Redwood forests saved, Virgin redwood forests, Natural redwood forests

Redwood Forests

Money and God and More Money

Main Pages

Creating
The Owner's Trusts

SUMMARY: This page (borrowed from the soon-to-be-available Money-God-Money website) introduces the reader to one of the basic principles that will be applied to transforming the corporations responsible for destroying the redwood forests.

Financial management will be transformed from being the controller of everything into becoming a tool used to enhance the well-being of all concerned, including the environment and generations as yet unborn.

Page Content

From Losers to Winners

Traditional / Historical Perspective on Money

The Contemporary Perspective on Money

Bringing Things Back Into Balance

The Truth Challenge

From Losers To Winners ...

From Traditional Duality Thinking: Many of the traditional beliefs about money are as archaic as some of the ancient beliefs about religion. Since the start of "the industrial revolution," money has been clearly divided into two major categories -- Money Interests and Labor. One could also see this duality as "leaders and followers," " kings and subjects," "us versus them," or "the haves and the have nots." It's as product of the mind set that say, "That's what my parents taught me, so it must be true. And as you well know, the gap between the wealthy and the poor is growing even wider. '

Traditionally, when " the have nots" rebelled against the wealthy, they became violent and stole the assets of the wealthy. Then the rebellion's leaders fought with each other over control. The winners then set themselves up in a new power structure. Because the system, itself, didn't change, the net result was little more than a financial version of "musical chairs."

The huge financial inequities in the world today cannot be resolved by violence or in any of the traditional ways. A new way is in order. '

To The Winning Way: A surprisingly simply and yet incredibly productive area of financial management has simply been ignored. That area deals with people controlling their own money. This is precisely what we are creating -- a financial structure in which the average person also reaps the benefits of "ownership."

The process being set up here is non-violent. It simply involves buying back, "one bite at at time," that which is rightfully owned by everyone. It's incredibly simple and, in the long run, it's amazingly functional. This page explains how, but before we get into the details, a historical note is in order.

A Bit of History: The original vision of "Social Security" had this concept as its core, but the moneyed elite saw its economic potential and destroyed it by stealing the investment money. Imagine what a public trust fund (i.e. a properly managed Social Security Administration) could do with a four-hundred-trillion dollar investment portfolio? It would be so wealthy that it would dwarf its nearest rival. It could buy anything it chose, including any of today's wealthiest and most profitable corporations. It would earn profits of billions of dollars every year. It would eventually become so wealthy that it would be paying everyone money. Instead of you paying the government, the government would be paying you. (That's what used to happen in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. A portion of the profits from the nationally owned oil interests was distributed to the public.) Reference: What Social Security Was Supposed to Be. '

Instead, today The Social Security Administration has a four-hundred-trillion dollar debt. It's all but bankrupt. It's worse than dead! It's a huge liability! Why? Because the money your parents and grandparents put into that fund was spent and not invested. Let's now examine one aspect of money more closely.

The Four Income Sources

Land Labor Coordination Capital

"Excess Profits" Revert to Land.

The Traditional Historical Perspective

Traditionally, there were four methods of acquiring the necessary goods and services required to survive -- land, labor, coordination, and capital.

Land -- The King, the Baron, the Magistrate, the Warlord
                    He owned and controlled everything.
Labor -- His serfs -- the people who live on the land
                     controlled by the King (land) -- the doers of the Kings
                     bidding
Coordination -- The King's agents, his solders, and the like
Capital   -- Anything that the King had to acquire from
                     off his land

"Excess Profits" Reverted to Land.

"Excess Profits" refers to the money left over after everything and everyone was paid.

Traditionally, "Land" (the King, the Baron, et cetera) paid for "labor" (the people who lived under his rule) by allowing "labor" to keep a portion of what was produced, such as the food grown on the landowner's land.

"Coordination," the King's order-keepers, received just enough more than "labor" to keep them loyal.

When additional goods and/or services were required, "Capital" was called in, but it, too, received only the minimum payment necessary to acquire the needed products or services.

The "Land Owner" kept everything else for himself. This was commonly referred to as "Excess Profits Revert to Land."

As productivity increased, so did the amount of excess profits. The rich became richer and the poor still struggled to survive. Rich "Land" evolved into "Capital" by becoming the money lenders who demanded a portion of the profits in return for the use of their money. As societies evolved, money lenders became more and more powerful until, today, they dominate and control almost everything.

The Contemporary Perspective

Land -- The Business Owner,
Labor   -- Employees
Coordination  -- Management
Capital -- Money,   Investors,   Stock holders

"Excess Profits" Revert to "Capital" and Its Agents.

The evolution of business brings us to today where the four sources of income are completely dominated by "Capital" ( money interests). In the relatively few cases where the creator of the business is still alive, he/she, along with money, control the company. After the company founder's passing, control is commonly held in some form of a trust or some other money-managing legal entity. This entity usually owns and controls a significant amount stock in the original business owners company.

Paris Hilton is an example of someone wealthy as a result of being the beneficiary of this type of money-managing legal entity. Obviously she's not a business tycoon, a mogul, or an industrialist, but you can bet your "bottom dollar" her father was and those who manage her money are still functioning in that money-first mindset.

In most cases, today, "Capital" (the controllers of money) are focused almost entirely on making more money at the expense of everyone and everything else. (The corporate quarterly report is the all-important teller of financial tales. It makes the company stock salable, or breaks the company's back.)

"Labor," and lower-level management, (coordination) and middle-level management (coordination) have become tools of "Capital" to be used and then discarded. Business ownership has either been transformed into "Capital" or focused on more money for itself. Top management has been bribed to work for "Capital" by high salaries and/or by threat of expulsion from the financial feeding trough. "Capital" has dominated and ordered management to engage in numerous, unethical, immoral and/or illegal activities -- activities such as:

Squeeze everything and everyone for a larger share of the productivity going to the money interests.

Low wages -- poor working conditions -- long hours -- minimal benefits or no benefits at all.

Unnecessarily dangerous and/or unhealthy working conditions.

Suppression of information and/or research data that could and should have been open to the public. If it had been open, that information would have precipitated a change in what the company produced or how it functioned.

Environmental destruction.

Destroying its land or other assets -- strip mining, deforestation, etc.

Improper, dangerous and/or mindless waste product disposal.

Shirking responsibility whenever possible or shifting responsibility onto the taxpayers or onto nearby individuals.

Producing dangerous / hazardous conditions for humans or other life forms.

Suppressing information about and refusing to repair known, defects, hazards and dangers.

Never funding (failing to put assets into) the employees' retirement fund, or failing to manage them properly.

Using legal piggly-wiggly to steal the money out of the employees' retirement funds.

Chastising truth speakers, "Whistle Blowers." These people are commonly "thrown to the wolves."

Bringing Things Back Into Balance

Several possibilities are available
to bring things back into balance.

Step One and the simplest step is to take the control of retirement moneys away from company management and place that money into a trust fund (Called The Employees' Retirement Trust). That trust is owned by the employees and managed by non-company-controlled professionals. (See: Retirement Investment Trusts)'

Create a second trust (Called The Owner's Trust) which is designed to eventually replace outside stock holders. (More on this in a moment.)

All to often, under present circumstances, top management people pay themselves exorbitant amounts of money in relation to the amount the average employee receives. This will be changed so that all employees, both labor and management, will be compensated commensurate to the value of the services they provide.

Actual pay-scales and salaries will be determined on an individual, case-by-case basis. Pay and salary-policy guidelines, like all other major aspects of the corporation, will be approved by employees.

Excessive monies presently being paid to top management people will, instead, be directed into the The Owner's Trust. Each year thereafter, that same amount of money will be placed into The Owner's Trust. Money in The Owner's Trust will be used to buy the company's stock from current stock holders and/or to make company improvements that previously were paid for by the sale of stocks.

The Owner's Trust will be controlled by the employees and managed by a professional management team. This trust will be an ongoing, legal entity charged with the duty of eventually eliminating outsider money interests from holding anything more than a minor portion of the stock in the corporation. The employees will be the beneficiaries of this trust. No money will be paid out of this fund to the beneficiaries until the trust owns at least a fifty-one-percent interest in the company. Profit monies from these stocks (money that previously had been being paid out to "Capital") will then be used primarily to buy additional shares of stock. If management wants to use some of the profits from this trust to improve the company, it must be done with an employee vote of approval. See Reference Note #1 `

Management Controlled by Employees: The professional managers of The Owner's Trust will work under authority granted to them by the employees. The professional managers will be hired by the employees and can be fired by the employees.

As the years go by, company employees will come and go. Provisions will be in the bylaws regarding issues such as asset/benefit control, who gets what portion of the benefits, how do new employees become vested with regard to the company trust. For some additional, but brief notes on this see: Trust Asset Management ' on the Notes and Reference Page.

Additional funding: The company may choose to tithe ten-percent (or some other percentage) of its annual profits to the The Owner's Trust for the purpose of buying its own outstanding debt (i.e. stocks held by outside investors) Once the stocks are in the trust, they are there permanently. Stocks in The Owner's Trust cannot be sold or otherwise removed from the trust. Only the profits generated by these stocks are usable outside the The Owner's Trust.

Imagine- Imagine - Imagine: Imagine working for a company in which you were one of the owners? Imagine working for a company where you had a say in how it was managed. Imagine working for a company where you could expose and stop dysfunctional or dangerous activities and be rewarded for doing so. Imagine working for a company in which the profits belonged to your company and not to outside money interests.

Would you be more enthusiastic than you are today? Would you be more productive? would you be willing to offer suggestions that would improve the company's product or service. Would you be more interested in being sure your company was run efficiently.

Other Factors that will be given their due consideration:

Short-term and long-term environmental impact.

Employee safety and well being.

Waste produce disposal and/or recycling.

Fair and equitable distribution of the profits produced.

Reversal, removal, or transmutation of the numerous, unethical, immoral and/or illegal activities listed in the above section.

SUMMARY:
Financial management will be transformed from being the controller of everything into becoming a tool use to enhance the well-being of all concerned, including the environment and generations as yet unborn.

The Truth Challenge

We challenge you or anybody else to examine this websites and prove us wrong, either in website content or in the validity and the functionality of this project.
See the Full text of The Truth Challenge.'

.10

Saving the Virgin Forests of
Ancient, Giant Redwood Trees
Continues on the page titled:

It's Action Time '

A Work in Process

This project and this website are both works in process. As the project's creator and director, I have been pleasantly surprised and very pleased by the overwhelmingly positive responses that the project is receiving. For example, the corporate financial renovation proposed by The Owner's Trust, ' although new and unusual, has been remarkably well received by all who have examined it. Responses such as. "Why didn't I think of that?" are common.

You are invited to offer your opinion and add your participation. Your input will speed up the process, and as you know, the chain saws are still running, so "time is of the essence."

Here's how you can be of service

Thank you!

You're Also Invited to send a tax-deductible donation.

By Credit Card

By Check in Postal Mail

TLC- Life- Center ®

TLC-Life-Center Family of Websites

Site 36 --- Redwood Forests

Page --- Creating The Owner's Trust

http://www.RedwoodForests.info/owners-trust.html

Back to the top of this page

Redwood Forests

.36-3

Reference Note #1

A stipulation needs to be in both The Owner's Trust and the The Employees' Retirement Trust bylaws to insure that trust control can never go to any single individual or to any small group of individuals, or to any other legal entity. The intention is for the people collectively to control these trusts. The intention is to avoid any concentration of power over the trusts which could misuse the trusts or their assets in any way. The bylaws will be set up so that any violation of that intention is equal to a violation lf the letter the law.

....