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Forum Post: Economic Impact Grading Group

Posted 10 years ago on May 27, 2013, 12:01 p.m. EST by Forward (-2)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

A new project for grading the economic impact of every business in the United States. Whether or not it is even possible depends on you. We need volunteers with a background in business management, economics, and we will need general volunteers to help with collecting masses of tax and payroll data.

If you're interested, please post below.

28 Comments

28 Comments


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[-] 2 points by BradB (2693) from Washington, DC 10 years ago

sounds like a worthy cause....

  • who or how do plan on defining impact ?
  • is it dynamic?... will it change as info is gathered?
  • do you have a list of Impact Categories ?
[-] 2 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

The first priority is something you addressed, a bar. There would need to be an assessment of what is considered to be a healthy economic impact. This should not favor labor or business, but rather an assessment of the societal return vs societal cost of that business.

There will be key factors to consider, such as are they paying their way without welfare, can their employees pay their way without welfare, the cost of waste, ect...

This should be weighed against what they provide to society. What they provide in tax revenue, the economic advancement of their employees, ect..

This is just a rough idea so far and volunteers with the qualifications laid out would need to aid in refining these categories.

The idea is to asses on a very realistic basis the impact of every business and when enough data is collected, the overall health of the economy. The institutions trusted with similar assessments can no longer be trusted, nor do any of them actually asses the impact of businesses. The focus thus far is how much money they are making. This in my opinion is short sighted, insufficient and negligent for a country with such technological capabilities.

[-] 2 points by BradB (2693) from Washington, DC 10 years ago

The focus thus far is how much money they are making. This in my opinion is short sighted, insufficient and negligent for a country with such technological capabilities. ...

  • Exactly ; )

  • I think your concepts of Impact is great start ....

  • are you going to gather the info publicly ? ... via a website ? ...
  • have you defined any software tools to implement this ?
[-] 1 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

I can build all the software required for this, that is what I can bring to the table. I will need people with the skillsets laid out to inform me of their requirements so that the system is designed properly. Yes it will be on the web as public exposure is the desired outcome. Social pressure guided human beings long before governments and still to this day seems to be the strongest way to effect change.

[-] 1 points by BradB (2693) from Washington, DC 10 years ago

cool ... Best Luck with it....

actually I have been working on a framework to do the same ... are you located anywhere near Wash DC ?

  • also have you ever looked at the St.Louis Fed website .... they have been totally revamped ... new young accountants with progressive ideas ... with new tools like Fred ..( Fed economic database tool) ... they may wish to help also
[-] -1 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

No branch of the Fed does this, nor are you working on anything like this. You're digging to see the potential danger in my idea, then moving to deflate. The part you missed is I never expected any of you to reply with help or genuine interest. I stand by what I've said for a long time, the users on this forum are frauds.

[-] 1 points by gsw (3407) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 10 years ago

You posted the idea 7 hours ago, two hours later declare we are frauds.

I like the idea....just dont know how much time a week I can give right this moment. In three weeks I can give a bit more time.

Also, have you checked out the Action button, next to Forum. There are great examples of multiple historical nonviolent action tactics, that are cataloged and graded.

[-] 1 points by BradB (2693) from Washington, DC 10 years ago

????? hmm... Forward... stop worrying so much... ;)

you are mistaken ... I genuinely like & support the idea.... if you read my posts... I have posted similar ... god knows where ? ....

about the Fed ... all I was saying is ... check them out ... only the Stlouis site.... I know in the past they have a Bad rep... but imo... the new staff is truly looking to fix things....

anyway ... your idea IS VALID ... and CONSTRUCTIVE ...

and I do want to help... that's why I asked if you were nearby ... I considered showing you what I have started ....

[-] 1 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

You'll have to pardon my skepticism.

[-] 2 points by gsw (3407) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 10 years ago

Can we start with one example, maybe a gas/oil company, or Apple, or XL company of Canada? Or maybe break it into parts, a few companies per month.

Would it be gathering data online and plugging in numbers in a online database.

Maybe if we can visualize how and where to gather this. People may not want to sign on for the whole enchilada... Sounds like it could be valuable and interesting work.

Do companies share there tax info? I thought that was their "personal privacy", maybe not

[-] 0 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

Yes, members/volunteers would gather tax info and plug it into the DB by forms. & any other info advised by our business group.

No we would not start with one company, we would start by calculating what a healthy economic impact actually is.

Then from there, my personal preference would be to launch with a listing of every publicly traded company in the US.

[-] 1 points by gsw (3407) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 10 years ago

a healthy economic impact allows for sustainability, and all people of the world to prosper in knowledge and happiness. here's one brief description of a "healthy economic impact" model for transition to new improved planet.

http://occupywallst.org/forum/models-to-transition-to-sustainable-systems-future/

[-] 1 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

what can I do to help your idea?

Not sure just yet. I need a few solid volunteers and input on structure from business volunteers before it can be considered a worthy project. What I know is I've watched the sidewalks below my Vegas motel every night for the last week, bustling with the homeless and mentally ill. It has been as busy as the Vegas strip on a weekday, but more tragic. Immediacy is definitely a goal for me.

[-] 0 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

If you really care, you'll take the adult approach and keep ideology out of this. This must appeal to everyone, or it's not worth pursuing. Not that you aren't, just that you may not.

[-] 1 points by gsw (3407) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 10 years ago
[-] 1 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

Cart before the horse. You are taking the evolved version(s) and pushing people toward it. This is why none of our approaches have worked thus far. Evolution is a process resulting from pressure to survive. Put pressure on business, and use the pressure as a steering mechanism; industries will evolve on their own. That is the only way to make it's truly sustainable.

[-] 1 points by gsw (3407) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 10 years ago

empowerment zones would put pressure, allow people to learn to live without multinational corps

[-] 0 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

empowerment zones would put pressure, allow people to learn to live without multinational corps

So, a few hundred people are going to take on the world's corporations, after getting the government to give you economic reservations as if the new tribe of economic indians?

Or a few hundred people marketing the true economic footprint of businesses within the framework that already exists. A project that appeals to labor groups, anti tax groups, and investors.

Which is more likely to have a chance?

[-] 1 points by BradB (2693) from Washington, DC 10 years ago

Put pressure on business, and use the pressure as a steering mechanism; industries will evolve on their own.

a few hundred people marketing the true economic footprint of businesses within the framework that already exists. A project that appeals to labor groups, anti tax groups, and investors.

I have to agree ... it's a much easier path to work inside an existing system to change itself ... than to try to change a system from outside....

[-] 1 points by gsw (3407) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 10 years ago

yea your idea is a good one and is more immediate.

But at the same time, if we could spread empowerment Zone ideas for the unemployed in urban zones, underemployed youths, it could be a selling point and hope for real people, and a means to get them connected to ideas of ows, a radical education, and give people practice to see if direct democracy and anarchic socialism could work as viable alternatives

There are like 20 million underemployed, little means to access skills and hope in sacrifice zones, plus all the unconnected who don't bother to vote, could lead to majority and renewed world democracy, even as a model for Middle Eastern Arab Spring countries with high unemployment, and to give them access to progressive practice, if they so choose.

what can I do to help your idea?

[-] 1 points by BradB (2693) from Washington, DC 10 years ago

; )

[-] 1 points by Kavatz (464) from Edmonton, AB 10 years ago

Reminds me of something called Responsible Capitalism, which is just capitalism with rules to keep corporations honest. The people define "irresponsible" and label entities as one or the other. Irresponsible Entities are forced to shape up or ship out.

Anyways, I see Responsible Capitalism as a stepping stone in the evolution of the market system. Capitalism was probably naturally occurring (well, of course, because so are humans and our impact). It's natural that we would abuse the monetary market system, then face maturity and consequences.

The evolution must be to become responsible or face revolutionary upheaval and complete systemic transformation.

I think we will attempt Responsible, until such time as we conclude Responsible is unattainable, and a smoother, widely accepted systemic change will occur with little resistance.

Or the world dies first. We'll see!

[-] 1 points by BradB (2693) from Washington, DC 10 years ago

Are you familiar with Legatum? ....

maybe we might get some ideas here.... one of the things they have done is created a PROSPERITY INDEX .... which rates Countries in different areas of economic and social progress ....

maybe some of the same categories might also apply to businesses ? just some ideas....

THE 2012 LEGATUM PROSPERITY INDEX http://www.prosperity.com/

[-] 0 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

I have spoken to people in this area that may be interested. If you decide this is worth your time, seriously, now would be a good time to figure that out.

[-] -1 points by DiegoSanchezAlfonso (-155) 10 years ago

VQ, how long have you been programming? Curious.

[-] 0 points by Forward (-2) 10 years ago

Are you against this idea, or just trying to discredit the first real idea of how to clamp down on corporations that damage our economy and society?

[-] -2 points by DiegoSanchezAlfonso (-155) 10 years ago

VQ. Neither, I asked about your programming abilities. You're asking for volunteers. I might apply, but I want to know your credentials first.