Congrats to the Greens elected in Virginia!

Congratulations are in order for the Virginia Green Party members who won their election contests a few weeks ago! Greens provide dedicated, values-driven, and accountable representation for Virginia in a way that the Democrats and Republicans cannot. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2011

Contact
Miriam Gennari
Press Secretary
Cell: 703-309-1600 / (H) 703-549-1422
Email: press@vagreenparty.org

Green and Qualified!

With development on the rise and plans around Virginia to start producing more carbon based energy at home, citizens concerned about the condition of our states soil and water gained ground this November.  Greens will influence improvements of Virginia environment serving on the The Virginia Soil and Water Board. The Board is made up of elected Directors to represent most  communities in Virginia.  Many of the values and concerns of the organization, which gets it funding from federal, state, local and grant monies, mirror those of the Virginia Green Party. Directors, serve in non-partisan and unpaid positions, working on behalf of their Districts and the Commonwealth.
 
On November 8, 2011 long time Green, Chris Simmons took the majority of votes for the Loudoun Soil & Water Conservations District. Chris is a known leader among his peers in both parties, but the fact that the majority of votes were cast for him is telling.  Elected for a second term, District Vice-Chair and Treasurer, Simmons has spent his last term  great deal educating Virginians about the important work done by the organization. His commitment to preserving and conserving Virginia natural resources, as well as educating citizens is what makes him so influential in his community. He hopes to focus his energy this term on addressing the rampant polluting of Virginia’s  watersheds before delicate ecosystems are irreversibly altered. Some answers says Simmons are easy, “It starts with "Conservation:  Every body, every where, everyday" 

Joining Simmons as Directors for the next four years is Giannina Ienco. Ms. Ienco won a seat on the Tri-County/City Board which is based in Fredericksburg. Although Giannina entered the race at the last minute, she managed to run a successful write-in campaign reaching many voters in the City of Fredericksburg. Giannina's decision to run was not an easy one, "With a full-time job, traveling husband and two young children at home, I was concerned that I would not have the resources needed to fulfill a director position. However, with support and encouragement from my fellow Virginia Greens, I decided that I wanted to pursue a more active role in protecting and conserving the natural resources of our community for future generations."Giannnia spent 11 years working on environmental issue for the US government. Green Party member, Ira Richards who won his bid for Warren County Soil and Water Director brings with him needed professional experience in
sustainable agriculture. “I am very pleased that I will now be able to apply my 30 years consulting experience in soil and water conservation to local issues," says Richards.

Tom Yager, Vriginia Green Party Co-Chair has been scouring the state for active Greens who would like to help in a constructive ways to mitigate the damage being caused business and development.  Yager explains that every diverse region comes with it’s own unique set of challenges.  Finding people who are not only informed but active in their communities is not always easy.  “I look for people who care enough to sacrifice some personal time for Virginia’s greater good. There are plenty of people out there who will find the tough decision to run easier if they know that the Virginia Green Party is behind them.”

Individuals interested in learning more about the role the Greens play in the promoting environmental sustainability should contact their local chapter.   Additional information is available online at http://www.vagreenparty.org 
 
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The Green Party of Virginia is the electoral arm of the Green movement within Virginia. Recognized by the Commonwealth’s State Board of Elections, the GPVA consists of affiliated locals and “at-large” members.  The GPVA is accredited by the Green Party of the United States.

The GPVA provides and promotes leadership in its 10 Key Values, including nonviolence, social justice, environmentalism, grassroots democracy, decentralization, community-based economics, sustainability, feminism, diversity, and personal & global responsibility. 
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Questions from the peanut gallery...

In my last post, I asked for questions or topics that people would like to know my Green Party perspective on. This was also sent into Twitter-land. A gent who follows me on twitter, let's call him "ThoughtfulRINO"* asked me two rather tongue-in-cheek questions. At least that's what I first thought. But then I realized they are not so tongue-in-cheek after all. The two questions speak to common misperceptions of the Green Party, and illustrate values and policy areas that we need to communicate more effectively about.

Ok, now on to the questions. First, a disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post and all other posts are solely my own. They are not official statements from any Green Party organization or election campaign. Whew! I feel better, don't you?

ThoughtfulRINO: @DarylNorthrop what do you guys love more: taxing the rich or cutting defense?

Misconception about Greens: We hate the rich and we hate the military. My opinon as a Green: I would love to be rich some day, and I honor and respect our soldiers - for they have pledged their life to defend the nation and me from harm.

Taxing the wealthy or cutting defense spending are meaningless actions considered on their own. They are only budgetary and economic tactics. Tactics are generally without political orientation. A Green Party strategy of fiscal responsibility, peace, and social justice might feature the tactics of taxing the rich or cutting defense spending. Over the past 30 years, income taxes for the wealthiest earners have fallen dramatically, corporate tax rates have fallen, and capital gain taxes have fallen, while defense spending (and other government spending) has risen to levels not seen since WWII. It is not a coincidence that social programs have been cut, the tax burden on the poor and the middle class has increased (often in the form of sales tax hikes, property tax increases, auto registration fees, gas taxes, etc).

Now, the question is What Is To Be Done? The answer is to first identify the American values that we seek to apply to the situation. Fairness, Equity, Respect for Future Generations. In a nation that has a large budget deficit, an ambitous foreign policy of leadership, and pressing infrastructure needs at home - everyone should pay their fair share in taxes, from the poorest individual to the wealthiest, and from the small businessman to wealthy multi-national corporations that have facilities here. Early in the 20th century, the progressive income tax was implemented. As a Green, I support the progressive income tax. Why? Because it shifts the tax burden on to those who benefit most from society and those who have the most ability to pay without suffering ill-consequences. Further, a progressive income tax is needed in a modern capitalist economy due to the tendency of wealth to accumulate in a very small segment of society. In order to function properly, a capitalist economy must have a measure of reinvestment of income from the rich to the middle class and the poor. Some may argue that taxing the wealthy at a higher percentage than the middle class or the poor is unfair, but lets look at the historical record - the US has taxed the wealthy at a much higher rate than the middle class and the poor for nearly 100 years. We also have the wealthiest nation on the planet, with a large middle class, and more millionaires than we know what to do with. However, during the past 30 years, the tax rate on the wealthy has been cut by nearly 50%. Not coincidentally, more and more wealth has accumulated in to the hands of the few, and that means that more and more political power has accumulated there as well.

Is that fair? Is that equality? Is that healthy for our democracy and our economy? No.

ThoughtfulRINO: @DarylNorthrop i've got another for your green friends: if you could boycott or tax into oblivion 1 corporation, which one would it be?

Misconception: Greens hate big business and think all corporations are bad and evil and should be run out of business. My opinion as a Green: business should be conducted in a way that honors our values of fair trade, respects the environment, and treats employees with decency and dignity.

Another good question. But, punishing corporations is another action, or tactic, that does not have much meaning without context. Corporations can either be operated within the bounds of the law, and in an ethically positive manner. Or, they can be operated outside the law, exercise unhealthy influence over the government, engage in non-competitive or monopolisitic business behavior, and cause severe environmental damage. Which type of business would you rather buy from, be employed by, or have located in your community? The answer is obvious - the lawful, ethical, environmentally respectful company. However, we hear daily of companies that lie to their shareholders, deceive the financial markets through phony sales and profit reports, damage the environment, and treat their workers inhumanely.

Businesses, large and small, should operate within the bounds of the law, and in a way that builds real value in the economy, which is part of the larger society. Companies that do break the law, pollute the environment excessively, deliberately build dangerous goods, and demean their workers should be punished in a way that stops the destructive behavior and corrects their future actions. The value in effect here is accountability. Business and the economy in general do not operate in a vacuum devoid of values, morals, ethics, and effects on the society in general. My high school macro-economics teacher summed it up simply when he said that the economy is made up of land/environment, labor/workers, and capital. If you degrade or damage any one of those components, you damage the economy and the society in general.

So thank you for the questions, even the tongue-and-cheek ones. Keep 'em coming!

*The whole "RINO" reference is an inside joke. For those that don't know, RINO stands for Republican In Name Only, and is generally used by conservative and reactionary members of the GOP to deride more moderate conservatives who dare to vote in a non-ideological manner, and that apply commonsense along with conservatism when legislating.

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Daryl Northrop

Green vs Greed - The Green Party economic alternative

If you are over the age of 20, then you have lived through the following cycle:

Recession (1991-1993)

Economic Boom (1993-2000)

Recession (2001-2002)

Economic Boom (2003-2008)

Recesssion (2009 to present)

See a pattern here? You should. It is the classic boom/bust cycle of capitalism. Rather than get into a tedious debate over whether or not capitalism is good/bad/evil, let us just say that this boom/bust cycle is intrinsic to capitalism, and if you have a capitalist system, then you ought to be on the lookout for this cycle and the economic damage it causes.

So the alternative to continual enabling of the boom/bust cycle of the past 2 decades (and indeed 200yrs of American economic history) is to embrace a new definition of real wealth, and consider carefully what we truly value in our society. Is it tech bubbles, and phony real-estate booms? Or is it something else - the value of hard work, knowledge, expertise, and personal fulfillment?

An excellent source for new economic ideas is from David Korten's presentation at 2010 Pacific Northwest Regional Gathering.

Some great highlights are:

The Green Party begins not with an ideology, not with a quest for political power, but with a set of ten positive values that align with the needs of our time and frame a vision of the world of peace, justice, and environmental vibrancy for which most psychologically healthy humans have longed for millennia. These 10 values are: (1) Grassroots Democracy, 2) Social Justice and Equal Opportunity, 3) Ecological Wisdom, 4) Non-Violence, 5) Decentralization, 6. Community-Based Economics and Economic Justice, 7) Feminism and Gender Equity, 8) Respect for Diversity, 9) Personal & Global Responsibility, 10) Future Focus and Sustainability.

Our current economic system advances exactly the opposite of each of these values. We need to replace the defective system with a new system that honors these universal human values.

As Wall Street so clearly demonstrates, capitalism seeks monopoly control of every aspect of daily life to avoid market discipline and uses its financial power to circumvent democracy and hold politicians hostage to Wall Street interests in disregard of the interests of the electorate. Far from being the champion of markets and democracy, capitalism is the mortal enemy of both.

Far from facing a choice between capitalism and socialism, we face a seamless consolidation of economic and political power in a Wall Street-Washington axis dedicated to the further consolidation of its power beyond public accountability.

A Threefold strategy:

1. Change the defining stories of the mainstream culture. It is a simple, but rarely noted truth. Every transformational social movement begins with a conversation promoted through education and media outreach that challenges a prevailing cultural story and ultimately displaces it with a new story of unrealized possibility. The civil rights movement changed the story on race. The environmental movement changed the story about the human relationship to nature. The women’s movement changed the story on gender. Our current task is to change the prevailing stories about the nature of wealth, the purpose of the economy, our human nature, and the path to prosperity.
   
   The old story would have us believe that money is wealth. That the purpose of the economy is to make money. That it is our human nature to be individualistic, materialistic, greedy, competitive, violent. And that unleashing the unrestrained pursuit of individual greed is the path to universal prosperity. It takes only a moment’s reflection to realize that each of these ideas is false and morally bankrupt. Together these story elements constitute the foundation of false and morally bankrupt economic theories and policies that lead to terminal species failure.
   
   Our common future depends on expanding public awareness that money is only a number. That destroying real wealth to make money is an act of insanity. That it is our mature human nature to care and share. That unrestrained pursuit of individual greed in disregard of the needs of others is a sign of deep psychological dysfunction and presents a threat to the well-being of all. Positive action necessarily begins with new stories.
2. Create a new economic reality from the bottom up, as millions of people the world over are doing in their efforts to rebuild local economies and communities.  They are supporting locally owned human-scale businesses and family farms, developing local financial institutions, reclaiming farm and forest lands, changing land use policies to concentrate population in compact communities that reduce automobile dependence, retrofitting their buildings for energy conservation, and otherwise working toward local self-reliance in food, energy, and other basic essentials. This is the work for example of the Transition Towns Movement. I serve on the board of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), which serves as a support system for such efforts in the United States and Canada.
3. Change the rules: Current law and public policy largely favor the self-serving and deeply destructive corporate-led global economy. That works well for the interests of big money. People and planet are better served by rules and policies that support local control and protect community interests. To change the rules, however, is necessary first to build the necessary political support through work at local levels to change the defining stories and demonstrate their application by building a new reality from the bottom up. As we are seeing about the country, rule changes also best start at the local level with action by local governments that are close to the real life concerns of people and place.

We already have a Green Party consensus on the framing vision and agenda; we simply need to boil it down to a coherent story that connects with the concerns at the fore of the public consciousness:  jobs and money.

Jobs and money are entry points to virtually all the issues central to the Green party vision. Our immediate priority should be to reframe the debate on jobs and money as an entry point to a broader discussion about economic policy options and the need for fundamental system transformation.

I hope you take the time to read his entire article (I've put about 1/2 of it here). The economy of our nation should serve the needs of the people vs the people serving the needs of Wall Street and its servants in Washington, DC.

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Daryl Northrop