Charity Paradigm
The revolution will not be televised
God promised "the meek inherit the earth." It may seem impossible now, but historically that never seemed possible. However the End Times, the Last Days are the very time that is possible. In this Globalized world and the "Information Age " we live-in now, democracy has a greater role to play than in just politics. I'm here to see how people can democratically control the money they make, and not let corporations, landlords and politicians keep using money to control our lives. I can see the "new heaven and new earth" God has promised, but to get there He wants us to take democratic control of our lives with our money, our work and homes. He wants us to Get Out of Babylon.To me that means cooperative banking, employee owned businesses and cooperative housing all integrated, working together to separate ourselves from this unjust world of greed.
- There is an intrinsic purpose to the act of charity. There are no tangible benefits but rather the spiritual benefits are like a guaranteed favor with God.
I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9 NIV)
Treasures in Heaven
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6 (NIV)
Jesus looked closely at the man...and said, "There's one thing you still need to do. Go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me."
When the man heard Jesus say this, he went away gloomy and sad because he was very rich. Mark 10:21, 22 (CEV)
Matthew 25:35-40; 41-45; Luke 7:28
It is not a rule or a law for Christians to help the poor like widows, orphans, those sick and disenfranchised, but it is an obligation. Jesus Christ made that very clear in his life as an example for us to follow. It is an act of faith, of service and worship. To help the poor is to do service to God himself. If all Christians who are blessed with material wealth in this life would share some of their wealth with the poor, the world would be a better place, in theory. The hard, cold reality is that much of the wealth we share is wasted on thieves and liars who rob the poor as a normal business practice.
- There seems to be corruption in most charity organizations. Charitable organizations seem to have become capitalist institutions with enormous wasteful overhead expenses. Even if they were truly non-profit organizations, they provide middle class livelihood for many of it's staff members. Therefore, much of the money given to charity organizations does not go to the needy as it was intended for by the donor.
"For all their publicity stunts and feel-good lines, many of today’s powerhouse nonprofits are extremely inefficient. They commit the majority of their resources to pulling in potential donors through razzle-dazzle, so that there is little left in the way of resources for their actual causes. Inevitably, every organization has overhead costs, but a staggering number of charities today are falling out of control in this respect."
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/5/15/corrupt-charities-pstrongcorrection-appended-see-belowstrongp/
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.....
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:2-4 (NIV)
"In any case we clearly see, and on this there is general agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class: for the ancient workingmen's guilds were abolished in the last century, and no other protective organization took their place. Public institutions and the laws set aside the ancient religion. Hence, by degrees it has come to pass that working men have been surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition. The mischief has been increased by rapacious usury, which, although more than once condemned by the Church, is nevertheless, under a different guise, but with like injustice, still practiced by covetous and grasping men. To this must be added that the hiring of labor and the conduct of trade are concentrated in the hands of comparatively few; so that a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself.
Nature accordingly must have given to man a source that is stable and remaining always with him, from which he might look to draw continual supplies. And this stable condition of things he finds solely in the earth and its fruits. There is no need to bring in the State. Man precedes the State, and possesses, prior to the formation of any State, the right of providing for the substance of his body. "
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum_en.html/
Now, to store your treasures in Heaven, there must be a solution to this. One way is to just look for poor people and give them your money. But, that can be very wasteful also if not directed to something constructive and useful. Another way is to give poor people a bank account and enable those people to have democratic control of their money in their jobs, businesses, homes and their banks. This utilizes a "third way" economic system contrary to capitalism and socialism.
Distributism (also known as distributionism or distributivism) is a third-way economic philosophy that developed in England in the early 20th century based upon the principles of Catholic social teaching, especially the teachings of Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum Novarum and Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo Anno.
According to distributists, property ownership is a fundamental right and the means of production should be spread as widely as possible among the general populace, rather than being centralized under the control of the state (state socialism) or by an elite of wealthy property owners (laissez-faire capitalism).
Some have seen it more as an aspiration, which has been successfully realised in the short term by commitment to the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity (these being built into financially independent local cooperatives and small family businesses), though proponents also cite such periods as the Middle Ages as examples of the historical long-term viability of distributism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributism
To really help the poor, we must not simply give money and hope for the best to happen. We must enable the poor to help themselves, to actually be self-sufficient. There is a proverb: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." so simply to give money is not sufficient to help the poor, not even to simply give money to programs that are suppose to teach poor people job skills. Self-sufficiency in this 21st century involves financial self sufficiency and access to a world market, not simply job skills. Credit Unions and Cooperative Banks provide exactly that, to be shareholders with voting control on the use of their money. As shareholders the poor have the same privilege and advantages that rich people have proportionally, with the dignity of not needing free handouts of traditional charity. But, then again, only in theory. More than that is needed.
-The Differences in Credit Unions, Cooperative Banks and Micro-financing Banks seems to be very important in regards to services and the financial security it provides. However there seems to little practical difference between Credit Unions and Cooperative Banks. Credit Unions occur mostly in North American and Europe while Cooperative Banks are predominate in Asia.
A Credit Union is a group of people who pool their monies to assist each other financially. Thus, the main objective of a Credit Union is to assist its shareholders with their financial needs. One of the most important opportunities that Credit Unions offer is the opportunity for shareholders to own and manage their financial institution.
Each shareholder is a part owner of the Credit Union and monies they deposit with the Credit Union are called shares. At the end of each financial year, a rate of dividend is declared which will be paid to the shareholders. The rate to be paid is dependent on the profits the Credit Union made during the financial year. Although all shareholders receive the same dividend rate, the total monies received by a shareholder depends on the amount of shares owned. However, regardless of the number of shares owned by a shareholder, each shareholder has equal rights and is entitled to only one vote at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
As part owners, shareholders of Credit Unions assist to create more opportunities for themselves, such as starting small businesses, building family homes and educating their children. While it is important for a Credit Union to be financially sustainable, it is not driven by profit. Credit Unions are only similar to for-profit corporations in that they also seek to generate profits for the benefit of the owners. However, unlike private commercial banks and other for-profit institutions, the members of Credit Unions serve as both owners and recipients of the CUs’ services. Therefore, when Credit Unions maximize their profits, it results in lower interest rates on loans, lower service fees and higher dividends for the members. In addition to this unique aspect, Credit Unions are democratic institutions, where a single shareholder receives a single vote, regardless of their financial stake in the organization.
A cooperative ("coop"), co-operative ("co-op"), or coöperative ("coöp") is an autonomous association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefit. Cooperatives include non-profit community organizations and businesses that are owned and managed by the people who use its services (a consumer cooperative) and/or by the people who work there (a worker cooperative).
A cooperative is a legal entity owned and democratically controlled by its members. Members often have a close association with the enterprise as producers or consumers of its products or services, or as its employees.
In some countries, e.g. Finland and Sweden, there are specific forms of incorporation for cooperatives. Cooperatives may take the form of companies limited by shares or by guarantee, partnerships or unincorporated associations. In the USA, cooperatives are often organized as non-capital stock corporations under state-specific cooperative laws. However, they may also be unincorporated associations or business corporations such as limited liability companies or partnerships; such forms are useful when the members want to allow:
-some members to have a greater share of the control, or
-some investors to have a return on their capital that exceeds fixed interest,
neither of which may be allowed under local laws for cooperatives. Cooperatives often share their earnings with the membership as dividends, which are divided among the members according to their participation in the enterprise, such as patronage, instead of according to the value of their capital shareholdings (as is done by a joint stock company).
Identity
Cooperatives are based on the cooperative values of "self-help, self-responsibility, democracy and equality, equity and solidarity" and the seven cooperative principles:[13]
Voluntary and Open Membership
Democratic Member Control
Member Economic Participation
Autonomy and Independence
Education, Training and Information
Cooperation among Cooperatives
Concern for Community
Cooperatives are dedicated to the values of openness, social responsibility and caring for others. Such legal entities have a range of social characteristics. Membership is open, meaning that anyone who satisfies certain non-discriminatory conditions may join. Economic benefits are distributed proportionally to each member's level of participation in the cooperative, for instance by a dividend on sales or purchases, rather than according to capital invested.[13] Cooperatives may be classified as either worker, consumer, producer, purchasing or housing cooperatives.[14] They are distinguished from other forms of incorporation in that profit-making or economic stability are balanced by the interests of the community.[13] Co-ops can sometimes be identified on the Internet through the use of the .coop gTLD. Organizations using .coop domain names must adhere to the basic co-op values.
The United Nations has declared 2012 to be the International Year of Cooperatives
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative
A microfinance institution (MFI) is an organization that provides financial services to the poor. This very broad definition includes a wide range of providers that vary in their legal structure, mission, and methodology. However, all share the common characteristic of providing financial services to clients who are poorer and more vulnerable than traditional bank clients.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the microenterprise movement led to the emergence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that provided small loans for the poor. In the 1990s, a number of these institutions transformed themselves into formal financial institutions in order to access and on-lend client savings, thus enhancing their outreach.
Specialized microfinance institutions have proven that the poor are “bankable”. Today, formal institutions are rapidly absorbing the lessons learned about how to do small-transaction banking. Many of the newer players in microfinance, such as commercial banks, have large existing branch networks, vast distribution outlets like automatic teller machines, and the ability to make significant investments in technology that could bring financial services closer to poor clients. Increasingly, links among different types of service providers are emerging to offer considerable scope for extending access.
Characteristics of MFIs
Formal providers are sometimes defined as those that are subject not only to general laws but also to specific banking regulation and supervision (development banks, savings and postal banks, commercial banks, and non-bank financial intermediaries). Formal providers may also be any registered legal organizations offering any kind of financial services. Semiformal providers are registered entities subject to general and commercial laws but are not usually under bank regulation and supervision (financial NGOs, credit unions and cooperatives). Informal providers are non-registered groups such as rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) and self-help groups.
Ownership structures: MFIs can be government-owned, like the rural credit cooperatives in China; member-owned, like the credit unions in West Africa; socially minded shareholders, like many transformed NGOs in Latin America; and profit-maximizing shareholders, like the microfinance banks in Eastern Europe. The types of services offered are limited by what is allowed by the legal structure of the provider: non-regulated institutions are not generally allowed to provide savings or insurance.
http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.26.1308/
Cooperatives being the most popular are known in banking, work, housing and other institutions. But ideally, they should all be integrated for people to have complete independence from governments and non-governmental organizations.
-To the point, business owners and landowners who consider themselves Christians should transfer all their working capital into a cooperative bank.
There is a situation in which people looking to earn money usually end up in the cities and urban centers, usually as squatters in extreme substandard housing. This leads to another situation in which there is a lack of skilled and dedicated workers in the countryside, in rural areas where an older generation cannot continue to maintain the chores of farming. it is obvious now that there must be a way to attract younger people away from city, urban centers and migrate and settle back to the rural countryside. It always seems like an impossible task for governments to provide sufficient infrastructure in these places usually available in the urban cities. Although, usually there is some adequate infrastructure for these rural areas. Building factories and other types of job opportunities in these rural areas are usually hindered by property rights, otherwise these jobs still leads to commerce towards the urban city centers.
There is the development of farming cooperatives, banking coops and even market coops in these rural areas. However, not all farms can form coops for various reasons and not all businesses are interested in banking with a cooperative. Most cooperative bank shareholder members I believe are business owners. I believe it is in the best interest business owners and landowners to be the members of these cooperatives and to provide shareholder privileges to keep or attract skilled dedicated employees. It is therefore by the recommendation of these members to not only register their employees but also provide the funds to open a fixed account as a shareholder for them, which is usually beyond the means of their employees. This will serve the purpose of providing labor union benefits without a separate organization that is innately hostile to the employer. Rather the cooperative bank will innately serve as unionizing factor to both employer and employee, integrating banks and the work place as cooperatives by default. Likewise, these shareholder members are also heads of households which usually here in developing countries includes children of a deceased relative. Children here are not entirely orphans without any relative. Helping these members to support these children with a separate account seems better than relying on Orphanages or Charities targeting children.
The same case can be made for landowners of farms or housing units. The Landowner can avoid the hostile situation of tenant associations and squatters by intergrating their rent of their valued tenants with an account at the same cooperative bank. By this method of integrating cooperatives, a social network can be maintained without depending on the urban city centers for growth an development.
Christians can facilitate sharing their wealth with the poor on a direct and on a individual basis with %100 of their money providing immediate social security to the poor. Opening an account in a cooperative for poor people is a small, one time contribution, small even to those of us considered the "working poor" in Western societies. We can easily be the insurance providers of a type of 401-k to poor working people in developing countries by means of cooperative banks. This can be a method for Christians to store their treasures in Heaven by investing their money to enable poor working people in developing countries to become shareholders in control of their own social security. We as Christians of all social orders should also invest our money in cooperative banks or credit unions simply for the purpose of not supporting this world predatory capitalism that is based on imposing odious debt on people as a means of creating more money. Many of these banks have direct money transfers that can be used to open an account for the recipient. And donations afterwards can be sent directly to the recipients account without any overhead expenses except for the transfer fee. This way we can open trust funds for the children wherein a trustee can be assigned to the fund or even better small regular donations can transferred to their accounts according to their living expenses.
- World Financial Crises
If anyone is aware of the recent financial crises in the USA and the European financial crises, then we should take this crises as a warning seriously. The credit party is not over. In fact it can never be solved unless there is a total collapse of the world monetary system.
Warning to Rich Oppressors
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. James 5 (NIV)
A parallel economy of the Distributist "third way" can provide some protect from this world financial disaster that is soon to come hitting much harder that he last one. There will be a financial crises that will push the USA and the world economies over the edge. Beyond the point for any hope of recovery unless a world government is formed under a state of emergency. The Asian creditor nations will become the winners in that recovery. By that time democracy in any form as we know it will be dead.
The only protection from that crises is forming a parallel economy now. To have an independent as self reliant, democratic banking system for an economy not dependent on any government, NGO charity or private corporation..
Bank Ownership and Stability: Evidence from Germany
Thorsten Beck, Heiko Hesse, Thomas Kick
and Natalja von Westernhagen*
This draft: June 2009
Abstract: Using a unique bank-level panel dataset over the period 1995 to 2007, this paper assesses the stability of German banks with different ownership structures. Using three different measures of bank stability – the z-score, a standard measure of distance from insolvency, non-performing loans, and distress probabilities derived from hazard models – we find consistent evidence that privately-owned banks are less stable than government-owned savings banks and cooperative banks. Furthermore, cooperative banks are farther away from insolvency than government-owned savings banks, but are more likely to become distressed than savings banks. We also find evidence for the Too-Big-To-Fail phenomenon, as larger privately-owned banks hold less risk-weighted capital than their smaller peers, thus moving closer to insolvency, but face lower distress probability. Cooperative or savings banks, on the other hand, are more stable if larger
God promised "the meek inherit the earth." It may seem impossible now, but historically that never seemed possible. However the End Times, the Last Days are the very time that is possible. In this Globalized world and the "Information Age " we live-in now, democracy has a greater role to play than in just politics. I'm here to see how people can democratically control the money they make, and not let corporations, landlords and politicians keep using money to control our lives. I can see the "new heaven and new earth" God has promised, but to get there He wants us to take democratic control of our lives with our money, our work and homes. He wants us to Get Out of Babylon.To me that means cooperative banking, employee owned businesses and cooperative housing all integrated, working together to separate ourselves from this unjust world of greed.
- There is an intrinsic purpose to the act of charity. There are no tangible benefits but rather the spiritual benefits are like a guaranteed favor with God.
I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9 NIV)
Treasures in Heaven
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6 (NIV)
Jesus looked closely at the man...and said, "There's one thing you still need to do. Go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me."
When the man heard Jesus say this, he went away gloomy and sad because he was very rich. Mark 10:21, 22 (CEV)
Matthew 25:35-40; 41-45; Luke 7:28
It is not a rule or a law for Christians to help the poor like widows, orphans, those sick and disenfranchised, but it is an obligation. Jesus Christ made that very clear in his life as an example for us to follow. It is an act of faith, of service and worship. To help the poor is to do service to God himself. If all Christians who are blessed with material wealth in this life would share some of their wealth with the poor, the world would be a better place, in theory. The hard, cold reality is that much of the wealth we share is wasted on thieves and liars who rob the poor as a normal business practice.
- There seems to be corruption in most charity organizations. Charitable organizations seem to have become capitalist institutions with enormous wasteful overhead expenses. Even if they were truly non-profit organizations, they provide middle class livelihood for many of it's staff members. Therefore, much of the money given to charity organizations does not go to the needy as it was intended for by the donor.
"For all their publicity stunts and feel-good lines, many of today’s powerhouse nonprofits are extremely inefficient. They commit the majority of their resources to pulling in potential donors through razzle-dazzle, so that there is little left in the way of resources for their actual causes. Inevitably, every organization has overhead costs, but a staggering number of charities today are falling out of control in this respect."
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/5/15/corrupt-charities-pstrongcorrection-appended-see-belowstrongp/
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.....
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:2-4 (NIV)
"In any case we clearly see, and on this there is general agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class: for the ancient workingmen's guilds were abolished in the last century, and no other protective organization took their place. Public institutions and the laws set aside the ancient religion. Hence, by degrees it has come to pass that working men have been surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition. The mischief has been increased by rapacious usury, which, although more than once condemned by the Church, is nevertheless, under a different guise, but with like injustice, still practiced by covetous and grasping men. To this must be added that the hiring of labor and the conduct of trade are concentrated in the hands of comparatively few; so that a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself.
Nature accordingly must have given to man a source that is stable and remaining always with him, from which he might look to draw continual supplies. And this stable condition of things he finds solely in the earth and its fruits. There is no need to bring in the State. Man precedes the State, and possesses, prior to the formation of any State, the right of providing for the substance of his body. "
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum_en.html/
Now, to store your treasures in Heaven, there must be a solution to this. One way is to just look for poor people and give them your money. But, that can be very wasteful also if not directed to something constructive and useful. Another way is to give poor people a bank account and enable those people to have democratic control of their money in their jobs, businesses, homes and their banks. This utilizes a "third way" economic system contrary to capitalism and socialism.
Distributism (also known as distributionism or distributivism) is a third-way economic philosophy that developed in England in the early 20th century based upon the principles of Catholic social teaching, especially the teachings of Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum Novarum and Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo Anno.
According to distributists, property ownership is a fundamental right and the means of production should be spread as widely as possible among the general populace, rather than being centralized under the control of the state (state socialism) or by an elite of wealthy property owners (laissez-faire capitalism).
Some have seen it more as an aspiration, which has been successfully realised in the short term by commitment to the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity (these being built into financially independent local cooperatives and small family businesses), though proponents also cite such periods as the Middle Ages as examples of the historical long-term viability of distributism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributism
To really help the poor, we must not simply give money and hope for the best to happen. We must enable the poor to help themselves, to actually be self-sufficient. There is a proverb: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." so simply to give money is not sufficient to help the poor, not even to simply give money to programs that are suppose to teach poor people job skills. Self-sufficiency in this 21st century involves financial self sufficiency and access to a world market, not simply job skills. Credit Unions and Cooperative Banks provide exactly that, to be shareholders with voting control on the use of their money. As shareholders the poor have the same privilege and advantages that rich people have proportionally, with the dignity of not needing free handouts of traditional charity. But, then again, only in theory. More than that is needed.
-The Differences in Credit Unions, Cooperative Banks and Micro-financing Banks seems to be very important in regards to services and the financial security it provides. However there seems to little practical difference between Credit Unions and Cooperative Banks. Credit Unions occur mostly in North American and Europe while Cooperative Banks are predominate in Asia.
A Credit Union is a group of people who pool their monies to assist each other financially. Thus, the main objective of a Credit Union is to assist its shareholders with their financial needs. One of the most important opportunities that Credit Unions offer is the opportunity for shareholders to own and manage their financial institution.
Each shareholder is a part owner of the Credit Union and monies they deposit with the Credit Union are called shares. At the end of each financial year, a rate of dividend is declared which will be paid to the shareholders. The rate to be paid is dependent on the profits the Credit Union made during the financial year. Although all shareholders receive the same dividend rate, the total monies received by a shareholder depends on the amount of shares owned. However, regardless of the number of shares owned by a shareholder, each shareholder has equal rights and is entitled to only one vote at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
As part owners, shareholders of Credit Unions assist to create more opportunities for themselves, such as starting small businesses, building family homes and educating their children. While it is important for a Credit Union to be financially sustainable, it is not driven by profit. Credit Unions are only similar to for-profit corporations in that they also seek to generate profits for the benefit of the owners. However, unlike private commercial banks and other for-profit institutions, the members of Credit Unions serve as both owners and recipients of the CUs’ services. Therefore, when Credit Unions maximize their profits, it results in lower interest rates on loans, lower service fees and higher dividends for the members. In addition to this unique aspect, Credit Unions are democratic institutions, where a single shareholder receives a single vote, regardless of their financial stake in the organization.
A cooperative ("coop"), co-operative ("co-op"), or coöperative ("coöp") is an autonomous association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefit. Cooperatives include non-profit community organizations and businesses that are owned and managed by the people who use its services (a consumer cooperative) and/or by the people who work there (a worker cooperative).
A cooperative is a legal entity owned and democratically controlled by its members. Members often have a close association with the enterprise as producers or consumers of its products or services, or as its employees.
In some countries, e.g. Finland and Sweden, there are specific forms of incorporation for cooperatives. Cooperatives may take the form of companies limited by shares or by guarantee, partnerships or unincorporated associations. In the USA, cooperatives are often organized as non-capital stock corporations under state-specific cooperative laws. However, they may also be unincorporated associations or business corporations such as limited liability companies or partnerships; such forms are useful when the members want to allow:
-some members to have a greater share of the control, or
-some investors to have a return on their capital that exceeds fixed interest,
neither of which may be allowed under local laws for cooperatives. Cooperatives often share their earnings with the membership as dividends, which are divided among the members according to their participation in the enterprise, such as patronage, instead of according to the value of their capital shareholdings (as is done by a joint stock company).
Identity
Cooperatives are based on the cooperative values of "self-help, self-responsibility, democracy and equality, equity and solidarity" and the seven cooperative principles:[13]
Voluntary and Open Membership
Democratic Member Control
Member Economic Participation
Autonomy and Independence
Education, Training and Information
Cooperation among Cooperatives
Concern for Community
Cooperatives are dedicated to the values of openness, social responsibility and caring for others. Such legal entities have a range of social characteristics. Membership is open, meaning that anyone who satisfies certain non-discriminatory conditions may join. Economic benefits are distributed proportionally to each member's level of participation in the cooperative, for instance by a dividend on sales or purchases, rather than according to capital invested.[13] Cooperatives may be classified as either worker, consumer, producer, purchasing or housing cooperatives.[14] They are distinguished from other forms of incorporation in that profit-making or economic stability are balanced by the interests of the community.[13] Co-ops can sometimes be identified on the Internet through the use of the .coop gTLD. Organizations using .coop domain names must adhere to the basic co-op values.
The United Nations has declared 2012 to be the International Year of Cooperatives
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative
A microfinance institution (MFI) is an organization that provides financial services to the poor. This very broad definition includes a wide range of providers that vary in their legal structure, mission, and methodology. However, all share the common characteristic of providing financial services to clients who are poorer and more vulnerable than traditional bank clients.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the microenterprise movement led to the emergence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that provided small loans for the poor. In the 1990s, a number of these institutions transformed themselves into formal financial institutions in order to access and on-lend client savings, thus enhancing their outreach.
Specialized microfinance institutions have proven that the poor are “bankable”. Today, formal institutions are rapidly absorbing the lessons learned about how to do small-transaction banking. Many of the newer players in microfinance, such as commercial banks, have large existing branch networks, vast distribution outlets like automatic teller machines, and the ability to make significant investments in technology that could bring financial services closer to poor clients. Increasingly, links among different types of service providers are emerging to offer considerable scope for extending access.
Characteristics of MFIs
Formal providers are sometimes defined as those that are subject not only to general laws but also to specific banking regulation and supervision (development banks, savings and postal banks, commercial banks, and non-bank financial intermediaries). Formal providers may also be any registered legal organizations offering any kind of financial services. Semiformal providers are registered entities subject to general and commercial laws but are not usually under bank regulation and supervision (financial NGOs, credit unions and cooperatives). Informal providers are non-registered groups such as rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) and self-help groups.
Ownership structures: MFIs can be government-owned, like the rural credit cooperatives in China; member-owned, like the credit unions in West Africa; socially minded shareholders, like many transformed NGOs in Latin America; and profit-maximizing shareholders, like the microfinance banks in Eastern Europe. The types of services offered are limited by what is allowed by the legal structure of the provider: non-regulated institutions are not generally allowed to provide savings or insurance.
http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.26.1308/
Cooperatives being the most popular are known in banking, work, housing and other institutions. But ideally, they should all be integrated for people to have complete independence from governments and non-governmental organizations.
-To the point, business owners and landowners who consider themselves Christians should transfer all their working capital into a cooperative bank.
There is a situation in which people looking to earn money usually end up in the cities and urban centers, usually as squatters in extreme substandard housing. This leads to another situation in which there is a lack of skilled and dedicated workers in the countryside, in rural areas where an older generation cannot continue to maintain the chores of farming. it is obvious now that there must be a way to attract younger people away from city, urban centers and migrate and settle back to the rural countryside. It always seems like an impossible task for governments to provide sufficient infrastructure in these places usually available in the urban cities. Although, usually there is some adequate infrastructure for these rural areas. Building factories and other types of job opportunities in these rural areas are usually hindered by property rights, otherwise these jobs still leads to commerce towards the urban city centers.
There is the development of farming cooperatives, banking coops and even market coops in these rural areas. However, not all farms can form coops for various reasons and not all businesses are interested in banking with a cooperative. Most cooperative bank shareholder members I believe are business owners. I believe it is in the best interest business owners and landowners to be the members of these cooperatives and to provide shareholder privileges to keep or attract skilled dedicated employees. It is therefore by the recommendation of these members to not only register their employees but also provide the funds to open a fixed account as a shareholder for them, which is usually beyond the means of their employees. This will serve the purpose of providing labor union benefits without a separate organization that is innately hostile to the employer. Rather the cooperative bank will innately serve as unionizing factor to both employer and employee, integrating banks and the work place as cooperatives by default. Likewise, these shareholder members are also heads of households which usually here in developing countries includes children of a deceased relative. Children here are not entirely orphans without any relative. Helping these members to support these children with a separate account seems better than relying on Orphanages or Charities targeting children.
The same case can be made for landowners of farms or housing units. The Landowner can avoid the hostile situation of tenant associations and squatters by intergrating their rent of their valued tenants with an account at the same cooperative bank. By this method of integrating cooperatives, a social network can be maintained without depending on the urban city centers for growth an development.
Christians can facilitate sharing their wealth with the poor on a direct and on a individual basis with %100 of their money providing immediate social security to the poor. Opening an account in a cooperative for poor people is a small, one time contribution, small even to those of us considered the "working poor" in Western societies. We can easily be the insurance providers of a type of 401-k to poor working people in developing countries by means of cooperative banks. This can be a method for Christians to store their treasures in Heaven by investing their money to enable poor working people in developing countries to become shareholders in control of their own social security. We as Christians of all social orders should also invest our money in cooperative banks or credit unions simply for the purpose of not supporting this world predatory capitalism that is based on imposing odious debt on people as a means of creating more money. Many of these banks have direct money transfers that can be used to open an account for the recipient. And donations afterwards can be sent directly to the recipients account without any overhead expenses except for the transfer fee. This way we can open trust funds for the children wherein a trustee can be assigned to the fund or even better small regular donations can transferred to their accounts according to their living expenses.
- World Financial Crises
If anyone is aware of the recent financial crises in the USA and the European financial crises, then we should take this crises as a warning seriously. The credit party is not over. In fact it can never be solved unless there is a total collapse of the world monetary system.
Warning to Rich Oppressors
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. James 5 (NIV)
A parallel economy of the Distributist "third way" can provide some protect from this world financial disaster that is soon to come hitting much harder that he last one. There will be a financial crises that will push the USA and the world economies over the edge. Beyond the point for any hope of recovery unless a world government is formed under a state of emergency. The Asian creditor nations will become the winners in that recovery. By that time democracy in any form as we know it will be dead.
The only protection from that crises is forming a parallel economy now. To have an independent as self reliant, democratic banking system for an economy not dependent on any government, NGO charity or private corporation..
Bank Ownership and Stability: Evidence from Germany
Thorsten Beck, Heiko Hesse, Thomas Kick
and Natalja von Westernhagen*
This draft: June 2009
Abstract: Using a unique bank-level panel dataset over the period 1995 to 2007, this paper assesses the stability of German banks with different ownership structures. Using three different measures of bank stability – the z-score, a standard measure of distance from insolvency, non-performing loans, and distress probabilities derived from hazard models – we find consistent evidence that privately-owned banks are less stable than government-owned savings banks and cooperative banks. Furthermore, cooperative banks are farther away from insolvency than government-owned savings banks, but are more likely to become distressed than savings banks. We also find evidence for the Too-Big-To-Fail phenomenon, as larger privately-owned banks hold less risk-weighted capital than their smaller peers, thus moving closer to insolvency, but face lower distress probability. Cooperative or savings banks, on the other hand, are more stable if larger
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