Sam and Devin, Here are ideas and links that may be useful, in response to your FloAmerica and Michigan Transformation initiatives...
Over the years, I've been impressed by the following spectrum of reform opportunities. All can help awaken land values in distressed areas. As long as the gains from appreciated land values go in large part to social benefit (helping fund local good causes), there may be prospects for a left-right alignment in support of the following: 1) Free and open source eGovernment modules, aimed at improving business climates in distressed areas (by simplifying business licensing, zoning, and building code approval processes) More: http://www.openworldinstitute.org 2) Land grants -- via transfers of idle municipally-owned properties -- to endow local microscholarship funds for peer learning, online skills acquisition, and certifications More: http://www.entrepreneurialschools.com/land-grants & http://www.entrepreneurialschools.com/microscholarships 3) Lower insurance costs via group purchase of homeowners insurance policies, with additional discounts keyed to level of progress (digitally-recorded) by neighborhood cleanup/fixup and community crime prevention initiatives More: Stimulating Community Enterprise - a 1984 report I did for the Joint Economic Committee of US Congress (contact me if you'd like a copy) 4) Formation of charter schools and virtual ventures that vest students as equity stakeholders, with rewards and prizes linked to peer group progress More: http://j.mp/7Z8m6w 5) Student engagement with local enterprises via work-study projects on removing barriers to their growth (see @anametheus "University of Tomorrow" talk) http://blog.changeyourreality.com/post/858769274/a-university-of-the-future (especially from 17:25 onward) 6) Formation of coops to lower health insurance prices via group purchase, including discounts for documented changes in diet/lifestyle (e.g. the "Safeway Plan" rewarding those who bring body mass index levels below 30) More: http://j.mp/4Ic3a1 7) Reduction of property tax burdens on neighborhoods in step with their assumption of infrastructure/service responsibilities More: http://j.mp/dNriG2 8) Linking of public sector salaries/pensions to the growth rate of the local/regional economy, along the lines of Singapore's 'flexiwage' system. More: http://j.mp/gxZ6XH I'll welcome your thoughts on any elements of this that may be useful. Best, Mark Frazier Openworld.com "Awakening Assets for Good" @openworld PS If you're (still!) interested, other backgrounders on the web are: - [Quora overview} What can we do to incentivize entrepreneurship in DC? http://j.mp/eJiszC - Chapters 3-5 of "New Catalysts for Sustainability" (PDF, Sabre Foundation/Openworld) at http://www.openworld.com/downloadable-reports-and-white/white-paper-1-new-c atalysts-for-sustainability On 3/24/11 11:54 PM, "Samuel Rose" <[email protected]> wrote: >On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Devin <[email protected]> wrote: >> I've brushed up against a lot of the projects you mention but now need >>to >> digest the whole effort and figure out how I can be helpful to it. >>Until >> then I'll keep my comments focused on 'open government.' >> >> The fundamental principle of the type of open government we advocate is >> localism. We need to make it easy for people to deploy their own open >> source systems for common needs like schools and hospitals, and then >>make it >> easy for them to connect their system into a network that shares data >>and >> structures it for easy analysis. The technology platforms already >>exist in >> the form of open source CMS's, and most of the components exist too. >>They >> just haven't' been organized into complete systems that people can >>consume, >> they haven't been documented appropriately, and they haven't been >>connected >> together in a network. Most important of all, the story of how the >>system >> could work hasn't been successfully told, because it was, we'd be >>hearing >> politicians talking about open source as a solution to the budget >>crisis. >> >> We're calling this project FLOAmerica (free, libre, open source >>America.) >> More info at floamerica.org. Can you help me use your systems to >>advocate >> and advance this project? >> > > >I agree with much if what you say above. We're taking this approach >seriously here in Michigan, USA, and we've been discussing our >approach here: >http://p2pfoundation.net/Michigan:_The_Transformation_Manifesto > > >-- >-- >Sam Rose >Future Forward Institute and Forward Foundation >Tel:+1(517) 639-1552 >Cel: +1-(517)-974-6451 >skype: samuelrose >email: [email protected] >http://futureforwardinstitute.com >http://forwardfound.org >http://hollymeadcapital.com >http://p2pfoundation.net >http://socialmediaclassroom.com > >"The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human >ambition." - Carl Sagan > >-- >You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >"CooperationCommons" group. >To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >[email protected]. >For more options, visit this group at >http://groups.google.com/group/cooperationcommons?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CooperationCommons" group. 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