Why We Exist

Equanomics was created because we believe in doing what is best for everyone, not just a select few. That means considering how our business practices impact the environment, our health and our quality of life. This extends to the companies and products we support. We believe in this country and what it stands for and refuse to see it destroyed by greed.

Wealth and ownership in the United States is concentrated in a very few hands. This has been expressed as 1% of the country controlling the other 99%. It has resulted in decisions that negatively affect our daily lives. We are forced to live in a way that is efficient and effective for the ownership class. Our lives don’t really factor into the equation. The end result is a system of employment that creates constant stress and few opportunities for creating prosperity or the kind of lives most of us desire. By assisting our members and helping them to become business owners, we are reversing this trend. We believe strongly that the future of our country depends on a better distribution of both wealth and ownership.

Concentration of wealth has far reaching implications. Our world is increasingly shaped by government policies created to support large corporations and push small players out of the market. In turn, the large companies and their wealthy owners "sponsor" politicians with campaign financing. This produces effects that are toxic to the environment and counterproductive to doing what is best for the majority of people.

Today, we face a perfect storm scenario. The wealthy are entrenched in nearly every facet of the economy. Advances in technology from robotics to computer programming and AI are being used to automate work. Good jobs are being replaced at a faster pace than new ones are being created. The speed of change is accelerating and lots of people will be left behind if nothing is done. As automation takes hold, there will be more people who need to work than there are jobs. When lots of people compete for the same work, wages go down. This isn't something that might happen in the future, it's happening today. If left unchecked, it will continue to get worse.

The Equanomics stance is that automation isn't inherently a bad thing. It can be used to win back jobs from foreign competition and produce products locally instead of shipping them half way around the globe. It can prevent the uprooting of people’s lives that takes place on a regular basis in our global, competitive economy. For automation to be turned into a positive force for our society, ownership must be shared so everyone can profit from it. If the present forms of ownership are kept intact, we are heading in a very dangerous direction that will destroy what is left of the middle class. A society that is made up of extreme wealth and extreme poverty is not going to be good for anyone.

Equanomics believes strongly in local economies that are self-reliant. We have reached a crisis point where our economic future and way of life have been directly threatened. Business, government and our financial sector are being used to line the pockets of billionaires. It's time for each of us to vote with our hours and our dollars. Where we work and where we spend our money will have the greatest impact on our world. The work each of us does on a daily basis must do more than produce profit for the ownership class. It must move the entire human race ahead a step. As a society, we need to re-examine business practices and ideas that are deeply entrenched. So much of what goes on today flies in the face of common sense. Equanomics is here to build a world that works for everyone, starting by giving more people an ownership stake in the economy and our collective future.