Corporate Ethics, Publicly Funded Campaigns

The sun is out and it's snowing which is unusual for Ellensburg, but beautiful nonetheless.

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Corporate Ethics
I have been thinking about the market economy lately and its checks and balances. In a true free market economy business is only regulated by consumer purchasing habits. There are some gray areas where this regulation breaks down. The classic example is in the case of monopolies which limit choice, innovation, and quality.

Another example I would give is in regards to energy dependence. Most Americans are dependent on petrochemically generated energy for heating, food production, transportation and livelihood. It is not realistic to think that we can all live off the grid at this point. Therefore most of us are not able, for economic reasons, to use our buying power to influence the shift to more holistic energy sources. This is where governmental regulation and public pressure come into play.

I am interested in helping to shift the ethical consciousness of the corporate community such that corporate ethics align with a humanistic morality in terms of human rights and the environment.

An organization that I believe does an excellent job in helping corporatocracies to make this moral shift is ran.org.

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Publicly Funded Campaigns
I sent the following email to my friends and family today:

Dear Family and Friends,

I have become concerned about the influence of big money on politics and public policy. This in turn has sparked my interest in publicly funded campaigns.

The show that keyed me in to the potential of publicly funded campaigns was an episode of NOW on PBS which may be viewed at: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/242/index.html.

If you are interested in learning more and perhaps becoming involved on a state level go to: http://washclean.org.

There is also a movement at the national level. To find out more go to: http://www.just6dollars.org.

Love,
T

If you are local to Ellensburg, WA I invite you to attend the Washington Public Campaigns presentation to the League of Women Voters on April 17th at 7 pm in the Hal Holmes Community Center: 209 N. Ruby Street, 962-7240.