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A Government Transitional Program to a Metric Economy
Here are ways that the US Federal Government could help enable the formation of a new Economy based upon metric and diverse principles
Metrics for Financial Institutions
Impose public metrics on financial institutions and all related industries. These metrics would include complete data on loans, dollar amounts, collateral, income, ARMs etc. But we can go further with metrics on consumer relations, diversity in the workplace, housing for the poor, environmental metrics and so on.
Metrics for Auto
Impose metrics on the auto industry, if green metrics had been imposed on the auto industry years ago, it would not have crashed as a result of its idiotic strategy of investing billions in SUV plants. And seriously consider a foreign takeover or joint management of domestic auto, on the condition that all jobs are kept in the country. Foreign producers have proven over the last 40 years that they are smarter, more efficient, and more environmentally aware than their American counterparts.
Metrics for Housing
Impose metrics on the housing industry related to green issues and access for the poor.
Metrics for Green
Impose metrics on green industries, you cannot assume they are thoroughly green, many mainstream firms are bringing their nefarious ways into this sector. Further, consider the price issues on green products and the impending price gouging , the government should not support monopolies, green or not.
Metrics for Energy
Put energy companies on a metric basis, the energy industry is too critical for our national survival.
Metric Securities
Upon converting finance, auto, housing, energy and green, then support securities on a metric basis, support formation of metric stock and bond exchanges to allow buying and selling on a metric basis. When the government sells its equity stakes in corporations, these must be sold as metric stocks through metric exchanges.
Metric Investment Banking
Encourage metric investment banking and other forms of gathering capital.
Support formation of Economic Leagues
Legalize and encourage the formation of civil groups, that is, economic leagues for investors, consumers, communities, industries, employees and other groups.
Public Reporting
Make it mandatory to do metric reporting for all government contracts, thus, putting major corporations on a metric reporting basis.
Metric Contracts
Favor genuine metric companies in awarding contracts, and not those simply reporting on a metric basis. Favor firms having good metrics, having quality metrics.
This is a suggested transitional programme in an attempt to work with current capitalist realities and introduce new institutions and methods in a strategic way. Making key industries metric and creating leagues and metric stock exchanges will also spur the formation of new firms creating a movement of metric entrepreneurs. In this way the government or state can help the formation of a metric economy in civil society, then the state can remove itself as the economy returns on its new basis. Legislation would include temporary powers and deadlines for handovers.
When the state leaves the scene, then metric controls, leagues, functioning metric stock exchanges will operate as the fundamental institutions. The state will retreat to national regulation issues, fiscal policy and national planning. In history are many examples of government intervention in times of crisis and war, this is no different. The state can do its work and then gracefully back out.
A metric econ is self-regulated, this has been the historical problem in economics. Either greedy capitalism goes completely unregulated or the socialist state nationalizes companies and then politicians try to make business decisions... and we know that the post office is the greatest economic achievement of politicians.
In the new economy each CEO, each MBA, each citizen regulates her or his behavior. Government retreats to doing what it was originally made for.
A primary principle of this new world is diversity --- diversity of ownership, a diverse market, diverse firms, diverse performance targets, diverse leagues. With these principles in mind, a metric economy will be built by people who are not greedy or selfish or power-seeking.
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