Here is our position paper on the subject. For more information and to see the FirstRateCrowd videos, see the information at the very bottom of this post.
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Economic inequality is the gap between what the top 1%, and the remaining population has with regards to wealth and income. This ever-growing gap is causing an unparallel degree of dysfunction and suffering within society. This is harmful and must be addressed now.
FirstRateCrowd is the vanguard of reasoned capitalism, leading the way to prevent its own demise. Aspects of our economic system are shattered, providing an instability of unprecedented proportion. In the past one hundred years, we have witnessed a major depression, a major recession, and now rampant inequality. History is well-equipped with examples of this type of volatility bringing about a precipitous economic system change, a change we do not want. Our crowdsourcing Community, with its power of choice based upon "the wisdom of the crowd," can help to remedy this economic failure. By modifying and taking corrective action now, the economic system we already have in place can be saved. We can prevent a future catastrophic event from occurring; like-minded individuals are welcome to join us towards this end.
The goal with respect to the crowd is to create a global company that "does good in the world." The company's definition of doing good operationally means to reduce economic inequality. By democratizing the work place through crowdsourcing we create a new form of company; it is an actual testament towards this goal of doing good by reducing income inequality. The company in and of itself is a means to reduce income inequality, a major component of economic inequality. The company's income structure and the community's participation to do good in the world will help curb the intolerable widening economic inequality gap with the 1%. This strategy circumvents the usual political, tax, and legal gridlock by providing individuals a sensible and direct grassroots way to help reduce economic inequality. Overall it increases the quality of our own lives.
The economic system is broken and no longer works for us, yet we do not want to do away with it. Rather, we want to repair it by regulating it in a practical and common-sense way, and make it ours once again; this will change the balance of the inequality equation. Our new form of crowdsourced company provides the crowd a new way to choose its economic outcomes in a more favorable fashion aligned with its own best interests. It is an existential principle of choice in economic matters that allows it a greater freedom in meeting its own needs; this more sovereign position is the liberty we strive for.
The deleterious effects of wealth and income inequality upon society are well-documented. The negative attributes of a widening gap between the 1% and others is not only injurious to the economy and fabric of our society, but also to the very psyche of the individuals who participate in this economic turmoil. The gap between the two extremes is now at such an intolerable level that action must be taken; this is not only an economic imperative, but a moral one as well. Not taking action is tantamount to losing our freedom.
FirstRateCrowd is a profit-oriented entity with firm pro-business and realistic capitalistic beliefs. But we do not believe in unrestrained capitalism, which ultimately concentrates wealth into the hands of just the few at the expense of the many. We view this as an economic and social injustice, a position we will not let stand. It is obvious our political and judicial systems have become so compromised by the wealth accumulated and subsequent power of the 1%, they no longer serve our best interests. We must now act on our own behalf and welcome the true meaning of the word equality.
Our goal is to create and implement a new kind of company for use by our community to lessen this widening economic gap; it is a common-sense way to change the balance of the equation. The company will provide those of us who are members a new way to choose our economic outcomes in a more favorable fashion aligned with our own best interests. It is an existential principle of choice that will allow us a greater freedom in meeting our own instrumental needs. The freedom to choose in such a manner translates into a freedom of being for the individual; this, in turn, changes our economic outcomes towards a more independent position.
To be clear, we understand the rights and need for the 1% to exist. We are equally clear about the rights and needs of the remaining population. Time and again, history has demonstrated that when an imbalance of rights and needs between these two groups becomes intolerable, strong action is taken in a corrective fashion. Our directive is to bring about this correction in a non-violent manner so that a more equal footing is met. Not doing so now will ultimately lead to force and violence later, a proposition neither side wants. We experience a global struggle developing the depth and breadths of which the world has not witnessed before. If the world continues on its current path, an unsparing outcome will occur; it is this outcome we seek to avoid.
The actions FirstRateCrowd takes are also fundamentally in the best interests of the 1%, as the protector of those amongst them who support us. There are those companies and individuals who are relegated to the 1% by merely being financially successful, but they do not support the ruinous philosophy that is stripping away our rights. We applaud these members of our society and embrace them; we are ever-mindful of their presence and will modulate our behavior favorably on their behalf. In fact, it is a moral obligation we have on towards them.
Our strategy for creating this new kind of company is to provide individuals in the marketplace choice; this is a democratic principle. This position will not only allow for more wealth and income to flow to the remainder of us, but will modulate the behavior of the 1% from its eventual self-destructive behavior. We want to emphasize that we do not wish to do away with capitalism. We do, however, wish to regulate and damper the ill effects of its actions by offering people choice. Through this process, we have a means to further democratize the economic landscape, generating a more equitable position for all involved.
There are a few proposed solutions being bantered about in the public domain but they have no realistic chance of being successful in changing the economic inequality landscape. These options, presented by politicians and pundits, are fractured along political and class lines. They are unrealistic and insufficient to meet the needs for true change. Their impotent views and callous indifference to suffering is providing lip-service only. In contrast, our organization presents a concrete and realistic way forward; it is by uniting with us in our endeavor that a realistic and viable change will occur for the common good.
As with any new idea, the initial scope and focus of our community will start out small but will grow in size over time. Its power will be expressed in the marketplace on our behalf. The capacity of the crowd, that is the power of our crowdsourcing members, is enormous and has the ability to bring a new way of doing business; it is a means to do good in the world. The responsible use of this power in the form of a new type of company will allow us to sway economic, political, and judicial outcomes on our behalf.
Our crowdsourcing community table is large and many will need to sit with us regardless of nationality, race, religion, political views or ideology. This is a worldwide endeavor that demands our attention. We believe the current path taken by the 1% is detrimental to the well-being of our society and planet. It is our overwhelming conviction the collective knowledge and power of the crowdsourcing community can reverse the damage done and restore a balance for us all before it is too late.
How will FRC function?
FirstRateCrowd will host the development and implementation of the crowdsourcing community on our website to propel this project. Our finished platform will have all the necessary tools to drive this idea forward , producing a workable and practical organization from start to finish. Our future Discussion and Rating software will allow the best ideas of our members to rise to the top for consideration. Once these ideas are formulated and shaped into view, the best aspects can be voted upon and implemented. The project management software, Base Camp, and other communication software will allow our members to form teams to work on the individual aspects of the project. Once all of the individual components are produced, the parts will be assembled, creating an integrated whole which will be the foundation for our application.
We are aware our site is open to aggressive action by those who would prosper from our failure. To control and limit their operation, there are times when the LLC management will limit the voting options presented to the community.
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FirstRateCrowd
"A crowdsourced platform to stop economic inequality"
Here is in the new pre-launch website.
It is still in development and in a pre-launch mode
while we continue to work on it.
Please check it out, participate if you like,
and let me know what you think of it.
You do not have to use your real name
to register on the site.
To access the site, copy this code into
your browser field and hit enter.
http://www.firstratecrowd.com/dev.firstratecrowd.com/or just Google, FirstRateCrowd-dev
Your participation is appreciated. It will help us to
further develop and test the site.
Feel free to forward this to individuals who you think would
be interested in the site.
Rocky
(
RockyLipkowitz@yahoo.com)