[Oe List ...] Nobel prize for microcredit & social business
Janice Ulangca
aulangca at stny.rr.com
Wed Apr 9 16:36:57 EDT 2008
Mohammad Yunus won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study at Vanderbilt U. Back home as chair of the economics department at Chittagong U. he was not satisfied to teach economic theories while people in the area were starving. Getting to know people in a nearby village, he learned that the contradiction keeping people from moving out of poverty was the inability to get tiny amounts of money at reasonable credit rates to enable farming or other small businesses. Money lenders charged such high interest that people were stuck in poverty. For example, 42 people in this village were permanently in debt - and the total amount they owed equalled about $27 U.S. He was shocked at this, and paid their debts out of his own pocket. The joy people showed at being free from debt spurred him on. He found that regular banks wouldn't touch lending to the poor. He founded the Grameen Bank, that makes loans to the very poor, mostly women, so that they can start their own businesses and lift their families out of poverty. They have something like a 98% repayment rate.
His 2007 book Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism says, "In the past 30 years, microcredit (as with Grameen Bank) has spread to every continent and benefited over 100 million families." The book has good stories of work with large corporations as well as with groups of poor women. He has found that people in many places are interested in "social business" - not only investing in microcredit but also in business that makes money, but making the most money is not the only bottom line - most important is to serve a social good.
Janice Ulangca
----- Original Message -----
From: Charles or Doris Hahn
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction
Mohammed Yunus of Bangladesh.
Doris Hahn
----- Original Message ----
From: "facilitationfla at aol.com" <facilitationfla at aol.com>
To: oe at wedgeblade.net
Sent: Wednesday, April 9, 2008 9:39:38 AM
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction
Who?
Well, Someone won a Nobel prize for implementing our plan for the villages of the world.
Len
At 04:15 PM 4/8/2008 -0400, you wrote:
I don't think we (ICA/EI) knew a helluva lot about economics.
-----Original Message-----
From: Len Hockley <lenh at efn.org>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Tue, 8 Apr 2008 4:20 pm
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction
Well, Someone won a Nobel prize for implementing our plan for the villages of the world.
Len
At 04:15 PM 4/8/2008 -0400, you wrote:
I don't think we (ICA/EI) knew a helluva lot about economics.
-----Original Message-----
From: Marianna Bailey <wmbailey at charter.net>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Tue, 8 Apr 2008 3:04 pm
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction
Let's not forget the economic principles that we used in human development projects.Money should circulate 5 times before it leaves a community. When Wal-Mart comes into a town small family owned businesses that have been their for several generations go out of business. The family owned business circulated the money 5 times and use to pay living wages. Wal-Mart pays low wages and the money leaves the community everyday. What we gain short term by low prices does not reflect the long term consequences of our local economy.
----- Original Message -----
From: Charles or Doris Hahn
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 1:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction
I want to second Randy's comments, and add another concern. We shop a little at Walmart here in Bloomington and earlier in Bastrop. The people we see in Walmart are primarily people in well-worn clothes, many are unkempt, i.e. they are people one the lower end of economic hierarchy. If they have a job, they do not make much, and perhaps they have more than one part-time job. They can't go to Macy's and it's many equivalents. Also Walmart has no more imports than Macy's, or Talbots, or Penny's, or Sears, or Target. I do not see aged, or handicapped, or many minorities working at Macy's, etc. Enough badmouthing Walmart!!!
Charles Hahn
----- Original Message ----
From: R Williams <rcwmbw at yahoo.com>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 8, 2008 8:53:39 AM
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Wal-Mart and the weapons of mass destruction
I am in complete agreement with everything George, Jon, Marshall, et al are saying about Walmart. But there is one little twinge I have. In our town of 5,600 people there is a Walmart of course, and I have been in there. Here's my twinge. The employees there, regardless of deplorable wages, benefits, working conditions and the rest, because of education, age, disabilities or whatever, likely would not have jobs anywhere else. What are we to think of them?
Randy
George Holcombe <geowanda at earthlink.net> wrote:
I suppose we're fortunate in Austin, TX, many of our local chains like H.E.B. and Fiesta have better prices on the items that we buy than Wal Mart. I understand that due to a suit that Wall Mart has withdrawn its claim to have the lowest prices. Both H.E.B. and Fiesta have far better and fresher produce than Wal Mart. I wouldn't doubt that because of the fuel increases and the far flung shipping routes that Wal Mart uses, the locals, who buy local, may have an advantage in their costs and prices for their customers.
George Holcombe
14900 Yellowleaf Tr.
Austin, TX 78728
Home: 512/252-2756
Mobile 512/294-5952
geowanda at earthlink.net
On Apr 7, 2008, at 3:08 PM, jonzondo at juno.com wrote:
I have not shopped at WalMart in years. And what I find amazing is the number of "aware" persons in my life who have a bundle of excuses for why they continue to shop at Walmart. The brainwashing machine surely seems to work sometimes, eh?
My new idea is that for the next person I know who speaks of shopping for something at WalMart, I will offer to pay the difference if they go to another store. I wonder what will happen with that idea...
In Balance, Jon
-- "W. J." <synergi at yahoo.com> wrote:
But wait! Wal-Mart is just a good target for our outrage, After all, it's the world's most powerful delivery system for exploiting a global market economy which wields the economic weapons of mass destruction.
Ah, yes. The tyranny of the economic process. It's coming back to bite even those of the affluent 15% who believed that the U.S. housing market would never deflate, and bought in at the top of the speculative bubble. (For the story in Wiegel's area, see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/realestate/keymagazine/406ariz-t.html?ei=5087&em=&en=136025ebaea46e85&ex=1207713600&pagewanted=all)
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