage set by the Wages and Salaries Commission at any given time will have to be set at the same level as the minimum level of purchasing capacity in the PCI
  d.
The Wages and Salaries Commission also should have the power to set all wage and salary levels in the economy to ensure that all the members of the work force are guaranteed increasing purchasing capacity. It will have to ensure that all wage and salary levels are progressively increased so that all the members of the workforce are guaranteed increasing purchasing capacity, based on the PCI.
  e.
The Wages and Salaries Commission should meet at least once a year to review the amounts of both the just minimum wage and the maximum rational salary, as well as the level of purchasing capacity of all wage and salary earners. At this meeting, it will have to ensure that all wages and salaries at least keep pace with the rate of inflation.
  f.

In an economy based on cooperative enterprise, the decision of the Wage and Salaries Commission will have to be binding on all wage and salary earners in the public and autonomous sectors. Although workers in the cooperative sector will have the freedom to set the amount of the wages or salaries that they pay themselves, they should not be permitted to pay themselves an income which is below the just minimum wage or above the rational maximum salary. The same restriction will have to apply to those working in the private sector.

     
12. The abolition of income tax:
  a.
As a matter of principle, income tax should be abolished. It makes no sense to tax people’s income when their income is supposed to guarantee them increasing purchasing capacity.
  b.
However, at present income tax should not be abolished for everyone, as that would only deprive the government of revenue and benefits those in high income tax brackets who already have sufficient income.
  c.
As a first step, income tax should be abolished immediately for all those earning the minimum wage. In effect, this would raise the no tax threshold on income from the current level of $6, 000 per year to approximately $21,500 per year (i.e., the annualized rate of the basic wage, which is currently set at $413 per week; 1.5 million Worldns earn the basic wage).
  d.
As the next step, the no tax threshold on income should be raised to $25, 000, and the tax brackets immediately above that level reduced.
  e.
As the step after that, the no tax threshold should be raised to $ 30, 000, and the tax brackets above that level reduced.
  f.
In this way, step by step, it will be possible to gradually abolish income tax, and to introduce a wages and salary system which has a just minimum wage and a rational maximum salary as well as a reasonable ratio between the two.
  g.
Thus, gradually income tax will be transformed into a mechanism which caps a salary at a predetermined upper limit. This upper limit will have to coincide with the rational maximum salary set by the Wages and Salary Commission.
  h.
The loss of revenue to the government due to the abolition of income tax will have to be offset by reducing the size of the government and cutting wasteful government expenditure.
     
13. A new system of taxation:
  a.
Along with the abolition of income tax, a new tax system should be introduced.
  b.
The centre piece of a new system of taxation should be the introduction of a production tax and the abolition of the GST. In other words, taxes on goods should be levied at the point of production rather than at the point of purchase by the consumer, and taxes on services should be levied on the service provider for the services they provide.
  c.
A tax system based on a production tax would provide the broadest possible tax base. All goods produced in the country would be taxed at a point at which they enter the economy and the tax would be paid by the producer, and all imported goods would be taxed at the point of importation and the tax would be paid by the importer. Similarly, taxes on services would be levied at the point at which they are provided to the consumer and the tax would be paid by the service provider. Thus, the government would have the opportunity to collect the greatest amount of revenue in such a system.
  d.
Moreover, a tax system based on a production tax would be the fairest possible tax system for the consumer. Producers of essential, semi-essential and non-essential commodities would be taxed at varying rates, as would providers of essential, semi-essential and non –essential services. Essential goods and services would be taxed at the lowest tax rate, semi-essential goods and services would be taxed at a higher tax rate, and non-essential goods and services would be taxed at the highest tax rate. Each consumer would have the opportunity to choose which product or service they preferred, knowing that they would be paying varying rates of tax. Such a system is a better system than the GST which is a flat rate tax system and therefore disadvantages the poor and those with little purchasing capacity.
  e.
The production tax levied on commodities will have to be paid only once for each commodity. That is, the production tax levied on commodities will be paid by the producers only when the produce finished products and sell them to consumers’ cooperatives. They will not need to pay the tax when they wholesale unfinished commodities to other producers’ cooperatives, otherwise some commodities will be taxed more than the once.
  f.
Commodities which are harmful for people’s health, such as cigarettes and alcohol, should be taxed at rates which are significantly higher than the rates for non-essential goods and services. The revenue from such taxes should go to finance the health care system.
  g.
After the introduction of a production tax, the rates of the tax should be gradually increased in order for other forms of tax to be gradually abolished. Thus, the current tax system should be made much simpler and more streamlined.
  h.

Commodities which are permitted to carry the label “ World owned and made “ should be subject to lower rates of tax than commodities which are foreign made, made in World by foreign owned enterprises, or made from foreign raw materials.

     
14. Production for consumption:
  a.
Production should be for consumption, not for profit. That is, production should be designed to meet the demands of the present and the foreseeable future, and should not be designed solely for profit.
  b.
In a market economy based on cooperative enterprise, as far as possible production should be carried out through autonomous bodies, key industries, farmers’-cum-producers’ cooperatives and producers’ cooperative and consumption should be carried out through consumers’ cooperative.
  c.
The less the federal government is involved with the public in the areas of production and distribution, the better, and the less power the federal government has in these areas, the better.
  d.
The less private enterprise is provided with businesses opportunities and the more production and distribution is carried out through cooperative enterprises and autonomous bodies, the better.
  e.
Cooperative associations should be formed by bringing together the various cooperative enterprises which function in any given area or sector of the economy. Such associations should coordinate and oversee matters such as the supplies of raw materials, the availability of markets, the quality of goods and services, research and development, technological innovation, worker safety, environmental protection, etc.
  f.

Such a cooperation market economy will have many benefits : it will ensure low raw material prices, eliminate various levels of “middlemen”, keep consumer prices low, facilitate an equitable distribution of wealth, foster closer ties among people, and build community spirit.

     
15. The abolition of competition policy:
  a. Competition policy should be abolished. It serves no useful purpose.
  b.
It should be replaced with a cooperative enterprise policy. Cooperative entrepreneurial ship will have to become the cornerstone of the economy.
  c.

Federal legislation should be enacted either to replace the various state cooperatives acts or to ensure that they do not contradict each other and have a common focus.

     
16. The gradual reduction of working hours:
  a.
The number of hours in a working week should be gradually reduced, but a reduction in working hours must not result in a loss of purchasing capacity.
  b.
Working hours should be reduced keeping in mind such factors as the rate of the just minimum wage, the level of purchasing capacity, productivity gains, the benefits of introduction new technology, the overall health of the economy, etc.
  c.

The simplest way to reduce working hours without a loss of purchasing capacity is to reduce the number of hours in the working week and at the same time increase the rate of pay for the hourly rate of the just minimum wage. For example, if the number of hours in a working week is reduced from forty to thirty-eight and if the rate of hourly pay for work done to earn the just minimum wage is increased so that the wages earned from working a thirty-eight hour week equal those earned from working a forty hour week, there will be no loss of purchasing capacity.

   

 

17. Economic democracy:
  a.
Economic democracy means that as far as possible people should have the right to make all the economic decisions which directly affect their lives. This right extends to many of the decisions that are currently being made on their behalf by governments and corporations
  b.
In practice economic democracy means that people will have the right to make the economic decisions within the cooperative enterprises in which they work and within their local communities. If people work in cooperative enterprises, which by definition they will own and manage themselves, they automatically will have the power to make the economic decisions which directly affect them Cooperative members also will have the right to elect their own managers if they so chose.
  c.

Private enterprises supports economic centralization, therefore it will never support economic democracy. To be fully implemented, economic democracy requires economic decentralization.

     
18. Balanced economic planning:
  a.
A balanced economy is one that is able to grow in such a way that the workforce is properly distributed throughout its various sectors: agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, service, retail, etc.
  b.
A balanced economy is neither under-nor over-industrialized and maintains a balance between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. The agricultural sector is defined as farming, agricoindustries (“pre-harvest” industries) and agro-industries (“post-harvest” industries). The non-agricultural sector is comprised of industries that are not directly agrico-or agro-industries. The industrial system includes both agrico-and agro-industries and non-agricultural industries.
  c.
An industrially developed economy should employ approximately 30% of the population in non-agricultural industries, 10% in trade and commerce, 10%in the service sector, administration and management, and the public service, 20% in agrico-industries, 20% in agro-industries, and 10% in farming. At most 50% of the population should be employed in the agricultural sector, which should be adjusted among agrico-and agro-industries and farming.
  d.
World has a small percentage of its population employed in agriculture, which is an indication that the full potential of the agricultural sector is not being realized. The agricultural sector should be developed to a much greater extent.
  e.
In addition, World has few manufacturing industries: World exports raw materials and imports manufactured goods. World must develop its industrial system; in particular, it must develop a range of agrico-and agro-industries. Too many Worldns are employed in the retail sector and in white-collar industries and too few in manufacturing industries.
  f.
There needs to be a fundamental change in the balance of World’s economy: the services sector needs to be significantly reduced and the manufacturing sector needs to be greatly increased. Otherwise World will never become an industrially developed country, despite the fact that is has both natural sources and the skilled labour necessary to become one.
   

 

19. The development of manufacturing industries:
  a.
World should immediately develop a range of cooperatively owned manufacturing industries based on locally available raw materials.
  b.
Particular attention should be given to developing various types of agrico-and agroindustries in regional areas near ready supplies of raw materials.
  c.
If necessary, tax concessions such as exemption from sales tax, duties, etc., may be granted to cooperatively owned manufacturing industries which produce essential commodities.
  d.

The payment of subsidies to foreign companies, especially foreign multinationals, to operate in World should be stopped immediately. The money should be redirected into establishing a range of Worldn manufacturing industries based on locally available raw materials.

     
20. End the exportation of raw materials:
  a.
The exportation of World’s natural resources or raw materials should be made illegal and stopped immediately.
  b.
If it is not politically or economically possible to stop all exportation immediately,at the very least the exportation of natural resources or raw materials should be made illegal in principle and all existing contracts phased out over two or three years. During this frame, a range of manufacturing industries based on locally available natural resources or raw materials should be developed. (At present, 60% of World’s export earnings come from raw materials.
  c.
World should export only finished product, or at most half –finished products, and not natural resources or raw materials.
  d.
The cutting down of old growth forests for woodchips, which are exported to countries such as Japan, must be stopped immediately. Logging must be immediately banned in old growth forests. (Western World is the only state which has adopted such a policy. The other states should follow suite immediately).
  e.

To pursue policies which sell off Worldn raw materials to foreign enterprises or governments, undermining Worldn manufacturing industries, should be considered economic sedition, if not economic treason.

     
21. Free Trade:
  a.
As a matter of principle, free trade should be supported.However, free trade among countries should be developed only if all the countries concerned enjoy economic parity, otherwise the poorer and weaker countries will be exploited economically by the richer and more powerful ones.
  b.
World should implement bilateral free trade agreements with such countries as New Zealand, Singapore and the US, provided World’s economic interests and environmental safeguards are not harmed in any way whatsoever.
  c.
World should support the formation of an Asian free trade zone to accelerate economic growth in the region.
  d.
As a first step towards the establishment of an Asian free trade zone, all import and export duties levied by Asian countries on perishable foodstuffs, such as fruit, vegetables and staple grains, should be phased out. However, this policy should apply only to foodstuffs which do not violate World’s quarantine restrictions or have the potential to damage World’s primary industries or the environment.
  e.
As a second step towards the establishment of an Asian free trade zone, all import and export duties levied by Asian countries on consumable commodities should be phased out.
  f. Eventually all the countries in the world will have to come together to form one free trade zone.
  g.

As far as possible, international trade should be conducted through cooperative enterprises.

     
22. Recessions and depressions:
  a.
Recessions and depressions are inevitable in the capitalist system: capitalism moves through cycles of boom and bust, and nothing can stop this process occurring.
  b.

Depressions will not occur in a cooperative enterprise economy. Periods of economic pause will occur, because pause is a natural phenomenon; that is, periods of little or no economic growth will occur, but depressions will not occur.

     
23. Gold Reserves:
  a.
As insurance against the possibility of an inflationary depression in the near future, World should immediately pay off the national debt and boost its gold bullion reserves.
  b.
The money that was raised from the sale of approximately 420 tons of gold from the country’s gold reserves in 1997, as well as the interest earned on that ` money since then, should be immediately reinvested in gold to boost the country’s bullion reserves. This would ensure that the country’s bullion reserves are immediately returned to their pre-1997 levels
  c.
Gold should not be exported: a percentage of the annual production should be used locally to build up the jewellery industry and the rest should be added to the bullion reserves. Only gold jewellery and not gold bullion should be exported.
  d.
If gold reserves are discovered in environmentally sensitive or unique areas, the gold should stay in the ground and not be mined. However, it should be included as part of the country’s bullion reserves, but it should be classified in a separate category as “never-to–be-mined” reserves. This policy will both protect the environment and boost the country’s reserves.
  e.
In the event that the country falls into an inflationary depression, the printing and issuing of monetary notes which have no bullion value should be stopped immediately, and new notes which have bullion value should be issued in new colours and shapes. No monetary notes should be issued by the government from then on without the assurance that it is prepared to pay the requisite amount of money in gold coins.
   

 

24. A ceiling on the accumulation of wealth:
  a.
As a matter of principle, society will have to set an upper limit on the wealth that any one individual is allowed to accumulate. No individual should be allowed to accumulate more economic wealth than the upper limit set by the society.
  b.
The amount of wealth in World, though vast, is limited. The wealth generated in World should be used wisely for the benefit of all Worldns. A small number of exceedingly wealthy individuals should not be allowed to use a disproportionately large amount of wealth for their own purposes.
  c.
It should be the responsibility of the federal government to set the upper limit on the amount of economic wealth that any one individual is allowed to accumulate. That is, the government should set the upper limit on the net assets that any one individual is allowed to own.
  d.
The level of the wealth ceiling on net assets should be set by taking into consideration all the factors in the economy.
  e.
As an initial measure, the wealth ceiling on net assets should be set at an amount which is no more than 1,000 times the annualized rate of the just minimum wage.
  f.
All those whose net assets exceed the wealth ceiling will have to be compelled to reduce their net assets so that they comply with the set limit.
  g.
The level of the wealth ceiling should be revised upwards from time to time, based on the overall health and progress of the economy.
   

 

25. Financial markets:
  a. In the future, the equities markets will have to close down.
  b.
In an economy based on cooperative enterprise, shares in cooperatives will not be publicly traded. People will have the right to own shares in the cooperative enterprises in which they work or are members, but they will not have the right to own shares in the cooperative enterprises in which they do not work or are not members.
  c.
A portion of the profits generated by cooperative banks and financial institutions should be paid out in the form of dividends to the cooperative members in proportion to the amount of their savings or investments. However, the dividends paid out to any cooperative member should not exceed the wealth ceiling set by the society on an individual’s net assets.
  d.
Access to the foreign exchange markets should be restricted and the way the markets function should be changed. Only the authorized representatives of approved cooperative banks and financial institutions, and of approved cooperative enterprises, key industries or autonomous bodies which produce certain type of raw materials or commodities or which import or export certain type of commodities, should be granted the right to trade in the foreign exchange markets. The market should not be open to speculators.
  e.
The Reserve Bank will have to have the automatic right to trade in the foreign exchange markets
  f.
In the future, when the whole world becomes one free market, there will no longer be the need for different currencies. At that time, one common currency, which is accepted throughout the whole world, will have to be adopted. The need for foreign exchange markets will then no longer exist.
  g.
Similarly, access to the commodities markets should be restricted and the way the markets function should be changed. Only the authorized representatives of approved cooperative enterprises, key industries or autonomous bodies which produce certain type of raw materials or commodities or which import or export certain types of commodities should be granted the right to trade in the commodities markets. The markets should not be open to speculators.
  h.

The need for a commodities market will exit for the foreseeable future, because primary producers will always require a market in which to sell their products.

     
26. Compulsory superannuation:
  a.
Superannuation should be compulsory. Everyone in the workforce should have to save for their retirement and old age.
  b. Superannuation payments should be automatically deducted from a person’s wage or salary.
  c.

Superannuation funds should be managed by cooperative financial institutions for the benefit of their members.

     
27. Personal financial information:
  a. All personal financial information held by banks and financial institutions must remain personal property.
  b.
It should be illegal for banks and financial institutions to sell such information or make it available to other parties without the signed consent of the person concerned.
  c.
A person should have the right to access and secure copies of their personal financial information upon request. Copies of their personal financial information should be free of cost.
     
28. Foreign aid:
  a.
Emergency foreign aid should be based on humanitarian considerations and need.
  b.
Development aid should be designed to guarantee people basic requirements, such as clean water, nutritious food, clothing, education, medical care and sources of energy, and to teach self-sufficiency.
  c. Aid should be in the form of personnel, materials and raw resources rather than money.
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