GoHuman Blog

Today GoHuman celebrates the sentencing of Rod Blagojevich to 14 years in prison; a fitting follow-up to Friday’s blog about Peter Schweizer’s expose on congressional corruption.  Amazingly, four of Illinois’ recent governors have been given jail time, proving the common sense notion that power corrupts. 

Peter Schweizer recently shined a spotlight on Congressional insider trading, corruption and graft, and we are now seeing the cockroaches scramble.  60 Minutes has further exposed what we knew all along:   the more power you have, the more opportunity you have to abuse it.  And unless we create and enforce regulation to stop this bad behavior, such widespread abuse will continue to take place.  It’s pervasive on both sides of the aisle, from John Boehner to Nancy Pelosi. 

When GoHuman decided to launch its Beta Phase on Labor Day we knew we had the right idea.  Political events in recent months have led to elected officials attacking the core ideas behind Unionism.  Highlighting the roots of, and what went wrong with the Union Movement, is critical to enabling U.S. Citizens to make better informed decisions.

Reflecting on this is also a good time to announce GoHuman’s interest in Yes! Magazine.  A headline article will help our members and readers understand why.  Not only do I personally live in Madison, an epicenter of the resistance against newly elected Governor Scott Walker, and not only does Yes! Magazine, in another recent article, highlight the connection to the Packers, of whom I just declared myself a fan, but our understanding of the causes of the problem, and the types of solutions we propose, seem to be in complete alignment.

This is why I recently gave a gift subscription to Yes! Magazine to several GoHuman Co-founders and other supporters, and why I’m reaching out to explore other areas of support and alignment with the Yes organization.  The problems we face are immense.  We’ve all got to sacrifice, even the teachers, policemen and other government employees.  But we need to do so with an attitude of positive cooperation, not with what amounts to a war-like attitude.  Solidarity with a magazine called Yes! seems timely and right.

1776 in the U.S. is symbolic of the struggle for freedom from those who would tax without representation.  Economic freedom.  Since last July 4 the markets had a wild recovery ride, but in the last month they’re trending dramatically down again.  The power of global government stimulus has run its course, and the fundamental problems have not yet been fixed.  New regulations have been authored and are in various stages of approval, but there is disagreement on what they will or won’t achieve, both positively and negatively.

There are many ways to look at this problem.  I like the chart at bottom with democracy and economic freedom on a grid.  We could discuss the placement of various countries, but to do so we’d have to first discuss the criteria by which we evaluate the terms.  That would lead to other discussions – and it gets pretty complex pretty fast.  Here’s an interesting video that shows there is hope we’ll get it right!

GoHuman.com’s answer to these challenges is to unite and strengthen local entrepreneurs, supported by a marketplace with transparent information.  This allows prices and services to find their own levels, as in so-called free markets.  But by building it from the bottom up, and putting ownership in the hands of the individual, we strip power from “market makers” who manipulate and control the so-called free markets to their advantage.  We welcome your input to this discussion.

Thank you to our members and supporters.  We look forward to working with you to make GoHuman.com even better in the year ahead.

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day of reflection on those who died in Military Service. In America it’s politically correct to speak out “in support of our troops” but war is controversial.

GoHuman.com is not afraid to challenge the status quo, question common wisdom and “make people think”. Historically it can be said that most of the men and women who have died in US wars gave their all for their ideals, but probably not all of them did, nor was every war a “just” war. With a history of drafts and volunteers, some “gave all” for the ideals of others or because the Military was a path to a better personal future.

I was born outside the US and have had two non-US passports. I’m now a US citizen, but still see multiple sides. There are many view-points on war, armed struggle and change. I was living in Germany when Dances With Wolves came out, a big hit there for reasons I won’t seek to explain here. Check out Soderbergh’s dual-movie 5+ hours on Che Guevara or other documentaries on civil wars to gain additional perspective.

GoHuman.com seeks to Change the Way Our World Works from the bottom up, one professional reputation and one connection at a time. There are numerous revolutionary principles embedded in the concept, business model and execution. For us Memorial Day is an inspiration to struggle, peacefully, for change. There are numerous ways to get involved, including a number of positions open. Let me know if you are interested.

GoHuman.com is serious about freedom and positive change, about dedicating our lives to a better future for all. Please let us know what you are doing to “Change the Way Your World Works”.

In memory of those who gave all for their ideals

Reason #1; Reason #2; Reason #3; Reason #4; Reason #5; Reason #6; Reason #7; Reason #8; Reason #9

Why GoHuman.com?  Reason #10 is that we provide a different perspective

Reason #11; Reason #12

Today marks 40 years of working together to live in balance with the planet’s limited resources. Here are 5 easy things you can do to help!

1) Take part in the Official Earth Day 2010 Campaign – Sign the Climate Declaration

2) Click here to tell Congress to pass a fair, ambitious and comprehensive climate bill.

3) Add a pledge to Sierra Club’s map and win a trip to Hawaii

4) Sign the Rock The Vote petition for Energy Independence

5) Cut down on your daily disposables – it’s easy!

Thanks for doing your part!

Goldman Sachs operated behind the scenes, defrauding millions of little guys & gals.  Our government failed us then, and continues to fail us. Check out this link to see how the government we elected has let Citigroup have its way with us, even after we became owners.

It’s our fault.

Americans, and everyone else on the planet, must own up, grow up, and participate more fully in ownership and governance. This nation was founded on these principles, but mass markets want to play vs. pay. Paying is acting responsibly; shouldering the burden of change.

But my daughter’s expression of frustration with her bank’s behavior, in tossing it over the gate by the stairs, was the real inspiration for this blog.

There are better ways to solve an economic crisis. Geithner’s failure to protect our interest, and Zoe’s latest antic, both highlight that responsible adults must be owners. It takes maturity to build something lasting. Spread the word and help us build it.

Reason #4 Why GoHuman.com is: We must own the global problem and work to change our own community!

Zoe solves the credit crisis her way

Reason #1; Reason #2; Reason #3; Reason #4; 

Next #5: The high cost of free; Reason #6; Reason #7; Reason #8; Reason #9; Reason #10; Reason #11; Reason #12

I’ve quoted from Money and Markets before, but a recent issue has the perfect followup to my last blog on Goldman Sachs, edited here for brevity:

“The AIG rescue was the biggest taxpayer rip-off of all time, initiating a whole series of Wall Street taxpayer rip-offs…:

1. The U.S. Treasury bails out AIG, protecting AIG’s counterparties from direct losses they’d suffer if AIG failed.

2. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York pays off AIG’s creditors in full. As U.S. investors lose fortunes in financially viable companies, 16 major banks lose nothing in a company otherwise bankrupt, like…

3. Goldman Sachs, with Wall Street’s most extravagant executive bonuses in 2006 and 2007, and the most lavish payer of employee bonuses in 2009.

The money flow is clear:
* From taxpayers to AIG…
* From AIG to big Wall Street investment banks like Goldman Sachs…
* From Goldman Sachs to its employees in the form of lavish bonuses.”

The true cost to our institutions is erosion of trust.  Trust cannot be bought, it is built painstakingly, over time, through the delivery of promises and expectations.

Our economy may recover, in the short term, but the bankruptcy of trust will be much harder to undo.

GoHuman.com targets the underlying problems.  Change the way your world works, locally, at the level of basic human interaction.

Trust is rebuilt one handshake at a time!

Since I wrote about Goldman Sachs’ apology, investors are calling for a bigger share of profits. Don’t owners have a right to demand this?

Corporations are created to limit investor risk while making money. Sincepowerful corporations can cause enormous damage, layers of governance are added. A balance of forces and laws grow a company as big as Goldman Sachs. Then individuals personally profit from investing in, or working for, these enormously fattened pigs. Some gorge themselves on very large pieces of pork.

Governments become enmeshed and corrupted by capitalism. Bailouts become billion dollar opportunities for greedy individuals to exploit. With the balance of power and control being challenged, Investors, Executives and employees all scream for bigger slices of bacon. The Beatles nailed it in “Piggies”.

GoHuman.com promotes a sustainable model of equitable rewards and a new transactional model at the local community level. We celebrate the power of trust, built on transparent reputation. We look beyond the fallacy of so-called “Free Markets” to open markets of equal opportunity.

I’ll be blogging about these topics in the coming weeks. Thanks for the trust you display in working with us to change the way the world works.

Say cheese! or pork?

We had a bit of a time delivering the good news to our 7th Flip HD video camera winner a couple of weeks ago, but persisted thanks to all the great help Sasha Veljic has given to GoHuman.com. Sasha had a lot to say about GoHuman, so I’ll just let him say it!

“When I was introduced to GoHuman.com, its values and vision attracted my attention and admiration.  Primarily it is the vision of a better marketplace that is helpful to small businesses.  More and more people are interconnecting through the Internet.  That gives a chance to everyone.  The fact that GoHuman is built from the bottom up, with no top elite wielding power and reveling in greed is the principle factor that drew me in.

“I live in an area that has been affected by conflicts resulting in tremendous economic catastrophe that has plagued our nation for almost 20 years and continues due to current corruption and lack of legal state.  Living in strained economic conditions with many limitations and lack of commodities freely enjoyed in the West lead me to the conclusion that Internet-based small business venture is the best opportunity for me and others.  Besides, among GoHuman founders there are individuals who never cheated me in our past business relations, so GoHuman is a continuation of honest, altruistic business ventures with proven true business people that I share the same vision with.

“Internet here is not cheap.  However, it is a window to the world.  GoHuman has the best possible potential to provide all participants with equality on the market place.  Each user is able to form a list (circle) of reliable co-workers that can be better coordinated across local areas and the entire world.

“I believe I have caught the vision of GoHuman since its very inception.  A good cause cannot have a bad effect.  GoHuman values are timeless and its success certain.  My vision is to be a part of a successful worldwide business movement that will also cause changes in East Europe.”

Thanks Sasha! Beautifully said.

Hire Sasha for translation services (English and Spanish to Serbian).

WIN your own Flip HD camera by sharing a local service you provide or need!