| When it comes to commerce, most groups view people outside their race or group as customers or, possibly as employees but seldom as suppliers or managers. This has historically been the most effective way for a group to accumulate capital and ownership of its own industries. With minor exceptions, few if any non-Black people purchase the products and services of Black businesses. Unfortunately, Black people also tend to patronize Black-owned business as a last option, if at all. Black people are the only group who work for and purchase from others before we will work for, invest in or purchase from each other. This is the primary reason that, while very large in terms of cash value, the Black economy remains a weak and uncoordinated consumer economy. The wisest, most correct and most appropriate path for Black people to take is to work with, teach, trade with, employ, invest in and protect each other. In order to build an effective economy and civilization it is necessary that we limit the ability of others to enter our communities to exploit and profit from us. It is also necessary that we implement internal discipline towards any one who seeks to do business in our communities. Ownership, profits and benefits must be consciously focused within the Black communities, through local control. This is not racism and we should not be detoured in the least when anyone labels this as a racist practice. We should ask the accuser whether he or she patronizes Black businesses on a regular basis, works for or employs a large number of Black people or has Black people living on their same street. The process of restoring the appropriate status of prosperity, leadership, ownership and power to Black and disposed people does not require that mega-corporations and small Black-owned businesses receive equal treatment. Our businesses and industries must receive preferential treatment, at least from us. The present conditions of our people were caused by unequal discriminatory treatment from those now in control. The remedy must involve a reallocation of power and resources sufficient to resurrect all oppressed people. Let us move beyond being defined by the same people who have enslaved and exploited us for several hundred years and who currently boycott our businesses and refuse to employ us on an equal basis. Let us focus on the elements necessary for us to build a successful and prosperous civilization that will enable us to become co-leaders in the world economy. One perverse advantage to our current condition is that we are being employed less and less in secure, salaried positions, by the large corporations. Therefore, we must increasingly depend upon our own efforts to earn a livelihood. Half of the battle of liberating ourselves from dependence on Europeans for our income has largely been accomplished. Now, we merely need to begin buying from and hiring each other, rather than continuing to patronize the Fortune 500. We will realize that our need to be involved in the old exploitive economy is being reduced daily, if we look at our situation logically. The fundamental tenants of our economic and commercial systems should include: a. Majority of ownership must remain with the employees, customers and local communities in all business operations. b. Eliminate the bias for capital over human and nature (or environmental) rights. Property rights must be protected, but capital must compensate humans and the environment for damage caused by commercial operations. c. Profits from our endeavors must flow to our, local, regional, national and international economic progress, before flowing to other absentee industries, institutions or investors. d. We must monitor and evaluate the impact of the actions of businesses in our communities and refuse to patronize those that do not benefit us. We can begin to achieve these goals under the current corporate and tax laws. We should view investments in ourselves the same as, or superior to, investments in institutions owned and controlled by others. The Black and brown people of the earth who benefit the least from the present system are now able to begin seeking alternatives. We should, at every opportunity, patronize alternative businesses to those that now dominate our communities. We must also begin to experiment and research more compatible forms of commerce. Because we have not had a uniform agenda and vision for our new civilization, it has been easy for our leaders to be pressured, intimidated and bribed into adopting policies, that work against our true interests. It is, therefore, essential that we develop and adopt such a vision that is applicable to making the powerless people powerful, throughout the world. An economic “Just-us” system must be developed. Consumers who commit to patronize Black-owned businesses first should receive an identification card. Black- owned businesses should, in turn, promise to offer discounts and special services for cardholders. Giving preference to locally owned and Black-owned businesses, we will begin to vote with our feet and our dollars concerning who does business in our communities. If certain businesses are not locally owned, we must form local business associations and chambers of commerce to develop plans to support the purchase or startup, by local residents, of businesses that provide all needed goods and services. We should pledge to patronize businesses that are locally owned, are self-managed or that provide substantial employment for community residents. These should be considered ‘Preferred” or “Just-us” businesses. Self-management means that businesses in our communities must be owned and managed by local residents, hire local residents, support local programs and projects and provide high quality products and courteous service. Other businesses should not be patronized. Local residents and businesses currently owned by residents shall initially be considered “Preferred”. Those that comply with community standards will remain “preferred”. Persons and businesses that do not meet local standards, fail to employ local residents, do not comply with the dispute resolution process or engage in habitual unacceptable conduct or practices will be placed on an” Undesirable” list. Local residents will be discouraged from working, trading, hiring, associating or doing business with them in any manner. If there are businesses that provide vital goods and services that do not comply with community standards, they must be pressured into compliance or competing businesses must be developed and supported. Communities must develop insurance funds or prepaid services pools for residents. Residents can make advance payments into these funds. They should be locally managed. This will allow local professionals such as lawyers, accountants, physicians, repair/maintenance and other companies to provide discounted services for local residents in exchange for guaranteed payments. Where Black-owned businesses do not exist, local residents should develop buying cooperatives for food, energy and other commodity items. By buying in bulk and distributing goods themselves, community residents can economize plus multiply their clout and ability to negotiate lower prices, higher quality or better service from vendors. Buying cooperatives also provide a foundation for other types of community collaborations because they require active participation and socialization by residents in exchange for reduced cost. We must each pledge that in order to make our communities prosper we will actively patronize only the following types of businesses: 1) Black owned 2) Owned by Africans or other Black people 3) Have Black management level of 20% or more 4) Owned by other non-European people. The community must seek information about the companies we patronize. We must not patronize any that do not meet these standards.” We must only vote for elected representatives who demonstrate strong support for this program through government programs that support such companies. A preference for local ownership and worker-owned businesses must be demonstrated. Absentee ownership must be discouraged by taxes & regulations. The social costs of a business’ activities must be calculated into its profitability. Harm done to a local community by unemployment, disinvestments or pollution must be compensated and repaired by the business involved in order for that business to remain in a “preferred” status. Dr. Claud Anderson presents an excellent and expanded instruction manual for this process in his book, Powernomics-The National Plan to Empower Black America , Powernomics Corporation of America, 2001. |
| 3. JUST-US ECONOMY |