Common good currency instead of loss of existence
Künzelsau, September 16, 2020 - By the end of the year at the latest, a veritable wave of bankruptcies will sweep Germany. The German Retail Association (HDE) fears around 50,000 business closures. The German Hotel and Restaurant Association is struggling with the biggest crisis of the post-war period: 61.6 percent of hospitality businesses fear for their existence. According to the German Travel Association (DRV), the tourism industry had already suffered sales losses of 10.8 billion euros in June due to the lockdown. Journalists, artists, advertisers and countless small businesses also fear for their jobs. The economic bionics experts at the Gradido Academy see a fundamentally changed economic and financial system as a perspective after this crisis. Their model promises unprecedented opportunities for livelihood security and reorientation - thanks to an 'Active Basic Income'.
The insolvencies that caused or benefited from the corona measures are not yet on record, as the German government suspended the obligation to file for insolvency during the corona crisis in order to mitigate its effects. Until the end of the year, companies whose debts exceed their existing assets may still postpone their application. However, those who are actually insolvent will have to file for insolvency as of October 1, 2020. Every insolvency does not necessarily mean that employees lose their jobs, but it is to be expected that many employees and self-employed persons will be without a job by the end of the year - and there is great fear.
As the existence of entire industries is threatened, many people will no longer be able to work in their learned profession, but will have to consider a new profession or training - if available. If one believes the economic bionics experts at the Gradido Academy, this crisis also holds a tremendous opportunity to correct things that have long since required a fundamental reorientation.
"The global financial system is now threatening to fail, followed by mass insolvencies, record unemployment and abject poverty," warns Bernd Hückstädt, co-founder of the Academy. These challenges can only be mastered with a sustainable new monetary system in which economic, ecological and social incentives point in the same direction. The Gradido Academy has developed such a system.
Economic Bionics moves into focus
According to Hückstädt, the global corona lockdown has made the vulnerability of the ruling economic system - and the need for rethinking - visible. The feverish search for ways out of the crisis has brought the still young science of economic bionics unprecedented attention. For more than 20 years, the Gradido Academy has been dealing with the question of what the economy can learn from nature. Just as every aeronautical engineer should study the flight of birds, the academy is investigating which natural processes could serve as models for successful economic processes. The result of years of research is the common good 'Gradido'. It is intended to ensure a livelihood for people worldwide and to make the world of living and working more diverse and fulfilling. The core principles of the model are the 'Active Basic Income', the 'Unconditional Participation' and the 'Triple Welfare'. Fear of existence is to belong to the past, as well as social ostracism and isolation.
'Active basic income' instead of unemployment benefit
Thanks to the 'Active Basic Income' according to the Gradido model, every person can achieve a basic income for the common good through activities of his or her own choice. In addition, they have the opportunity to explore their own abilities in a completely new way, so that they can take a new path if necessary. Instead of the feeling of having failed - the fear of existence and the fear of threatening social isolation - people should develop joy in personal development, faith in their own abilities and the desire for a new beginning," Hückstädt explains.
For each person, 1,000 Gradido (GDD) of the common currency is available monthly as a basic income. One Gradido corresponds to the value of one Euro. This 'Active Basic Income' differs significantly from the much discussed 'Unconditional Basic Income' in that people of all ages contribute to the community according to their individual possibilities in order to be able to claim it. A maximum of 50 hours per month are remunerated with 20 GDD each. This sum is a basic amount, in addition to other sources of income.
Unconditional participation' for testing and development
The 'Active Basic Income' thus ensures 'unconditional participation' in life in society. In concrete terms, this means that everyone can use their inclinations and skills where it suits them best. Practical, artistic and creative activities are just as welcome as taking on social tasks. The basic idea of 'Unconditional Participation' is that everyone can contribute with their own personal talents to strengthen the community and at the same time develop their own potential. In this way he or she can find the best possible way into professional life or for a change of course. The 'Unconditional Participation' is also explicitly intended to help develop new ideas, visions and skills that humanity so urgently needs right now.
Crisis security thanks to triple well-being
The basic ethical principle of Gradido is based on reconciling the wellbeing of the individual with that of the community and the greater whole - in terms of nature and the environment. For every person in the world, a total of 3,000 Gradido (GDD) are created every month. One third goes to each citizen as an 'Active Basic Income', the second third is received by the state for its services to the community and the third part goes to a compensation and environmental fund to enable the remediation of economic and ecological burdens. All in all, more money would be available for state services and the health system than before - without debts and without taxes.
"Since the impending wave of insolvencies could threaten the existence of so many people, new solutions are now essential. The time is ripe for Gradido, and we see it as our responsibility to introduce this model into the political discussion", emphasizes Hückstädt, while his partner Margret Baier adds: "With this solution based on the principles of nature, we can ensure a future worth living for present and future generations".
Details of the 'Gradido model' under https://gradido.net
About the Gradido Academy
The Gradido Academy for Economic Bionics has developed an alternative 'common good currency' based on the models of nature. Nature follows the rule that only where something passes away can something new emerge, and thus long-term improvement (evolution) is possible. Its recipe for success is the 'cycle of life'. If our economy were also to follow this natural cycle, then, according to the assessment of the Economic Biologists, practically all the world's monetary problems could be solved. The Gradido model is based on the idea that not only every person, but also every state receives income generated on a credit basis. It can thus fulfil all its tasks without having to collect taxes. Deflation or inflation are a thing of the past. The economy is freed from the constant compulsion to grow, the danger of a collapse of the financial system is finally averted. (www.gradido.net)