Community Stock

 

We invest heavily in our corporations. What if we invest in our people? The creation of community stock, shares a fraction of GDP allocated to every citizen in our country. The first allotment a base amount, but additional shares earned for community-building behavior, such as continued steady employment, finishing school, opening a business, volunteer work, even shares for stay-at-home parents to encourage investment in families. And the base amount of shares tied to dividends, stipends for each citizen to cover housing (and utilities), food, transport, and healthcare, at a monthly rate of approximately $1,000, $330, $330, $330. Funds would be tied to their intended purpose (as with the housing vouchers, food stamps, and HSAs we have currently), and unused funds would be returned as tax rebates. Therefore those who need the stipend would be able to make use of it, while those who do not would still receive a benefit from the system. 

Further, as to the healthcare stipend, those with extraordinary healthcare expenses due to health conditions can receive additional funds to cover the cost of care, with the caveat that those are not reimbursed as tax rebates. Additionally, we would remove health insurance companies and switch to a private-pay system, with healthcare providers setting their own rates. The healthcare stipend would be basically a government-funded HSA, with the combined power to negotiate prices, and the inflationary practices of insurance companies would be stymied.

To continue, additional shares result in additional dividends, at a lower rate of return. They can be traded, although not below the base amount. And shares for children, which are held in trust by parents and cannot be traded, with dividends to cover the cost of childcare. This is not a handout, but an acknowledgement of the cost of living humans contributing to the function of society. When people have the funds to provide for themselves, they stimulate business. Property managers, mortgage companies, utility providers, grocers, automakers, fuel industries, healthcare providers, all would see the benefit of a population enabled to provide for their services, and rewarded for contributing to their continuation. 

A country is formed of people, not buildings, not businesses, not banks. Without people, all institutions collapse. Give individuals a tangible stake in the health of our community, and provide them with the means to function as part of the whole. Acknowledge the needs of humans, structure a society which meets them, and enable our community to prosper. Because as citizens prosper, so too does their country.