Rewarding the “Invisible” Work

Jeff & Susan • July 25, 2022
A woman wearing yellow gloves is washing dishes in a kitchen sink.
A woman wearing yellow gloves is washing dishes in a kitchen sink.

The dictionary defines work as an “activity involving mental or physical effort, done in order to achieve a purpose or result.” We all know not all work is work for pay , but it has to be accomplished every day anyway. As long as we live, we cannot stop working. Something breaks, it has to be fixed, laundry has to be done, food and supplies brought to the home, cooking and cleaning have to be done, a child is born it needs to be cared for, we get old and sick and need care, 24/7 care of a special needs child, weather destroys homes and property they need to be replaced, friends and relatives are in distress and need comfort, a good idea surfaces and needs attention, on and on. These are all essential works that are left out of GDP. (But make that GDP possible!) They function unrewarded by pay or compensations like healthcare and vacations.

Why not have a currency that is dedicated to all human needs, not wants? It would operate parallel to our existing for-profit currency. This human currency would be exchanged for food, shelter, education and healthcare. It is available from birth to death, and you can use it or not. It cannot be invested or taxed. It could be available on a debit card identified with your SS#. Each month a determined amount is available on the card and if it is not used, what is left is deleted at the end of the month. And the cycle begins again the next month.

The existence of this parallel social currency would reward the work that is essential and ongoing but remains invisible to our existing economic notice. Maybe then we can all have free time to imagine and build a better future for humanity and nature. Believe it or not we are already doing this in our military. You join and your food, shelter, education and healthcare are taken care of…

“If we are willing to spend that amount of money, resources and human lives in time of war, why don’t we commit equal resources to improving lives and anticipating the humane needs of the future? …to achieve and maintain the optimal symbiotic relationship between nature and humankind.” Jacques Fresco “The Best that Money Can’t Buy”

And please read more @SocialEconRTE and renew-the-earth.org

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Hawaii, 6/1/25. Part 1
June 23, 2025
The right to not starve, the right to have shelter, the right to be treated for curable illness, the right to not be ignorant. Humanity, over many years of civilization, has created solutions for all these and can provide them, Worldwide. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion (which is essentially freedom of speech) are not enough. To make the “pursuit of happiness” a real possibility a person must have the other four human rights, food, shelter, healthcare and education. It does not take a “rocket scientist” to figure out how to pay for and distribute these rights. We can use our representation for value, money, any way we wish. The way money flows now is the classic pattern that we all are born into and must use. Basically it is capitalism. The market is moved by profit. Only peripherally does preservation of humanity or limited natural resources come into view. Normally there has to be an emergency for this to happen; a war, weather disasters or a pandemic. When the workforce is reduced or resources made scarce. This is not a sustainable situation. It can last for a long time, as it has, but it is always in the slow process of destroying itself. Like the nightmare cliff dropping away behind you as you run. We have the solution in our hands: a Parallel Currency. It will not make everyone honest, kind or generous. But it will keep people from starvation, illness, ignorance and homelessness. Humanity will no longer be enslaved by the more destructive side effects of capitalism. A Parallel Currency is used just for the four basic needs. It is available to everyone from birth until death. When the Parallel Currency arrives at banks it is destroyed so it cannot behave like regular currency and be invested or saved; which can cause inflation. Parallel Currency is only used to provide education, food, shelter and medical care, it is a closed loop. Other currencies will continue to function as usual. Individuals can make as much money as they wish for whatever they wish. The difference is that they will not be depriving other people of their ability to survive. We have the communication, organizing and distribution tool already; the Internet. Locating, assembling, and distributing all the parts necessary for this objective is possible with our information technology. With the development of AI organizIng the Parallel Currency is even more easily done. We will start by paying for these rights but as time passes it will become obvious that this is advantageous to everyone and to our planet's health and like freedom of speech, we won't have to pay for it anymore, with money or blood. Susan Caumont June, 2025
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Mexico, 5/5/25.
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“It is soulless, exploitive, inequitable, unstable and destructive, yet also all- conquering and overwhelming.” Capitalism and its Critics: A History from the Industrial Revolution to AI By John Cassidy This is one of the best descriptions of Capitalism I have read recently. The only thing it leaves out is that Capitalism regularly destroys itself and has to be rescued with huge infusions of human labor (money). But Capitalism is so appealing to humans that it is allowed to continually transform and conform to new demands and circumstances, even though it is inherently unstable and destructive. Like the charming self destructive uncle who is so entertaining with his stories and wild money making schemes, no one wants him to stop. It is so much fun! For a few people. And all it takes is a few people to keep Capitalism going, approximately ten percent of the World population, the richest ten percent. That Capitalism has lasted and spread is testimony to its ability to keep adapting and improving on its main strengths: soullessness and exploitation. As a species we have become, over approximately 500 years, completely adapted to Capitalism. No matter what it distorts, destroys or lays waste to, it has captured our imaginations like a religion. We won't be saying goodbye to it anytime soon. But there is an antidote. We can make up for some of its most destructive symptoms with a Parallel Currency that is used only for basic human needs, food, shelter, education and healthcare, Worldwide. Some countries are already trying to do this with their tax structures and laws but a Parallel Currency would do this without taxation or inflation. It is a separate currency that can only be used to provide basic needs and is destroyed when it reaches a bank; it will not create inflation. It also will not inhibit the positive capabilities of existing currencies. They will continue to function as they usually do. The Parallel Currency is a closed loop created for the dignified survival of humanity. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion are not enough. A government by the people and for the people must also guarantee freedom from starvation, ignorance and curable illness, all things as a human species, over thousands of years, we have developed remedies.
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Columbia, Cartegena, Columbia 4/21/25
A black and white pencil drawing of a little girl in a dress.
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The question is not, “ How do you pay for it?” The question is, “ What do you want to pay for?” We finally boarded the ship in Barbados 4/7/25.
A woman is holding a baby and a little girl
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