MEDP – Mitigating Endemic Democratic Problems

Abstract

 

As macroeconomic tools are failing in the current global economic crisis (Stiglitz, 2009), microeconomic tools take on an even more important role. The author argues that as macroeconomic instruments are disconnected from individual workers – yet affects billions of them, microeconomic instruments are needed to provide social justice and protection to these same individuals at the mercy of the macro economy. The argument is briefly presented by discussing three technical assistance tools the ILO uses in conjunction with various governments, organizations, and civil society initiatives world-wide.

 

 

Introduction

 

Lord Mark Malloch Brown reminded us of the necessary changes to be made (during his address to the ILO concerning the preparation for the G20 Summit on stability, growth, and jobs) to financial instruments in order to mitigate the ill effects of an under-regulated global economy. He did not, due to obvious time restraints, specify in more specific detail the nature of these macroeconomic instruments (removed from mortgages) to be discussed at the upcoming G20 Summit in London.

            It is thus, perhaps necessary, to write regarding the importance of using more recent microfinancial instruments as realistic and viable tools for the changing sphere of economics. Whereas macrofianancial instruments operate on a level often disconnected to the individual worker but still impacting said worker; microfinances deal on the individual level and can help lessen the harsh effects of the international economy, natural disasters, and personal loss.

            The ILO had said it quite rightly 90 years ago: social justice is not merely an economic tool, but rather an instrument of peace. Where a person’s dignity is taken away, there could be anger. When a person has been committed an injustice, violence may erupt to right the wrong. Microfinances commensurate with the Decent Work Agenda and the conventions and recommendations which compose the body of the International Labour Standards can help individuals maintain their dignity and stave of abuses as they will not be so desperate as to succumb to those preying circumstances.

            It is with this general reasoning that the argument begins as to why microfinances should be discussed at length in London this year. A brief analysis of certain tools, their benefits, and general behaviour in the global economy will contribute to this point.

 

 

Micro-loans

 

Purpose: Provide accessible credit typically to individuals living near or below the poverty line. However, micro-loans can extend to co-ops and other bodies.

 

Benefit: This credit provides more opportunity for individuals wishing to buy means of production (materials) to enhance their trade, etc. and is a strong tool to break the poverty cycle. Credit could also be used, albeit in a slightly riskier fashion, to invest in other businesses and or co-ops.

 

Behaviour: Credit at such small fiscal levels can contribute to national GDP (especially in developing countries) if it is accessible to a great number of people and responsibly lent. Barring the excesses of abusive or non-sustainable lending practices, a well regulated micro-loan system present in many countries could in fact theoretically support aggregate demand in the global economy – at least for basic or raw materials

 

Micro-Insurance

 

Purpose: To provide social protection to workers near or beneath the poverty line. Social protection in this instance can be defined basically as: insurance for crop failure, disability or death, and unemployment.

 

Benefit: Micro-insurance allows for a certain amount of psychological stress to be lifted from the minds of the poor. The knowledge that even if all fails, support will be there to get one from non-productivity to productivity, which allocates a degree of mental peace and lessens the callous effects of neoliberal economics.

 

Behaviour: The role played by insurance at that level in the global economy is not as marginal as it perhaps appears. Workers at the lowest level of the economy are the ‘innocent poor’ that are most affected by unjust economic practices at the global level. These billions are pushed to extremes when the economy turns and without insurance they often lose their productivity as they are faced moreso with the task of surviving rather than producing. Thus micro-insurance helps to keep these individuals productive in the sense of human capital (if not forced to survive, but yet no work is to be done, thinking and human ingenuity has greater chances of ensuing and thus continuing productivity).

 

Micro-Savings

 

Purpose: To accumulate capital for a variety of reasons.

 

Benefit: There are a host of benefits related to savings. For poor individuals some practical benefits are (inter alia), capital accumulation creates a fiscal buffer if hard times should fall; savings allow for investment in business, children, or personal development; it creates more capital; and it provides more economic flexibility. Savings also has the potential to spark growth in infrastructure, culture, and protect women and children from the worst forms of labour.

 

Behaviour: Although savings are currently considered a bane for the short-term recovery (by certain economists, this is not the author’s view) of the economy, they do have positive long-term impacts for the economy (Stiglitz, 2009). The most notable role savings plays in national and global economies is that it allows individuals to transform monetary capital into productive assets which can in turn produce more capital and continue the consumptive cycle. Poor people the world around know that it is dangerous to live beyond one’s means. Is this perhaps a lesson to (re)learn for economic giants?

 

 

Conclusion

 

It is at this stage inferable that microfinancial instruments do play an important role in national and international economies. This stipulation supports the point that microfinances should be afforded discussion at the upcoming G20 Summit in London. Their central importance to upholding the practice of Decent Work and mitigating the harsh effects of neoliberal economics provides a better condition of life to many millions of people and has the potential to extend to all poor workers. The fact that macroeconomic tools are disengaged from the individual and typically do not support social justice, different financial alternatives must be sought out.

As Lord Brown said, new economic instruments must be devised so as to make sure a crisis of this type is avoided in the future. Microeconomic instruments are here and they are new. It certainly seems like the time for macroeconomies to take on their use and make the most of their benefits.

 

 

Works Cited

 

Brown, Lord Mark Malloch. “Speech Presented at ILO,” March 5, 2009.

 

Stiglitz, Joseph. “Speech Presented at ILO,” March 12, 2009.

An article which I am just about set to publish concerns a critique of ideologies combating with each other. It is based on Eraclitus’ (pre-Socratic) notion that everything operates in a state of antagonisms and conflict. He offered an interesting perspective in his philosophy resembling somewhat of a yin and yang route as he argued that although two bodies may be in conflict, they do so in unity and harmony. Some examples would include the Sun and Moon, or spring and fall, summer and winter, etc.  They are opposites of each other but all serve a useful, and practical, function.

Lately in politics, this opposites approach in political/economic ideologies is taking shape via Third Way policies.  Although capitalism and socialism have been used in a variety of ways to battle each other’s ill effects whilst trying to maximize the benefits of each ideology for well over 300 years (socialist ideas were not invented by Marx, simply contextualized for the industrial period), it does not need to be that way. Eraclitus’ philosophies and Third Way policies indicate that the practical and useful foundations of any ideology can be used together as situations demand.

There is no need to stick to an “all or nothing” ideological perspective. This behaviour foments animosity between people of different inclinations and can lead to a breakdown of communication, cooperation, and perhaps even spark violence.

This new-ish perspective can be used by CEOs or government leaders to determine whether or not they are neglecting positive practices from other ideologies simply due to an entrenched (and perhaps no longer reasonable) policy approach.  The EU and many Middle East, South, East, and South-East Asian economies are implementing social mechanisms to care for their employees/citizens but not at the expense of capitalistic viability.

Careful application of capitalistic practices with social benefits will mediate the harsher sides of capitalism whilst keeping socialism realistic, productive, and viable. Why can the citizens of Sweden or Saudi Arabia get to go to university anywhere in the world for ‘free’ (paid through taxes). Why do citizens of France, Canada, UK, etc. get free health care and in some instances dental? With practical and responsible applications of basic ideological foundations which may prove useful for certain societies or situations, a business or government can increase their employee/citizen happiness. I personally do not think that sticking to one ideology for the sake of it makes any particular sense.

– Jean-Paul

It has recently come to my attention (via an accountability ethics study for governments conducted by MEDP’s College of Masters) that the notion of “accountable accounting” in businesses, organizations, and governments is absolutely necessary if there is a sincere interest about reaching a goal or profit.

Transparency (easy to track/paper, digital trail) in accounting methods ensures that a CEO, manager, MP/MC, investor, citizen, employee, etc. can accurately and confidently understand where money has come from, where it is kept, what profit/service it is making by being kept, and where (by whom/what, why)  it is being spent. At least that is the most basic goal of accountable accounting.

However, there are ways for accountants to – pardon the colloquialism – ‘cook the books’ in a legal manner by simply arranging budgets/procurement/spending in a way that gives the reader a different impression of what is actually happening financially.  It is important to always have an internal/external auditor to verify accounting, and it pays to ensure that the accountant(s) does not know the auditor(s). Furthermore, by staying accountable in accounting, if anything does come up, solid evidence will allow for criminal proceedings to begin unhampered due to your triplicate and meticulous record keeping habit (keep one copy for self, one copy for public, one copy in administrative/project file).

If that rather basic level is achieved, then a perhaps more arduous task is ultimately necessary. Spending must serve a purpose whether you are a CEO, Prime Minister, or deparment/branch/project manager. Recently (in the Paris and Rome conventions concerning effective aid processes) aid money is increasingly targeting developing countries’ programs, peaceful grassroots organizations originating from the culture/society of the country receiving aid, and most importantly, financial feedback regarding effectiveness is conducted in a timely manner. Books, even in aid giving, must be balanced. By asking the basic questions below as often possible, this next step will become easier and the synergy between spending and achieving will create a clearer network.

• What did we spend on?
• Why did we spend this money on that particular project/feature?
• How has the money been used?
• What was/is the overall/current  impact?
• Is there an area that requires improvement, less or more money?
• How can we make spending more effective?

Ultimately, if accounting is based on transparency and accountability, and the accountant(s) work is kept honest with timely (and transparent) auditing, then a spending analysis can be done in full confidence.  It continues to be a wonder for me as to why many governments at all tiers do not correspond this kind of accounting ethic to its citizens, or why transnational corporations/financial institutions can so greatly affect the international economy with irresponsible behaviour. We have useful tools to ensure – this promises to be the final colloquialism – more ‘bang for our buck’.

It could be that governments and multinational companies/organizations are simply too large for a central administrative system to appropriately manage finances. However, I personally think that is something of a lame excuse. Why build a big house if you can’t keep the draft out? Over 200 years ago Alexander Hamilton (US Federalist) wrote that managing the budget of the nascent US government was a difficult task: namely, that is was hard to keep track of money (taxes, tarrifs, etc.). In many instances a similar argument can be made today for both government and business. We need new methods to manage money at whatever largesse they may be found in. Perhaps using accountable accounting tied in with ICTs can finally solve Hamilton’s dilemma.

MEDP’s researchers are exploring this possibility. We are also accepting volunteers (undergrads, postgrads, and graduates) who majored in ICTs to help our policy branch get to the bottom of this and come out with a practical methodology. If interested, please visit med-p.org and contact us with your details quoting “ICTs Accounting Study.”

Legend:

• MP = Member of Parliament
• MC = Member of Congress
• ICTs = Information and Communication Technologies

– Jean-Paul

I suppose this question has been one of the ages. There comes a time when a person is tired of thinking and wanting to act, or tired of acting and wanting to think. Both scenarios succumb to the same conclusions: in each, the player feels futile.  Suddenly the ability of the dramatis persona to stop violence occurring to innocents is no where near in our hands and no matter how hard we work – or wish, or pray – there is no way to protect them.

At night, I lie awake feeling helpless to protect the children, women and men being abused by carnal evils; in the morning, I despair over the paper wrought tidings of terrifying crimes against humanity in nearly all quarters of the earth; at midday, I cringe over the news of humans acting violently toward each other and the natural environment; in the evening, my heart reaches out to the poor and poorest of this earth who haven’t a scrap of what I take for granted; and at night the process begins anew.

Only the question remains: how to stop war?

Written history, for the most part, has been settled by violence. Civil wars, battles for independence, battles of oppression, international wars for a myriad of reasons. Why? We have the means to settle disputes through reason and peace, respecting the value and utter sanctity of human, animal, insect, and plant lives. This last line does hark of Jainism and it is nonetheless rooted in a fundamental reasoning that humans have the ability to set aside violence and solve disputes through other means. But history, art, and philosophy have been over all of this already. It turns out that humans have complex psyches which are affected by – inter alia – pride, group mentality, and nationalistic/cultural/political fervor.

Knowing that our own mentalities are probably the primal cause of violence, how can we stop war? We can’t re-wire ourselves.  It would be amazing to have superpowers to defend the weak, the abused, the poor, the innocent…but then that would be above the law, but what is law during a war of atrocities?

Perhaps the answer lies in the might of the international community, which is arguably the ultimate collective of governments. This I currently highly doubt due to the performance of said communities during many episodes (Burma relief after Tsunami, ethnic cleansing after Vietnam War, ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, ethnic cleansing in Burma, human rights abuses in Tibet, failure to uphold the rule of law in Somalia, failure to stop war in the DRC, etc.).

Or does it lie in the knowledge of individuals that are engaging in violence?  What kind of person hurts a child, woman, or man that has done nothing to harm them (obviously not legitimizing violence except in the circumstances of self-defense)? So much violence depends on context too…pedophiles are a war against children, rapists a war against women and men, ethnic cleansing a war against a people. How can it stop?

I think we can learn from some of our more collective leaning fellow creatures. What do ants do if there are several massive obstacles that need overcoming? They work together, in great numbers. Perhaps this is the path that needs to be taken. Humans must have the knowledge to know how to of course which imparts the necessity of education for all (universal and free preferably).

So if this is the method to stop war, I beg humanity of this:

- If you see a child, woman, or man being abused online or in person, please report it to the police without delay.

- If you are afraid of a different culture, please get to know it and not destroy it.

- If you see a forest being cut down illegally, please stand up to preserve it.

- If you are dumping chemicals or garbage because you are too poor or unwilling to pay for it, look up how to safely dispose of it or ask for assistance from civil society or government.

- If your country is entering a war with another, or seems to be, stand up for peace and demand that non-violent action be taken by voicing your opinion to government, media, foreign embassies, and anyone who will listen.

A list like this could continue being written until my hands, bent and cripple, could type no more, and there would still be more to write. Please, remember this line from Edmund Burke if nothing else: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is if good [people] do nothing.

– Jean-Paul

There are currently two major types of terrorism found internationally. The first being non-hegemonic which means a group or individual that has no cohesive culture or class in particular but still commits terrorism to gain an end or lash out at abuses, etc. Non-hegemonic terrorism is typically the sort found in Al-Quaeda, the Taliban, and many other smaller terrorist groups. By attaching a piece of territory and a distinct group of people (whether culture or class), you’ve got hegemony. Hegemonic terrorism is the sort found in Georgia, the southern Philippines, Kurdish Iraq and Kurdish Turkey, as well as Corsica and other countries in the world with popularly disputed government legitimacy over the right to rule.  There exists, as well, a middle ground which can be a mix of the two.

Essentially, governments which have trouble in these areas can use two methods the help mitigate them. The first with non-hegemonic terrorism is to work to build the legitimacy of government and heighten trust of the government in their citizens. It is extremely important to recognize the sovereignty of the people within borders and represent their needs to the greatest extent. Without representing their needs, such opens the doors for other groups to supplant government and gain the trust and confidence of populations they are aiding. Hegemonic terrorism is different yet. The key therein is to recognize whether or not the population(s) living in the disputed territory is in majority wanting to separate. By borrowing from the Canadian referendum which gave citizens of Quebec the choice to separate or not, a country can ascertain the level of division within the disputed territory. It would then be essential to act as an arbiter and partner in developing a stable nation which is not conflicted with its minority populations but rather integrates them as citizens. Without doing this, there is risk of civil war.

These previous descriptions are both pretty condensed and simplified but they are here to give you a notion of what MEDP’s second international program is about. The International Association of Islamic Peoples Against Terrorism (IAIPAT) is a proposed international body that will allow governments with a history or terrorist attacks and supranational challenges to work collectively by sharing experiences and building stronger networks for greater communication between meetings. The reason “Islamic People” are the focus of the body is due to the fact that most terrorism occurs within Islamic cultures and societies. Whether this fact has to do with the long history of abuse many Islamic societies had to deal with during the rise of Europe and the “West” or the current state of inequality between cultures, it is still in the interest of the people of Islam to work together to help preserve peace and continue improving their lives.

It has been a busy couple of months! Namely, trying to balance my PhD work with a couple of new MEDP initiatives and some lecturing and tutoring makes for a hectic time. Balancing, however, is a skill most CEOs pick up fast I’m told. It’s really amazing at times to think of the immense pressures that corporate leaders undergo when trying to steer a massive business. Although I am not the leader of an incorporated entity but rather a privately held organization, I have some issues with the ways corporations are run, primarily the fact that most – if not all – by law are required to keep the interest of their shareholders as a primary concern. That means the most important facet of a corporation is profit. Who knows whether ethics will change in regards to this in the future…in other words, will neoliberalism meet its decline? We shall indeed have to see. I for one do not ascribe to any convention whether it be political, religious, or social. The only classification I would be willing to fall into would be that of pure and simple logic, practicality, and reason.  Throw in concern for my fellow humans and the natural environment, along with the principles of equality and you should get a picture of what I am all about and how I run MEDP.

This post is about the initiative MEDP is taking to offer an alternative accord -internationally- to oppose the neoliberal tendencies of the global economy and finance markets. Why? Because trans-national corporations, structural adjustment policies, and much international “development” is subversive to the sovereignty of citizens in the world’s poorest or most troubled nation-states. Most notably it’s the machinations of the global economy which are depredatious to the democratic elements of the poorer countries of the world. Take Bolivia for an example: the mandates given to the government in order to repay loans stipulated the need to privatize public resources owned by the “people” (government). Many of you will know this example from the very popular documentary “The Corporation.” The situation reached its boiling point when a foreign corporation began charging for water (it bought the water provisions rights), apparently including that which fell from the sky. The Bolivians put up with the privatization of their oil and other mineral wealth, telecommunications, health care, etc., but water they said was an inalienable right to the people. It took violence, maiming, uprisings, and death to ultimately topple the government and free the people from what I call the “tyranny of profit.” It really didn’t need to be that way. If the sovereignty of citizens in Bolivia was respected, if structural adjustment programs were dealt with in a democratic fashion with the people deciding how to deal with “their” public debt, things would have gone down quite differently.

It’s interesting to note how a government can rack up a sizable debt and call it the debt of the “nation.” Did citizens give their consent to have money borrowed? Not directly. They elected, in many cases but not all, representatives to do their bidding as is the common practice in democracies around the world. They didn’t however elect representatives on the mandate of going into debt to realize public programs. Honestly calling decisions made beyond the reach and often beyond the comprehension of citizens as legitimate is farcical. Latin America, as can be seen by consulting the UNDP’s publications concerning Latin American democracy, is undergoing a critical re-evaluation of how to include the poor (majority) in the decisions of the nation-state. It is a backlash against neoliberalism and typically American styled developmental practices.  There is no cookie cutter format for developing any nation in the world. Each country is composed of a very unique medley of cultures, groups, and individual interests which cannot be forced to do what multinational organizations or trans-national corporations think is right. That is a clear abuse of their sovereignty and it can no longer be tolerated.

MEDP will be officially launching the International Accord on Regulating the Global Economy (IARGE) on Friday the 19th of September, 2008. There, on our website, countries and organizations can sign-up their delegates to take part in the inaugural gathering  (Geneva, 20-24, April, 2008). Also, individuals from around the world will be able to sign their names on a global petition showing their support for this accord. IARGE’s goal is to create an international and legally binding accord between the world poorest and medium wealth nations on labor conditions. This accord seeks to banish the near slave-labor and unethical pay rates trans-national corporations use to manufacture their products. It simply cannot be tolerated that a shirt selling for $50.00 US costs only 6 cents to make. The accord seeks to finally end child labor which ruins the childhood of millions of children in the world. The accord seeks a guarantee of proper treatment for laborers everywhere in the world. If IARGE is successful, there will be no quarter of the Earth that a trans-national corporation can go to for cheap labor. It is time to stand up collectively for the world’s poor, for those who cannot afford to take part in protecting their rights, for those who spend their days toiling for food and dreaming of a better life.

MEDP stands on behalf of over 5 billion people, will you stand with us?

The conventional neoliberal arguments regarding extremely low wages have been made for well over 30 years and have shown little promise. GDP has increased drastically globally over that time span, but who holds the wealth? It is still concentrated in the top 0.1% of the worlds population. There is talk of a “trickle-down effect” but signs of such are minimal. The case of India as being a success story for neoliberalism and trans-national corporations is laughable. It is not laughable that people have worked extremely hard initially and saved money to give their children a chance to grasp that so very illusive “first-rung” of the development ladder and thus allowing their grandchildren to reach the ever higher ones; that is simply amazing and inspirational. What is laughable is that corporations think they are noble in reaping billions of dollars in profit whilst only giving a pittance to their workers. By guaranteeing an international increase in base wages, the PPP and GDP of the poorest and medium wealth economies will skyrocket and thus allow for greater development and lessen the harsher effects of living poor. What arguments are there against this?

- Jean-Paul

And so the ultimate decision was reached yesterday to not go public at least for the next few years until I can consolidate MEDP further. Our General Council was very encouraging in that she said we should push to have an underwriter take on our application but the terms were not very favorable. Our initial IPO was relatively low and we would have to give up a sizable amount of shares to gain the capital needed for marketing. I suppose it’s back to the drawing board.

An idea at this stage is to personally lobby some strategic people that may aide us in spreading the awareness of our conferences to students and staff of various universities and businesses. We are also looking into a direct mailing campaign which may be more cost effective.

- Jean-Paul

This option is something I am using at the moment due to the astronomical sums required to advertise in conventional ways. Internet advertising (pay-per-click) is a good method to advertise cheaply, but only if keywords are appropriate. If not, people may visit your site under the wrong impression and will often end up costing for nothing. The other difficulty with internet ads is that it is much more difficult to reach specific geographic population centers. That is where TV, radio, and print comes into play. These, however, are often insanely expensive for a growing organization.

MED-P (Mitigating Endemic Democratic Problems) is a semi-commercial international non-governmental organization, with the other half being not-for-profit. We do not sell any products (other than our annual journal, the IADI, in the development stage). What our commercial side does is sell a service.  In overall, MED-P is helping the people of the world make their lives and the lives of their children better simply by facilitating their ideas and guaranteeing their strategic placement in society.

The not-for-profit side approaches the same goals except with targeted projects such as local community development, scholarships, the New Sophist’s Society, etc. See www.med-p.org for further information.

The problem encountered thus for me as the CEO is: how to effectively make people aware of MED-P’s conferences? MED-P used to be a fully not-for-profit body but I decided a more philanthropic route would lead to greater results for our objectives. The difficulty is that capital is not readily available and due to our ‘international’ status it is difficult to gain credit from banks or larger NGO such as the UN or NED. I’m thinking of simply bypassing marketing by focusing on rallying my web-development team to continue improving our website and simply going ahead with whatever we have no matter what. Just make it work, ensure that media bodies know about it before it happens to gain some coverage, and hit the distribution of our delegates’ ideas hard. Perhaps our process will be the ultimate market tool. It’s a risky venture, but when you’ve got no money to play with (and essentially little to lose) risk seems not to be as great. The only thing that I cannot stand to bear is the idea of failure or disappointment. MED-P, in my opinion, is a realistic and practical organization with massive implications for global humanity. How can I get people to know about our conferences?

- Jean-Paul

As the internet developed further, businesses saw the opportunities therein to mobilize information, services, and sales to the virtual world. This movement helped to minimize previous administrative costs such as mail advertisement, tv, radio, etc. Online advertisement is a growing market with (probably) a long profit curve ahead of it. Another notable movement that is giving businesses an opportunity to reduce costs is the “green” or environmental wave.

CEOs should take notice to this and defer the information to their Head of HR and/or infrastructure/business analyst/accountant or take matters into their own hands with a public statement to the company (being “green” reflects good press and may increase sales, not to mention, it saves money in most cases). Some areas that benefit from revamping are staplers, paper, water bottles, paper cups (water cooler), and lighting. There are staplers which now use no staples, saving money and resources, by simply punching a hole in the stapled paper (must be paper) and folding the punched edge over. Recycled paper has been continuing its decline in price as it is more readily purchased by green consumers and can lower costs if your business is near a processing plant. Paper cups at the water cooler are generally a waste of both money and the environment (biodegradable cups are quite costly). What is suggested, is to do away with both paper cups and plastic bottles by encouraging your employees to buy Sigg bottles. These Swiss made metal bottles have been proven to leach no chemicals in water (unlike plastic bottles and other metal containers) and come with a long-life guarantee. These would cut down on paper cups and help the health of your employees. Obviously, a mug is just as good for office drinking, just not as easily portable as a bottle. Finally, if your company is building some edifice where people will be working, it is essential to have as much natural sunlight brought into all working spaces as possible. This not only reduces the cost of electricity during the daytime, but provides everyone with daylight the body needs and could help boost the immune system to reduce sick days. It is much less costly to have this designed by arranging it with your architect prior to construction.

Other long-term areas of consideration should include micro-power, gray water filtering, intensive recycling, on site compost, frame seals/door plans, the latest thermostat, electricity/water saving devices, and fresh air intake ventilation. Micro-power is the idea of using photovoltaics (solar panels), wind turbines, geothermal, or even concentrated sunlight to heat water to make steam to turn turbines to produce energy. If these or other long-term options are considered the initial cost will generally be slightly greater than conventional designs but in the future will definitely reduce administrative costs and perhaps even generate income if surplus energy is sold to the power grid. This surplus can be used in a variety of ways, including paying employees a higher wage, putting it into their pensions, investing in building maintenance, business diversification, etc. Gray water filtering/recycling is something truly being led by the Australians. If all water used in the building were recycled through a filtering process it would reduce the water bill considerably. Australian studies have shown that water recycling produces clean and safe drinking water. On site compost using any ‘hot-composting’ technology available produces a young soil full of nutrients that can be used for indoor plants and outdoor landscaping or gardening to give your office a more vibrant and welcoming atmosphere. Ensuring that windows and doors leading to the outside are properly sealed to keep in heat and moisture is essential to reduce administrative costs. What is the point of heating or cooling your office if all that energy seeps out of cracks or doors? The best option is to ensure your architect and builder guarantee a process of providing these or that you have a fitter come in and check all windows and doors for efficiency. A great technique for doors (used at the Antarctic Center in Christchurch, NZ) is for two doors to be used to outside access, except that once one set of doors has opened, they must close for the second to open, thus preventing a rush of energy being lost.

Everything else is fairly explanatory except for the water and energy saving devices which many people still seem not to know about. Water faucets can be fitted with a small ring that reduces water flow by increasing pressure and oxidation (same goes for shower heads). Many power bars or utilities offer a standby option cutter. Computers, tv’s, printers, etc. even when turned off remotely still use power to remain in “standby” mode. However, some power bars or utilities offer to cut power for a full shut-down thus reducing this waste of money. Another option is to have power outlets with a manual shut down button for easy power cutting.

I employ all of these techniques (and more) and am saving lots on administrative costs. Hope this helps someone.

- Jean-Paul

This argument extends also to the philosophy I have taken for the general environment in a critique I am presently writing on our society. Language and physical behavior is something that must be moderated in the workplace, but not in draconian or secretive ways. Employees (an employee is all under the CEO) must be trained and aware of the value of not using abusive language or intimidating physical language. When considered language is used people generally feel more comfortable and safe rather then when being near a barrage of abuse from a manager or co-worker which raises hostilities. It’s about respect for yourself and respect for others. Why would an educated and cultured person, passionate about human rights, the environment, democracy, etc. debase themselves with inappropriate and foul language? Obviously sometimes these words are so ingrained in our psyche that when we encounter a moment of extreme stress (say right before a car accident, or when you smash your toe against some horribly solid object, etc.) any bad words are probably appropriate, haha. It’s just the everyday use of language and communication between people. The time and effort you put into being nice to someone with clearly chosen and friendly language will come back and create a positive feedback cycle.

The other key to remember is to always have positive, transparent, accountable, and open lines of communication between you (the CEO), managers, and other employees. Everyone has to know that they are very welcome to come and speak about anything on their minds, even if it is turmoil at home, with another co-worker, difficulty on a project, etc., or just a nice chat over a cup of your favorite drink. If you can extend this line of thinking to your dealings with other people online and in public, you will enjoy a much higher quality of social interaction and hopefully teach many ignorant and verbally abusive people online and in public the merits of being courteous, compassionate, thoughtful, and kind to others and yourself.

– Jean-Paul