Imagining the Ideal World - Economics and Ecology: United for a Sustainable World - page 152

multinational corporate concentration—in effect, the stuff of which global-
ization is made.
But none of the business sectors implied in this list rival the financial sec-
tor for sheer monopoly-inducing concentration. The likes of Chase, Goldman
Sachs, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, and their few cohorts
monopolize the world of finance much more tightly than any small group of
the manufacturing firms in a particular sector could ever hope to accomplish
for their range of products in the worldwide market.
And what has the financial sector done with all this power? Basically, it
has ruined the rest of the economy for all of us, starting with insurance and
housing, and spreading into virtually every economic sector. Without going
into the eye-watering world of derivatives, hedge funds, foreclosures, credit
default swaps, executive bonuses, and the greed that tied it all together, our
conclusion is that the result has been perhaps the greatest upward shift in
income the world has ever seen. Let us be clear, the main cause of the finan-
cial meltdown, which continues as we write, has been (and is) inequality . In
other words, the financial sector has piloted a movement away from the nec-
essary prerequisite of a sustainable world: social equity . Wall Street and its
mode of operating is our greatest barrier to sustainability.
Where did they get all this money and power? We gave it to them. And
we need to take it back. To be sure, the financial sector is ingenious in find-
ing ways to expand capital values, but they need a great deal of it to start.
That monetary wealth is extracted from every community in America. Most
Americans have bank accounts, savings accounts, pension funds, mutual
funds, or own a few shares of stock outright. Virtually all such assets, even
though they were obtained through payroll deduction or some local friendly
stockbroker, money manager, or financial planner—maybe a friend or rela-
tive, or in my case (RB) a former student—the money quickly finds its way to
these financial powerhouse institutions.
Consequently, we might think, “Oh, we don't have the financial capability
to start a manufacturing operation. We must look to outside financing.” That
is untrue. We simply need to get our own share back from Wall Street and
use it. Savings are generated in every community. They have been expropri-
ated, and we need to begin getting them back so that they can finance com-
munity health instead of community destruction. This is easier said than
done, and we need improved mechanisms for doing that. State banks, com-
munity banks, and community credit unions are good examples of the types
of institutions that would provide needed local finance.
What about the risk? Are we not safer going with big, sophisticated inves-
tors who have superior knowledge and who can diversify holdings and seek
the best opportunities in the world? And how have they been doing for you
lately? The safest economies of the world of the future are most likely to
be local economies that take the largest steps down the path of community
self-sufficiency and sustainability. The returns will not be spectacular (as
the frenetic growth economy occasionally produces), but they will be secure