November 15, 2006 at 12:45:04

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ACTIVISTS AND ACCOUNTANTS: ABSOLUTE ALLIES

By Carolyn Baker (about the author)     Page 2 of 2 page(s)

opednews.com     Permalink

Economic injustice only results when people sacrifice sustainability for profit. Economic justice means that people create prosperity, not at the expense of others, but for and with others in order to enhance the overall abundance of everyone.

Former Wall St. investment banker and Undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development (and activist), Catherine Austin Fitts, speaks of the Popsicle Index which is the percentage of people in a neighborhood who believe that a child can leave their home and go to the nearest place to get a Popsicle and come back safely. In other words, the Popsicle Index is a quality of life index. The Dow Jones Index, as we know, is supposedly a guide to the financial well being of the American economy. Fifty years ago, the Popsicle Index was very high, and the Dow very low. Today, the Dow fluctuates above and below 10,000 while the Popsicle Index appears to diminish daily. The truly visionary activist comprehends that these two very different indices need each other, and that the ultimate challenge of the current century is not to destroy the Dow, but to work with the accountant to make the Dow and the Popsicle best friends.

The polarization of the worlds of the activist and the accountant is very useful for the predators, but it is not useful for individuals who wish to create a better world for themselves, their families, and their communities. When, not if, the American economy collapses, a great leveling is inevitable. Perhaps when gas is $10 per gallon and weeds are growing in what used to be the parking lot of Walmart because the U.S. is at war with China, our current binary perceptions of sustainability, equity, and investment will not serve us and will jeopardize our very survival. At that point, the activist and the accountant will appreciate the extent to which they need each other's perspective, expertise, and values.
Money, (as well as time and energy), as Julia Mossbridge writes, is a verb, but these resources cannot flow freely for growth, transformation, and love, unless we expand its meaning in our lives and open our eyes to discover that our assumed enemies may be automatic allies.

This article is an excerpt from Carolyn's just-published book, U.S. HISTORY UNCENSORED: What Your High School Textbook Didn't Tell You, available for ordering at her website www.carolynbaker.org where she can also be contacted.

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