[P2P-F] Fwd: Thomas Greco's 2011 Summer newsletter

Tue Jul 5 18:15:44 CEST 2011

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Thomas Greco <thg at mindspring.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 10:38 AM
Subject: My 2011 Summer newsletter
To: Thomas Greco <thg at mindspring.com>

**

*2011—Summer Newsletter*

*The long silence*

It’s been a long time since I sent out my previous newsletter in
mid-February. That doesn’t mean I’ve been inactive—quite the contrary, I’ve
just been too busy to document all the things I’ve been doing or to compile
the list of important links and resources I want you to know about. This
edition is intended to remedy that.

I returned to the U.S. from Asia in mid-February for a four month stint, but
am now back in Thailand for an indefinite period. While in America, much of
my time and energy was taken up with preparing and delivering some new
presentations, providing media interviews, and trying in vain to keep up
with email and other correspondence. The first few weeks in Tucson were
devoted to resting up, reconnecting with friends and colleagues, and taking
care of some personal business details.

By the middle of April, I had completed a new presentation which elaborates
the themes that I began expounding more than a year ago about societal
metamorphosis and the “Butterfly economy,” and added more material about
“new finance” to my perennial topic of alternative exchange.

*The North American tour*

Long-time friend and associate, Les Squires, made it possible for me to
venture up to Colorado for a few days in April to conduct a series of
presentations, discussions, and consultations. Highlights of that trip
included my presentation titled, *Money and Finance in the* *Emerging
Butterfly Economy, *which I delivered* *to the Highland City Club in
Boulder, and another presentation on *The Butterfly Economy *at the
Louisville Public Library. These were co-sponsored by various Transitions
groups and individuals and will eventually be made available on my website
http://beyondmoney.net.

I had a rewarding but exhausting trip back east in May, with family visits
sandwiched in between presentations in Florida and Toronto. The first of
these was a workshop that I was asked to provide for members of the
Financial Planning Association at their annual retreat. I titled it, *Financial
Planning in the Emerging Butterfly Economy: Realities, Trends and
Discontinuities.* You can view the power point slide show at
http://beyondmoney.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/greco-fpa-powerpointrevpost.pps.
I have a recording of my narrative which I would like to combine with the
slide show but I’ll need some help to do that. If anyone has the skills and
the time to work with me on that, I’d greatly appreciate it.

 The hardest part was the last 4 days in Toronto where I gave a lecture at
the MINT film festival on the first day, two TV interviews on the second,
and workshops on the third and fourth days, with a lot of consultations in
between. That trip was hosted by Glen Alan who, as the new director, has put
renewed vigor into the Toronto Dollar currency project. Glen, who happens to
be a musician and operates a professional recording studio, is
well-connected, very effective, and a fountain of energy.

 All of the Toronto proceedings were professionally recorded and are in the
process of being edited. Alan and Ron Elmy are putting together a DVD that
will be available from The MINT Film Festival website in less than a month.
Watch for it on http://mintff.org. You can download a short video teaser now
at http://www.ronelmy.com/files/thg.zip.

 Already posted are my interview with Frank Touby (at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvCruoYcN4Q), and my interview with Hugh
Reilly (at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7nOYCRHjOY&feature=player_detailpage).

My particular vision, interests and expertise are, I think, fairly well
expressed in these interviews.

I’m hopeful that my Toronto visit and the follow-up activities will have a
far reaching positive impact.

 *Funding the Common Good *

*CREW*

Sometime toward the end of last year I mentioned an exciting new project
called, CREW, the purpose of which is to provide a perpetual pool of capital
to finance both for-profit and non-profit enterprises that help to create
resilient, sustainable communities. It is one instance of an emerging
phenomenon called *crowd sourcing* or *crowd funding.* CREW is not intended
to provide any direct personal gain. Money we put in is not a loan, nor is
it an ownership share, but a gift that is intended to be a permanent
investment in the common good.

 I have great expectations for this initiative, and as a member of the CREW
Founder's Circle, I invite you to join *my *CREW. We will together decide
how the funds in our joint stewardship account will be invested. Just go to
http://www.CREWfund.org/tomg, watch the short video, and click on the orange
*Join Now* button.

 *Recent Posts to my Website*

For those of you who do not regularly follow my posts, I’d like to highlight
a few especially important ones. You can be notified of new posts by
following me (tomazgreco) on Twitter.

   - *The war against the middle class. *It is ever more apparent that there
   is a deliberate policy to impoverish and disempower the middle class. As far
   back as 2006, billionaire Warren Buffet was quoted in the New York Times as
   saying, “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich
   class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” More recently, Senator Bernie
   Sanders, in a speech to his Senate colleagues*, **plainly described the
   war that is being waged against the middle class by the super-wealthy elite
   and their minions in Congress**.* Find it at this post,
   http://beyondmoney.net/2011/03/28/what-happened-to-class-war-in-america/,
   and search “Sanders” on my site for additional material on the subject. This
   is not simply an American war, but one that is being waged globally, as we
   see from the austerity that is being imposed on Ireland, Greece, and other
   “developed” coutries.

One aspect of that war is the ongoing shifting of the tax burden from
corporations and wealthy individuals onto the backs of the poor and
middle-class. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich explains that part of it
in a 2 minute video. See it at,
http://beyondmoney.net/2011/06/20/the-truth-about-the-economy/.

   - *Community.* The answer to that situation lies in mobilizing our
   energies and resources to build community. See my post on that at,
   http://beyondmoney.net/2011/04/29/coping-caring-and-building-community/.
   - *Libya.* Regarding the ongoing assault by NATO forces against Libya,
   there is no doubt a hidden agenda. Hmm, what might that be? See my posts at
   http://beyondmoney.net/2011/04/07/what-is-the-truth-about-libya/ and
   http://beyondmoney.net/2011/04/08/money-and-oil-the-agenda-in-libya-becomes-more-evident/.

   - *Cashless Exchange Coming of Age.* And here’s an important article I
   wrote in response to a request from Green America that was posted on
   their Green America Exchange
blog<http://www.greenbusinessnetwork.org/daily-trade-blog/item/219-stop-chasing-the-buck-and-change-your-luck-1-of-4.html>.
   It describes what I see as the necessary conditions for the cashless
   exchange revolution to go viral. My article, *Stop Chasing the Buck and
   Change Your Luck<http://beyondmoney.net/2011/04/04/stop-chasing-the-buck-and-change-your-luck/>
   *, can be found here:
   http://beyondmoney.net/2011/04/04/stop-chasing-the-buck-and-change-your-luck/.
   **

   - *Inflation*. About the inflation threat, you should read this,
   http://beyondmoney.net/2011/03/29/fed-buying-bonds-hyper-inflation-on-the-way/.

*Miscellany *

   - I’ve written a new article, *Reclaiming the Credit Commons, the Key to
   a Peaceful and Happy Society**,* that will be included in an anthology
   tentatively titled, *Self-Sustaining Abundance: The Commons, Beyond
   Market and State*. The book project is being supported by The Heinrich
   Boell Foundation of Germany, and is being co-edited by Silke Helfrich and
   David Bollier. It will be published early next year in English, German and
   Spanish.

   - One of my published articles will be included in the upcoming anthology
   *What Comes After Money?* which will be published later this year by
   Evolver Editions (http://www.evolvereditions.com) in partnership with
   North Atlantic Books, and will be distributed by Random House.

   - The Chinese translation of my book, *The End of Money and the Future of
   Civilization*, is now in print.

   - One of the most interesting and useful books I've read this year
is *PayPal
   Wars.* You can find my comments about it, *Pay Pal Wars—Some Important
   Lessons for Entrepreneurs,* on my blog,
   http://beyondmoney.net/2011/02/10/pay-pal-wars%e2%80%94some-important-lessons-for-entrepreneurs/

   - Finally, I also recommend that you view this inspiring video,
   http://tomazgreco.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/nick-vujicic-no-arms-no-legs-no-worries/
   Next time you think life is hard, remember Nick.

I'm reassessing how I want to spend my time and energy from here on out. I'd
like to be a little less busy, and direct the bulk of my attention to
aspects of my work that are most creative, enjoyable, and effective. I'll be
cutting back on correspondence and lecturing, and emphasizing consultations
and collaborations with groups and individuals working on projects that show
promise of making major breakthroughs toward interest-free cashless trading,
equitable finance, and economic democracy.

May we all find the courage to do what needs to be done, in a joyful spirit
and with love in our hearts,

Thomas

 Mobile phone (Thailand): +66 84 373 5645
Skype/Twitter name: tomazgreco

-- 
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