Moving on without the Government

In this morning's online version of The New York Times, Joe Nocera contributed an interesting op-ed entitled, "We Can All Become Job Creators." Mr. Nocera seeks to highlight a new program spearheaded by Starbucks, which is designed to tackle unemployment without the assistance of government.

At its root, the idea is to turn Starbucks stores into hubs for collecting money with which to finance small businesses, which are generally believed to be the majority private-sector employer in the US. As the Federal Government appears unable to move beyond ideological struggle, the premise behind the idea is to devise a way in which to employ private citizens in the business of creating jobs.

In his article, Mr. Nocera describes the model in this way: "Americans themselves would start lending to small businesses, with Starbucks as the middle man. Starbucks would find financial institutions willing to loan to small businesses. Starbucks customers would be able to donate money to the effort when they bought their coffee. Those who gave $5 or more would get a red-white-and-blue wristband, which Schultz labeled, 'indivisible.' 'We are hoping it will bring back pride in the American dream," he says. The tag-line will read: 'Americans helping Americans.'"

With the arrangement currently being worked out between Starbucks and Opportunity Finance Network, a representative firm for disadvantaged-community lending institutions, all donations could be leveraged at a 1-7 rate; in other words, for every dollar donated, 7 would be made available for lending to small businesses. In this manner, Starbucks could use its network of stores to develop new lines of credit for businesses that produce jobs.

The idea is an interesting one, as is the premise. If government is unable to remedy the situation, and no amount of voting in the short-term can appreciably change it, then perhaps it is about time that private citizens and institutions begin searching for alternative means of fixing their own society. With the proliferation of the internet and mobile computing, individual citizens have increasingly powerful means by which to share their grievances,  resources, and erudition with others. Furthermore, the proliferation of web-based societies appears to be changing the ways in which we think about societies generally. Civil society, commonly understood, could be challenged by "Netizen" political thinking and ethics sooner than we imagine. That is hard to say. The point is that we may well be entering a time in which private citizens and firms actually have the means and know-how of remedying social problems without the active aid of government. It might be a time when society begins to move on without the government.

The Starbucks programs is slated to begin November 1st. As Mr. Nocera notes, the company is hoping to convince other firms to join them in the effort. If the idea interests you, it doesn't appear to cost much to get involved, and unlike mortgages and investment schemes, you're not betting the house on anything shifty, hoping for a big pay-off. At its heart, the Starbucks program appears to be asking people to make a small donation toward the alleviation of a big problem in our country today; a voluntary tax, if you will, that offers to empower common citizens who want to make a difference. Only time will tell how big a difference (for better or worse) the idea will yield. It is something, at least, to consider.

Happy Tuesday, friends :)