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Entrepreneur

A New Economic Paradigm

Posted by Doug Wolkon on June 5, 2011 at 2:22 am

Hanalei Valley, Kauai

What if there was a move we could all make that would redirect and dramatically improve our economy? In the game of chess it would be like taking your opponents queen out of nowhere or even a checkmate while being down several pieces.

I mean, at any moment, doesn’t the economy have a chance to boom, just like it does bust? So what if there was one move we could all make that would allow a boom, as opposed to a bust. A game changer to create a new economic paradigm. So what is it? Well, for each one of us the strategic move may be a little bit different, but conceptually it is the same for all of us. WE MUST INVEST OUR SAVINGS DIFFERENTLY.

So let me try to explain our next move. And let me please say that I hope you act to spread the word so that we can change the economic system that currently feels so vulnerable. Let me also remind you, this is a private sector solution, by the people, for the people, driven by the private markets. In other words, we the people have the resources and we don’t need permission to do this – just action.

What in the world are you talking about? One move to change our economy? I will now try to explain. For example, lets take the State of Wisconsin Employee Retirement Funds. What could they do to better their economic situation, even maybe create boom time for themselves and the people of Wisconsin?

First as pertinent background information, did you know that the State Employee Pension Funds are by far the richest entity in the State of Wisconsin – yup, that’s right, they invest $82+ billion dollars and have more cash in their bank account than anyone in the State of Wisconsin. I bet they and so many other Public Pension Funds didn’t even realize that, and maybe thats why they are investing their hard earned savings unconsciously, without sound reason, allowing it to leave the State economy of the very people that it is intended to benefit. And maybe that is why they mistakenly act like they are the poorest, always worried about their future obligations not being met, and forgetting to invest their riches in their present-day, real Wisconsin economy for the benefit of their own well-being. The retirees in Wisconsin can no longer afford to passively invest their retirement savings in other States or Countries through national and international investment markets. They must actively invest their $82+ billion dollars in the local State economy to become the biggest real estate owner, renewable energy utility and entrepreneurial lender in the State of Wisconsin – and QUICKLY! Continued »

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Local Funds Coming Soon!

Posted by Doug Wolkon on December 21, 2010 at 4:06 pm

It sure feels like its high time to mix things up. Federal, State and Municipal governments are failing. Investment Ponzi Schemes are becoming more popular in the digital investment world. And our own Federal Government is using one credit card to pay off another. Isn’t it time we made things a bit simpler, less stressful, more playful, and have work available for all that want it?

What if, we the people, tried something new, brand new. An original plan that not only invested to secure our savings, but also made investments to positively impact the quality of our own lives. What I am suggesting is we organize our investment savings differently.

Please consider the possibilities of an all new Local Investment Fund. A Local Investment Fund will create investment return by acquiring local real estate, as well as building and generating wind and solar energy. The Local Fund would even lend money to a few local businesses that had staying and/or growing power. The Fund would be a community-minded landlord, utility, and bank, all-in-one; formed by local residents to invest in their own Counties and communities. The investments would help stabilize living costs, as well as grow the local economy and generate a strong dividend yield to its local investors.

A Local Investment Fund will be the first of its kind to provide both an offensive and a defensive engine to the local economy. For example, if the local savings and investment community owned the real estate leased by the local coffee shop or brew pub, wouldn’t it think twice about raising their rents? Or said differently, wouldn’t such a rent rise just equate to a more expensive cup of coffee or draft beer for that local resident investor? Wouldn’t the investor be in effect, raising the rent on itself? The same balanced investment characteristics are true for local renewable energy investments as well.

The new strategy would make investments in our lifestyles, in the here and now, contrary to some unknown place and time like in “retirement”. I personally, don’t want to think about the future anymore. I want to invest in the now. To invest to organize our economies with minimal commutes, and educate our communities through the act of sustainability. To invest until we discover a way to lower our energy costs while minimizing our impact on the land that feeds us every day.

Could you imagine the implications of this new way of organizing our economy? Entire Counties would go completely off-the-grid. Local jobs would be humming with billions of dollars being directly pumped into the local markets, businesses and economies. Local innovation would sky-rocket as new ideas would flood the streets. Local tax revenues would also rise, bolstering the desperate city coffers.

Local Funds are the true contrarian play in today’s most finicky global economy. The people of each community have to be the ones to change the direction of their economy by investing in their own land, in their own energy, and in their own people; with their own savings.

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Economic Detox

Posted by Doug Wolkon on January 7, 2009 at 8:51 am

So what is an Economic Detox? Raw green vegetables consumed through a straw is the food equivalent. Think diarrhea. I know what you are thinking, “yuk”. But as Wall Street has learned the hard way, we have no choice in the matter. Our economy is detoxing whether we like it or not; dropping our excess weight in order to regain our balance; flushing our obese corporate and government costs down the toilet in support of the long-term prosperity of the quicker, lighter, faster and more profitable Mom and Pop entrepreneurs. Continued »

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Waking Up to The American Dream

Posted by Doug Wolkon on October 28, 2008 at 11:05 pm

The American Dream once strongly stood for ideal freedom. For as a child in America, we are so fortunately nagged about what we want to be when we grow up: a fireman? an astronaut? or how about an entrepreneur? The American Dream meant career choices for everyone in America!

But somehow our freedom of choice that once so clearly encompassed the American Dream changed. Not sure when or how, but it clearly changed. For as I grew older, the American Dream became all about owning a home. What house, in what neighborhood, with how many bedrooms was all that we seemed to dream about. But then suddenly, the dream became a nightmare. Continued »

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Taking Out the Trash

Posted by Doug Wolkon on October 16, 2008 at 1:14 am

Given the poor state of the economy, isn’t it inevitable that the system for trash removal commonly referred to as “Pay As You Throw” is soon coming to a theater near you? So what happens when our cities and towns charge us individually by weight and/or size for the trash we produce?

Think about how much trash is being imported into your city everyday, only to be removed and sent to never never land the next day. The inefficiency of such an economic system is soon to be confronted. We have no choice. Our cities and towns can no longer afford to just turn the cheek and waste all that energy. Continued »

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