social investment plan

Hmmm...I don't know about any of this as I am completely out of the loop. My tax attorney handles all of this jazz for me so don't have the foggiest idea. All I know is whether there is money in the bank and when my cds can be cashed in for money market accounts.

Good luck to you.

This reminds me of the program Kiva - http://www.kiva.org/. In this online organization, people lend $25.00 to a person in a third world country who wants to start a business. It appears to be successful. It seems that your idea takes this a step further in that we can become investors in our own communities. I'm not sure it will replace our current system. However, I think it has potential to become part of the mix. I think it is worth fleshing out this idea!

I like this idea. Two of the biggest problems in Detriot are environmental blight and a lack of jobs. It is difficult to get people involved in their community because these two things take away their spirit. The northwest area of Detroit has nice flat land and great infrastructure. In some neighborhoods more than half the houses are vacant or condemned. In southwest Detroit, the Latino community has set up an organization to work with homeowners to beautify the area and have done great work in the past 10 years. Detroit has rich fertile land and I could easily see some co ops make use of this land, if there was an incentive. Your plan might be a blessing, so I would suggest you send your ideas to city planners and different community organizations and churches.

Sounds like a good idea. I have read about private people who will loan money with very little to no interest to help people like poor mothers or people in developing countries get the money they need to start a business using a skill they have. I don't know about anyone doing it on a local scale though. That sounds better to me because it creates little self-sustaining communities which would help immensely with problems like fuel costs getting worse.

That is totally interesting. I can't think of any examples here in the U.S., but as Tina wrote, I have heard of something like this in the developing world, especially giving capital to women to start very small businesses. I liked William's suggestion too. It seems that we the people have to start taking back our country from the corporate interests which have practically run it into the ground.

I think it is a cool idea. Check into Kiva.org. The thing about Kiva is that the investors do not make any money.

I am very interested in this. I was recently even thinking about a business that only sales American made, or grocery stores that sell only local crops. I think investing in where we live and play would be a great idea, but with todays structure it seems so hard.

Things really need to change.

just stopped by to repay the comment

This would be grass roots investing and it is a great idea.

Micro economics has been successful in the 3rd world, with small loans mostly to women with particular needs to improve their economic situation, like the purchase of a cart to take their wares to market, who always pay them back because the community benefits from that re-payment, and originated from an economist in India, I think, who won an international prize for his work, possibly the Nobel, but I can't fully remember.

I see no reason why similar principles applied in our society through the means you have suggested might not be extremely successful, not just for the individual who needs capital for whatever they need to take their business or service to the next level, but for the investor who would benefit from a successful outcome.

How would you guard against the fraudulent though?

In the Micro Economic model what is given out is done with the knowledge of the community in which the loan applicant lives, and repayment of the debt means the money can go into a loan for someone else in the community. In other words, everyone knows everyone and what they are doing. This surely cuts down on fraud.

On the internet, though, it might be more difficult. So I would think you'd need some kind of levers to ensure that a small business is legitamit and not a cover.

Other than that control, which needs to be set in place however it might be, I think it's a great idea Libramoon.

Vision on, visionary woman!

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it's not exactly what you have in mind, but there are a number of businesses these days that seek to make a profit, but not necessarily maximize profit, while benefiting society. zipcar is a good example.

Although I like the idea, I have no knowledge at all in this area. But this could be the start of something big ... in widespread application.

I have absolutely no knowledge in this area but it is something positive to explore.

I think that this could evolve into an excellent venture. In my mind, the purpose of a strong "economy" is to increase the standard of living for the community that is taking part in a governed society.

Current U.S. Capitalism is not doing well in this regard. For example, Walmart is a huge part of our economy, but it's success is hoarded by the few, while thousands of workers are left with jobs that don't even meet the neccessary requirements for decent living.

Perhaps we need to rethink business ethics here and abroad, and start localizing our economies, in order to insure that the interests of business and the community that it serves is in sync.

excellent post...and comments... i will be thinking of ideas for you... good luck...

I'll start.

Please send $25.00 for complete solar powered clothes dryer kit. Instructions included. Some assembly required.

That is what is trying to happen at Shames Mountain...thoughts are to make it $500 a share but that is still being discussed. Check out www.shamesmtncoop.com if you're interested.

Are you an authorized cooperative?

Oh I see you are in Canada, I don't know what your rules are on Coops.
Here, in the U.S. they are considered non-competitive and must be authorized by Congress.
We do have coops, and some have been good, I was once a California
Almond Growers Exchange (Blue Diamond Almonds) grower.

We met with lawyers this weekend to get the legal paperwork started. The cooperative has to be started by minimum 3 people and a feasibility report has be processed, but in Canada congress doesn't have to be involved (that is something I haven't come across in my research of US cooperatives, interesting). I am actually a U.S. citizen, but the ski coop is in Canada. Ski coops have been shown to be a viable business model in the States though, by Mad River Glen and most recently Magic Mountain.

in case u send ur email adress imaay send some ideas on Gandhian economics

Well you will have to have some protection to keep the one with the idea of collecting your money from simply running away with it.
Happens already, all the time.
We do have penny stocks now.
Do you see why must have laws overseeing the use of someone else's money.
I could buy a business plan, post it, collect a little bit of money from a lot of people.
Then simply go have a great party.

Look up the Dotcom boom, that Clinton rode on during his Presidency.
It is basically the same thing as you are discribing, and would need a heck of a lot of security to protect not only the investor, but the economy as well. Even at small sums, if persey, a person has a idea, and gets say 12 people to invest maybe 10k each, then runs the business poorly, that is 120k lost. Now you figure that times how many crackpots can get into this? That is what happened in the Dotcom boom, which started under Bush Sr. and started its collapse under Clinton.
It collapsed because too many quick investments into online shemes that were poorly managed, and started to loose money faster than they could make it. Soon it pulled the stock market in with it, then the banks. Clintonm was warned, and did nothing, except spend) then when 9/11 hit, that was enough to push the failing market into a collapse.

In general, the theory sounds okay. But I'm struggling with the details - who is responsible for this website? who makes the investment decisions? who is eligble to make an investment? who can ask for an investment? what makes an investment a viable investment?

I would like to hear more about the proposed standard operating procedures to be used and who would be running this organization.

This is what I think the stock market is for. I only invest in companies that I deal with or I think aredoing useful work. If they make profits they distribute them to the shareholders - dividends.
There are Christian stocks, green stocks, public works stocks etc.