Finance and Banks

I touched on this in the previous section quite a bit so this might not be as long but I wanted to give you an idea of the structure, organization, and management of this new financial system from the ground up. In this system, there is no real advantage to having a privately owned bank. In the previous section I noted how the banks will be receiving funding from the treasury and that businesses could pay back their loans by being efficient, or how we view it today 'profitable', though I think that term loses a lot of it's power in this system as every citizen in the state would be 'profitting' by any given business doing well. What does this do to interest rates on loans from banks? They disappear. No, I'm not crazy and I'm not joking. Why would we need them if they are flushing enough dollars down the economic sink (the new retail industry) to maintain currency stability at democratically agreed rates? I think the only time we should use interest rates, or rather increase percentage of price as described in previous section, would be on higher risk loans (i.e. businesses that do not stay afloat and seek refinancing, multiple time financing, general high risk investments though admittedly this would be vastly different from what we view as high risk in our current economy). Again, this allows the most freedom to businesses while ensuring a high standard of living for workers via high domestic purchasing power. Even minimum wage would be a very high standard of living compared to our current economic system. Since there is no advantage to private banks, they will eventually phase out and close shop because no interest rate plus the ability to negotiate contracts of production with publicly owned retailers which ensures revenues would be very difficult to beat. Not to mention if a public bank makes an investment and that investment turns out to be inefficient unprofitable no capital is lost as they will retain it in some form since the business venture that went under purchased products and paid workers who purchased products, going to the economic sink and maintain currency value and allowing the Texas Treasury to replenish their capital the next cycle. A private bank does not have these type of safe guards and rely on interest rates and shrewd investment to maintain a large private capital pool for the purpose of profitable investment. Sometimes that most fascinating products, projects, and venture do not immediately, or ever, turn a profit but are most certainly worth financing for the sake of technological , social, and economic advancement. These Public Banks would be like an independent school district, with school boards, principals, teachers, etc. An economic board would be elected on experience and merit in various fields of industry, possibility of recall always an option for check and balance, and they would manage the banks in their district. Bank managers would also be popularlly elected to run the individual banks but would have to be approved via the board. The boards themselves would answer to no authority other than their own district constituency but local governments could dismiss the boards under charges of corruption via popular referendum in said district. The only role the State would have is funding via the Texas Treasury. This minimizes state control over the economy and allows local economies to be built according to their residents by their residents which naturally creating self-sufficient local economies.

Production

I have actually fleshed out most of what I am going to say in this section already but a small, quick overview for the sake of understanding. If you wanted to start your own business, whether it's because you have a great idea/design for a product, or you think you can do a better job than your current employer through superior management skills, you create a detailed business plan (going over the numbers, expected revenues, etc.), go to the bank and present the plan, if the plan is approved they will set a date for you to receive the funds as well as advise you on starting your business and negotiating prices with local retailers (this is optional and only if desired. You can go it alone as well so long as your plan is approved). It's that simple. You get going and get to producing. That's the idea anyways, we want to streamline individuals ability to start businesses and contribute to the economy. If your business goes well, you pay off the loan via sales, if your business goes under you are responsible for the loan amount. That being said because of how efficient the system is and it's design we could implement a means paying back loans via working. This means instead of paying back physical bills to the bank, you would pay back the loan by staying employed and working generating value in the economy. This could easily be tracked using the tools and resources of a re purposed IRS. After X amount of hours worked, you would be in the clear. This could also be applied to mortgages as well, though this is not something have researched a great deal yet but mathematically it should function in the same way.

Now some of you have noticed a glaring blind spot I haven't yet actually talked about. How would the relationship and interactions of the private businesses interact with the local publicly owned retailers? Same way they do now, just without a profit bias. Instead of negotiating prices of exchange with a private retailer for the purpose of mutual profit, negotiations would be coming from two different sides, need and profit. The individual producer wants to profit from the fruits of their labor, rightly so, and the retailer must be able to stock all the items set on their inventory, an inventory that is based on everyday necessities (food, drinks, toiletries, fuel, tools, etc.) that is determined in the annual Standard of Living debate in the new Texas Legislature, and the desires of the locality itself (some type of voting system that is influenced only by consumers of that individual retailer). As long as we know it is products people will by, which if they are voting for them or it's a necessity they will, then we know money is going in our economic sink therefore maintaining currency stability and keeping the system afloat. This ensures products people want every time they shop which means more money will be sank and it will leave us with satisfied citizens, the goal of any government venture in my opinion.

Distribution of Goods

This is a small but very important section. The distribution of goods, the physical moving of products from one location to another, would be managed by the local retailers and local economic boards. Local retailers would create inventory lists based on methods previously mentioned, and local economic boards would negotiate prices for independent, small or large scale transportation companies, whatever is available and most beneficial for the locality. This ensures that independent and small transportation companies would not get bullied or undercut by larger ones.

Trade and International Financing

In the spirit of what most of us think we have already, this system promotes actual free trade policy. What does this mean? In my opinion, this means that when we make agreements with other nations for the purpose of trading we eliminate all tariffs, taxes, or other financial burden in the international trade process from any two parties within the agreeing states. As for international financing/investments, any investments or financing from the side of Texas to another agreeing nation will have to comply with Texas labor laws. That means if an economic board doing well in Texas decides to invest in a factory in Mexico for whatever reason, such instances would have to be approved via popular referendum of the locality, then those Mexican workers would get paid in Texas dollars at Texas wages and have the same benefits of Texas workers. This does a couple of things. It put Texas currency in other nation's economies which will allow our exchange rate to maintain a high value and it will also get us a lot of good will from those nations as our dollar will be among, in all likelihood the most, valuable currency in the world. Therefore these foreign workers are essentially strengthening our domestic economy by increasing their domestic purchasing power. A win-win situation for all involved.

Conclusion

I won't lie, This is a very simplified proposal without hard numbers included and this is not my first draft of this idea, but it doesn't have to be the final draft either. If you do take a look at the numbers, I think you will see that I am correct in the format of the system and the way it would function. A few months of an actual party or movement working on this and it could really be the start of a new constitution for Texas.

I would really like to hear everyone's opinion and suggestions as I think this has a better chance at starting a secession movement if everyone who wants to contribute does. That being said, let me be clear. This model is based on economic facts, mathematics, and common sense. Please do not leave one line suggestions that are not backed up by rational thought. Thanks to all who read this far!