Rebuilding the 'New Haiti'

The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government – Thomas Jefferson

The only thing in the way of a new approach to the redevelopment of Haiti is the lack of true servants of justice within the UN, the World Bank, the IMF, the USA and other nations who prefer to obtain the dependence of charity and aid rather than enable the independence of a self-sustaining society. We need to promote new leaders who have the courage to think outside of the conventional boxes and offer new ideas for empowering all Haitian citizens from the bottom-up.

This is a moment for new thinking. Every Haitan including the poorest of the poor, could have the means to acquire, control and enjoy the fruits of productive assets. From the rubble of Haiti a fair new society could so easily emerge.

Anything that can be owned by a government can and should be owned by the citizens a government is supposed to serve. The democratization of capital through universal access to asset ownership will end the power and opportunity gap between today's haves and have-nots. No property need be taken from today's owners.

Here is how:

• Money for the rebuilding of Haiti should be internally generated under a properly designed and citizen owned central bank, eliminating Haiti's dependency on external (and ruinous) financing sources. (Many countries printed new money to bail out the banks in 2008)

• A Citizens Land Co-operative would allow the community to share equally in the control and profits associated with land planning and development.

• Local Community Banks should be set up to aid the democratization of capital with interest-free credit.

• Newly issued shares in sustainable new enterprises would enable every man, woman and child to accumulate wealth and receive tax-free income. This would include those who have no remunerative employment, such as the disabled, the unemployed, homemakers, volunteers and children.

• Schools need to teach their students a commercial language such as French or English in addition to Creole.

• Haiti's huge current national debt must be forgiven.

A "New Haiti" can and should emerge out of this disaster. Funding for the rebuilding can be generated internally by the issuance by a citizen-owned bank of interest-free ‘new money’ which would be allocated equally from the bottom-up through each individuals’ bank account.

This new money would be invested in the sustainable growth of the New Haiti and each citizen would have the means to invest in newly issued shares in green companies involved in producing marketable goods and services.

The only thing in the way of developing a fairer society for Haiti, and indeed the rest of the world, is the mindset (or is it greed) of those who purport to act in our interests. But there are many bright, capable and fair-minded people out there who could manage the transition to a fairer society in all our worlds. Pull them out of the shadows and give them your support!

Attached is a link for the proposed restructuring any given economic system. This could easily be adapted for a New Haiti, a New Palestine, a New Afghanistan – indeed a new paradigm: http://www.cesj.org/thirdway/thirdway-intro.htm With thanks to Norman Kurland.

The framework for our previous mailing on Haiti began as a post on the Global Prout Policy egroup by Sister Ambika, Ame Johnson: www.proutinstitute.org