FIGU Special Bulletin 031 - Revision history

Earth Human Being: Text replacement - "percent," to "per cent,"

2023-07-19T11:16:02Z

Text replacement - "percent," to "per cent,"

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:16, 19 July 2023
Line 196:		Line 196:
	Has equality in America improved since 1776? Well today, the top 20 per cent of American earners take over half of the national income, while the bottom 20 per cent only take 3.4 percent. Moreover, the U.S. has 269 billionaires, who live in unimaginable luxury, while 37 million Americans live below the poverty line, many of whom, by the way, work two or three jobs (see «37 Million Poor Hidden In The Land Of Plenty» by Paul Harris). On a global basis, the world's 356 richest families own 40 per cent of humanity's wealth, while the remaining 7 billion members of our global family have to more or less fight for a slice of the rest of the pie. Nearly half of the human population is losing this fight and now lives in poverty. Inequality is the root cause of all discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, degradation, oppression, exploitation, mismanagement and slavery. Combined with a rapidly growing population, it inevitably leads to mass unemployment, the collapse of traditional social services like health care and old age assistance, a shortage of food, water, housing and energy and ultimately to poverty, hunger and disease. These consequences have already hit many of America's hard-working lower and middle class citizens, whereas the upper class continues to swim in luxury due to the unequal right of propertied citizens to acquire more wealth, more riches and more property than the rest of humanity, based on their unequal faculties. If we as Americans and as a global humanity do nothing to stop this inequality, it will lead us deeper and deeper into a quagmire of irreversible consequences that include tyranny, dictatorship, violence, greed, hatred, terror, global war, civil war, national dissolution and anarchy.		Has equality in America improved since 1776? Well today, the top 20 per cent of American earners take over half of the national income, while the bottom 20 per cent only take 3.4 percent. Moreover, the U.S. has 269 billionaires, who live in unimaginable luxury, while 37 million Americans live below the poverty line, many of whom, by the way, work two or three jobs (see «37 Million Poor Hidden In The Land Of Plenty» by Paul Harris). On a global basis, the world's 356 richest families own 40 per cent of humanity's wealth, while the remaining 7 billion members of our global family have to more or less fight for a slice of the rest of the pie. Nearly half of the human population is losing this fight and now lives in poverty. Inequality is the root cause of all discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, degradation, oppression, exploitation, mismanagement and slavery. Combined with a rapidly growing population, it inevitably leads to mass unemployment, the collapse of traditional social services like health care and old age assistance, a shortage of food, water, housing and energy and ultimately to poverty, hunger and disease. These consequences have already hit many of America's hard-working lower and middle class citizens, whereas the upper class continues to swim in luxury due to the unequal right of propertied citizens to acquire more wealth, more riches and more property than the rest of humanity, based on their unequal faculties. If we as Americans and as a global humanity do nothing to stop this inequality, it will lead us deeper and deeper into a quagmire of irreversible consequences that include tyranny, dictatorship, violence, greed, hatred, terror, global war, civil war, national dissolution and anarchy.

	It's quite obvious that the problem of inequality hasn't changed much in America since 1776. Its consequences, however, are far worse today than ever before due to our far greater population. On July 4th, 1776, the population of the first 13 American colonies was about 2.5 million. Today, some 230 years later, the U.S. population has increased 120-fold to nearly 300 million. This extremely high growth rate becomes even more apparent when compared to the current American Indian population which is less than 3 million. As a result of this alarming increase in population, most people in our present-day, profit-oriented society have been reduced in value to mere cost factors. If the jobs we have cost big business owners too much, they're simply rationalized without regard to the human consequences for millions of families across the country. After all, profit maximization is of greater value today than a human being. Why turn a mere profit of millions or billion of dollars a year, when it's possible to double or triple that profit by simply out-sourcing local American jobs to countries where labor is cheap. On a global level, the problem of inequality is even worse: 20 per cent of the population in developed nations consume 86 per cent of the world's resources. How can we possibly divide our global pie equally among a rapidly growing family of over 7 billion members? It's downright impossible! And with a current global birthrate of 2.25 ~~percent~~, by the year 3000, each person on earth will have less than 2 square centimeters of living space (see www.ueberbevoelkerung.at). That's why the first logical step to solving the problem of inequality is to establish a global commission of experts to draw up a truly humanitarian program of birth control with the aim of significantly reducing and maintaining our global population at a level where all the people of earth have enough to live on, so we can all lead a life that is truly worthy of human dignity. This global birth control program must equally apply to all nations and must be approved by the people, before it is put into practice. One example of such a program is a 7-year cycle birthrate check, which is explained in an article by Christian Frehner at		It's quite obvious that the problem of inequality hasn't changed much in America since 1776. Its consequences, however, are far worse today than ever before due to our far greater population. On July 4th, 1776, the population of the first 13 American colonies was about 2.5 million. Today, some 230 years later, the U.S. population has increased 120-fold to nearly 300 million. This extremely high growth rate becomes even more apparent when compared to the current American Indian population which is less than 3 million. As a result of this alarming increase in population, most people in our present-day, profit-oriented society have been reduced in value to mere cost factors. If the jobs we have cost big business owners too much, they're simply rationalized without regard to the human consequences for millions of families across the country. After all, profit maximization is of greater value today than a human being. Why turn a mere profit of millions or billion of dollars a year, when it's possible to double or triple that profit by simply out-sourcing local American jobs to countries where labor is cheap. On a global level, the problem of inequality is even worse: 20 per cent of the population in developed nations consume 86 per cent of the world's resources. How can we possibly divide our global pie equally among a rapidly growing family of over 7 billion members? It's downright impossible! And with a current global birthrate of 2.25 per cent, by the year 3000, each person on earth will have less than 2 square centimeters of living space (see www.ueberbevoelkerung.at). That's why the first logical step to solving the problem of inequality is to establish a global commission of experts to draw up a truly humanitarian program of birth control with the aim of significantly reducing and maintaining our global population at a level where all the people of earth have enough to live on, so we can all lead a life that is truly worthy of human dignity. This global birth control program must equally apply to all nations and must be approved by the people, before it is put into practice. One example of such a program is a 7-year cycle birthrate check, which is explained in an article by Christian Frehner at

	www.figu.org/us/overpopulation/birthrate_check.htm.		www.figu.org/us/overpopulation/birthrate_check.htm.

Earth Human Being: Text replacement - "percent " to "per cent "

2023-07-19T11:05:01Z

Text replacement - "percent " to "per cent "

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:05, 19 July 2023
Line 194:		Line 194:
	«All men are created equal» is a principle that we Americans have heard repeatedly throughout our lifetime. It appears in our Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, and is considered the foundation of American democracy. This principle was intended to guarantee the basic freedoms and natural rights of all citizens of the United States. Many Americans, however, including women, ethnic minorities and people with lesser abilities, poorer education and little or no material possessions have been denied equality from day one of our national independence. As a matter of fact, the Father of our Constitution, James Madison, did his best to limit this universal principle to white, male property owners by inventing a principle of his own, known as the «unequal faculties of acquiring property», which he explained in ‹The Federalist no. 10›. According to this principle, property owners, who were solely wealthy white men back in 1787, are endowed with unequal faculties, from which their rights to acquire property originate. Furthermore, the first object of government, according to Madison, is the protection of these faculties. In other words, the main job of government is to protect the privileged property owners from the unprivileged populace (see «All Men Are Created Equal?» by Steven Hill).		«All men are created equal» is a principle that we Americans have heard repeatedly throughout our lifetime. It appears in our Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, and is considered the foundation of American democracy. This principle was intended to guarantee the basic freedoms and natural rights of all citizens of the United States. Many Americans, however, including women, ethnic minorities and people with lesser abilities, poorer education and little or no material possessions have been denied equality from day one of our national independence. As a matter of fact, the Father of our Constitution, James Madison, did his best to limit this universal principle to white, male property owners by inventing a principle of his own, known as the «unequal faculties of acquiring property», which he explained in ‹The Federalist no. 10›. According to this principle, property owners, who were solely wealthy white men back in 1787, are endowed with unequal faculties, from which their rights to acquire property originate. Furthermore, the first object of government, according to Madison, is the protection of these faculties. In other words, the main job of government is to protect the privileged property owners from the unprivileged populace (see «All Men Are Created Equal?» by Steven Hill).

	Has equality in America improved since 1776? Well today, the top 20 ~~percent~~ of American earners take over half of the national income, while the bottom 20 ~~percent~~ only take 3.4 percent. Moreover, the U.S. has 269 billionaires, who live in unimaginable luxury, while 37 million Americans live below the poverty line, many of whom, by the way, work two or three jobs (see «37 Million Poor Hidden In The Land Of Plenty» by Paul Harris). On a global basis, the world's 356 richest families own 40 ~~percent~~ of humanity's wealth, while the remaining 7 billion members of our global family have to more or less fight for a slice of the rest of the pie. Nearly half of the human population is losing this fight and now lives in poverty. Inequality is the root cause of all discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, degradation, oppression, exploitation, mismanagement and slavery. Combined with a rapidly growing population, it inevitably leads to mass unemployment, the collapse of traditional social services like health care and old age assistance, a shortage of food, water, housing and energy and ultimately to poverty, hunger and disease. These consequences have already hit many of America's hard-working lower and middle class citizens, whereas the upper class continues to swim in luxury due to the unequal right of propertied citizens to acquire more wealth, more riches and more property than the rest of humanity, based on their unequal faculties. If we as Americans and as a global humanity do nothing to stop this inequality, it will lead us deeper and deeper into a quagmire of irreversible consequences that include tyranny, dictatorship, violence, greed, hatred, terror, global war, civil war, national dissolution and anarchy.		Has equality in America improved since 1776? Well today, the top 20 per cent of American earners take over half of the national income, while the bottom 20 per cent only take 3.4 percent. Moreover, the U.S. has 269 billionaires, who live in unimaginable luxury, while 37 million Americans live below the poverty line, many of whom, by the way, work two or three jobs (see «37 Million Poor Hidden In The Land Of Plenty» by Paul Harris). On a global basis, the world's 356 richest families own 40 per cent of humanity's wealth, while the remaining 7 billion members of our global family have to more or less fight for a slice of the rest of the pie. Nearly half of the human population is losing this fight and now lives in poverty. Inequality is the root cause of all discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, degradation, oppression, exploitation, mismanagement and slavery. Combined with a rapidly growing population, it inevitably leads to mass unemployment, the collapse of traditional social services like health care and old age assistance, a shortage of food, water, housing and energy and ultimately to poverty, hunger and disease. These consequences have already hit many of America's hard-working lower and middle class citizens, whereas the upper class continues to swim in luxury due to the unequal right of propertied citizens to acquire more wealth, more riches and more property than the rest of humanity, based on their unequal faculties. If we as Americans and as a global humanity do nothing to stop this inequality, it will lead us deeper and deeper into a quagmire of irreversible consequences that include tyranny, dictatorship, violence, greed, hatred, terror, global war, civil war, national dissolution and anarchy.

	It's quite obvious that the problem of inequality hasn't changed much in America since 1776. Its consequences, however, are far worse today than ever before due to our far greater population. On July 4th, 1776, the population of the first 13 American colonies was about 2.5 million. Today, some 230 years later, the U.S. population has increased 120-fold to nearly 300 million. This extremely high growth rate becomes even more apparent when compared to the current American Indian population which is less than 3 million. As a result of this alarming increase in population, most people in our present-day, profit-oriented society have been reduced in value to mere cost factors. If the jobs we have cost big business owners too much, they're simply rationalized without regard to the human consequences for millions of families across the country. After all, profit maximization is of greater value today than a human being. Why turn a mere profit of millions or billion of dollars a year, when it's possible to double or triple that profit by simply out-sourcing local American jobs to countries where labor is cheap. On a global level, the problem of inequality is even worse: 20 ~~percent~~ of the population in developed nations consume 86 ~~percent~~ of the world's resources. How can we possibly divide our global pie equally among a rapidly growing family of over 7 billion members? It's downright impossible! And with a current global birthrate of 2.25 percent, by the year 3000, each person on earth will have less than 2 square centimeters of living space (see www.ueberbevoelkerung.at). That's why the first logical step to solving the problem of inequality is to establish a global commission of experts to draw up a truly humanitarian program of birth control with the aim of significantly reducing and maintaining our global population at a level where all the people of earth have enough to live on, so we can all lead a life that is truly worthy of human dignity. This global birth control program must equally apply to all nations and must be approved by the people, before it is put into practice. One example of such a program is a 7-year cycle birthrate check, which is explained in an article by Christian Frehner at		It's quite obvious that the problem of inequality hasn't changed much in America since 1776. Its consequences, however, are far worse today than ever before due to our far greater population. On July 4th, 1776, the population of the first 13 American colonies was about 2.5 million. Today, some 230 years later, the U.S. population has increased 120-fold to nearly 300 million. This extremely high growth rate becomes even more apparent when compared to the current American Indian population which is less than 3 million. As a result of this alarming increase in population, most people in our present-day, profit-oriented society have been reduced in value to mere cost factors. If the jobs we have cost big business owners too much, they're simply rationalized without regard to the human consequences for millions of families across the country. After all, profit maximization is of greater value today than a human being. Why turn a mere profit of millions or billion of dollars a year, when it's possible to double or triple that profit by simply out-sourcing local American jobs to countries where labor is cheap. On a global level, the problem of inequality is even worse: 20 per cent of the population in developed nations consume 86 per cent of the world's resources. How can we possibly divide our global pie equally among a rapidly growing family of over 7 billion members? It's downright impossible! And with a current global birthrate of 2.25 percent, by the year 3000, each person on earth will have less than 2 square centimeters of living space (see www.ueberbevoelkerung.at). That's why the first logical step to solving the problem of inequality is to establish a global commission of experts to draw up a truly humanitarian program of birth control with the aim of significantly reducing and maintaining our global population at a level where all the people of earth have enough to live on, so we can all lead a life that is truly worthy of human dignity. This global birth control program must equally apply to all nations and must be approved by the people, before it is put into practice. One example of such a program is a 7-year cycle birthrate check, which is explained in an article by Christian Frehner at

	www.figu.org/us/overpopulation/birthrate_check.htm.		www.figu.org/us/overpopulation/birthrate_check.htm.

Earth Human Being: Text replacement - "http://www.futureofmankind.co.uk" to "https://www.futureofmankind.co.uk"

2022-10-20T06:20:57Z

Text replacement - "http://www.futureofmankind.co.uk" to "https://www.futureofmankind.co.uk"

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:20, 20 October 2022
Line 28:		Line 28:
	== FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation ==		== FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation ==

	[~~http~~://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/kodex.htm An Important Message for the Reader of this Document / Eine wichtige Nachricht an den Leser dieser Schrift]		[https://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/kodex.htm An Important Message for the Reader of this Document / Eine wichtige Nachricht an den Leser dieser Schrift]

	We (Dyson Devine and Vivienne Legg of [http://www.gaiaguys.net www.gaiaguys.net]) have been given permission by Billy Meier ([http://www.figu.org www.figu.org]) to make these unofficial, preliminary translations of FIGU material. Please be advised that our translations may contain errors.		We (Dyson Devine and Vivienne Legg of [http://www.gaiaguys.net www.gaiaguys.net]) have been given permission by Billy Meier ([http://www.figu.org www.figu.org]) to make these unofficial, preliminary translations of FIGU material. Please be advised that our translations may contain errors.

	Please read [~~http~~://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/translations.htm this] explanatory word about our translations.		Please read [https://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/translations.htm this] explanatory word about our translations.


Line 288:		Line 288:
	==References==		==References==

	* [~~http~~://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/meier.p14-16sb31.htm gaiaguys.net (backup copy)]		* [https://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/meier.p14-16sb31.htm gaiaguys.net (backup copy)]

Earth Human Being: Text replacement - "fulfillment" to "fulfilment"

2022-05-04T09:37:29Z

Text replacement - "fulfillment" to "fulfilment"

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:37, 4 May 2022
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	Human equality, by the way, also means that no work of any human being is more valuable or less valuable than the work of another human being. All work fulfills an important function in society and is therefore absolutely equal in value. Consequently, the work of every human being is an equally valuable contribution to society, be it the work of a computer specialist at Microsoft or a burger flipper at McDonalds. As a society, we are indebted to specialists like Bill Gates whenever we use a computer and we are equally indebted to our nation's burger flippers whenever we're on the go and need a quick meal. However, it's hard teaching young people that one job is just as valuable as another, when a privileged minority like Bill Gates rakes in billions of dollars a year, while millions of hard-working American families can barely make ends meet. In a truly democratic and humanitarian society, it's the right and the duty of every responsible citizen to question such inequality. After all, 37 million working Americans live below the poverty line, and that is unworthy of human dignity! If all work is equally valuable and worthy of human dignity, then why aren't all wages?		Human equality, by the way, also means that no work of any human being is more valuable or less valuable than the work of another human being. All work fulfills an important function in society and is therefore absolutely equal in value. Consequently, the work of every human being is an equally valuable contribution to society, be it the work of a computer specialist at Microsoft or a burger flipper at McDonalds. As a society, we are indebted to specialists like Bill Gates whenever we use a computer and we are equally indebted to our nation's burger flippers whenever we're on the go and need a quick meal. However, it's hard teaching young people that one job is just as valuable as another, when a privileged minority like Bill Gates rakes in billions of dollars a year, while millions of hard-working American families can barely make ends meet. In a truly democratic and humanitarian society, it's the right and the duty of every responsible citizen to question such inequality. After all, 37 million working Americans live below the poverty line, and that is unworthy of human dignity! If all work is equally valuable and worthy of human dignity, then why aren't all wages?

	The prevailing wage inequality throughout the world stems from a false and arrogant assumption that certain jobs are more valuable than others because they allegedly require greater responsibility or a higher education. All jobs, however, require responsibility and know-how, whether it's the job of a teacher, a farmer, a musician, a writer, an office cleaner, a scientist, a street sweeper, a politician or whatever. Every human being fulfills an important function in society through his work, and viewed as a whole, no human being is more or less important or more or less valuable than another in the ~~fulfillment~~ of his work. Therefore, no work of any human being is better, higher, nobler, more important, more meaningful or more valuable than that of another. Every job is equally important and should therefore receive equal pay.		The prevailing wage inequality throughout the world stems from a false and arrogant assumption that certain jobs are more valuable than others because they allegedly require greater responsibility or a higher education. All jobs, however, require responsibility and know-how, whether it's the job of a teacher, a farmer, a musician, a writer, an office cleaner, a scientist, a street sweeper, a politician or whatever. Every human being fulfills an important function in society through his work, and viewed as a whole, no human being is more or less important or more or less valuable than another in the fulfilment of his work. Therefore, no work of any human being is better, higher, nobler, more important, more meaningful or more valuable than that of another. Every job is equally important and should therefore receive equal pay.

	Decisive in performing any work is the effort put forth. Therefore, all human beings have an equal obligation to perform their work to the best of their ability. In return, they should be paid according to the human effort they invest. This means that whoever performs a job to the best of his ability should be paid more than whoever performs a job far below his ability. A system based on rewarding human effort would be more just than the current system of rewarding performance alone because no two people are alike in their abilities and skills. Why should someone be punished with a lower wage for doing his best, when he is less skilled, or rewarded with a higher wage for performing below his potential, when he is more skilled? Besides, a fair system of payment, based on human effort, would be a great incentive for every human being to do his best at work.		Decisive in performing any work is the effort put forth. Therefore, all human beings have an equal obligation to perform their work to the best of their ability. In return, they should be paid according to the human effort they invest. This means that whoever performs a job to the best of his ability should be paid more than whoever performs a job far below his ability. A system based on rewarding human effort would be more just than the current system of rewarding performance alone because no two people are alike in their abilities and skills. Why should someone be punished with a lower wage for doing his best, when he is less skilled, or rewarded with a higher wage for performing below his potential, when he is more skilled? Besides, a fair system of payment, based on human effort, would be a great incentive for every human being to do his best at work.

Earth Human Being: Text replacement - "Earth humans" to "Earth-humans"

2022-04-12T20:04:25Z

Text replacement - "Earth humans" to "Earth-humans"

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:04, 12 April 2022
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	\| Seine Niederlage durch die Demokraten aber wird ihm die Hände binden und ihn in seinem mörderischen und verbrecherischen Handeln derart einschränken, dass sich die Prophetie nicht erfüllen wird.		\| Seine Niederlage durch die Demokraten aber wird ihm die Hände binden und ihn in seinem mörderischen und verbrecherischen Handeln derart einschränken, dass sich die Prophetie nicht erfüllen wird.
	\|-		\|-
	\| Nevertheless, however, factors threaten again in later years which could indeed still lead to a Third World War, whereby, however, it is to hope that also then the Earth humans' reason is victorious and the right thing will be done by all who can bring their influence to bear.		\| Nevertheless, however, factors threaten again in later years which could indeed still lead to a Third World War, whereby, however, it is to hope that also then the Earth-humans' reason is victorious and the right thing will be done by all who can bring their influence to bear.
	\| Nichtsdestoweniger drohen jedoch zu späteren Jahren wieder Faktoren, die doch noch zu einem Dritten Weltkrieg führen könnten, wobei jedoch zu hoffen ist, dass auch dann die Vernunft der Erdenmenschen siegt und von all jenen das Richtige getan wird, die ihren Einfluss geltend machen können.		\| Nichtsdestoweniger drohen jedoch zu späteren Jahren wieder Faktoren, die doch noch zu einem Dritten Weltkrieg führen könnten, wobei jedoch zu hoffen ist, dass auch dann die Vernunft der Erdenmenschen siegt und von all jenen das Richtige getan wird, die ihren Einfluss geltend machen können.
	\|-		\|-

Schantz: /* FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation */

2010-02-14T04:26:55Z

FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:26, 14 February 2010
Line 190:		Line 190:
	----		----

	Equality for ALL		'''Equality for ALL'''

	«All men are created equal» is a principle that we Americans have heard repeatedly throughout our lifetime. It appears in our Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, and is considered the foundation of American democracy. This principle was intended to guarantee the basic freedoms and natural rights of all citizens of the United States. Many Americans, however, including women, ethnic minorities and people with lesser abilities, poorer education and little or no material possessions have been denied equality from day one of our national independence. As a matter of fact, the Father of our Constitution, James Madison, did his best to limit this universal principle to white, male property owners by inventing a principle of his own, known as the «unequal faculties of acquiring property», which he explained in ‹The Federalist no. 10›. According to this principle, property owners, who were solely wealthy white men back in 1787, are endowed with unequal faculties, from which their rights to acquire property originate. Furthermore, the first object of government, according to Madison, is the protection of these faculties. In other words, the main job of government is to protect the privileged property owners from the unprivileged populace (see «All Men Are Created Equal?» by Steven Hill).		«All men are created equal» is a principle that we Americans have heard repeatedly throughout our lifetime. It appears in our Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, and is considered the foundation of American democracy. This principle was intended to guarantee the basic freedoms and natural rights of all citizens of the United States. Many Americans, however, including women, ethnic minorities and people with lesser abilities, poorer education and little or no material possessions have been denied equality from day one of our national independence. As a matter of fact, the Father of our Constitution, James Madison, did his best to limit this universal principle to white, male property owners by inventing a principle of his own, known as the «unequal faculties of acquiring property», which he explained in ‹The Federalist no. 10›. According to this principle, property owners, who were solely wealthy white men back in 1787, are endowed with unequal faculties, from which their rights to acquire property originate. Furthermore, the first object of government, according to Madison, is the protection of these faculties. In other words, the main job of government is to protect the privileged property owners from the unprivileged populace (see «All Men Are Created Equal?» by Steven Hill).

Schantz: /* FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation */

2010-02-14T04:26:14Z

FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation

Show changes

Schantz: /* FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation */

2010-02-14T04:25:04Z

FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:25, 14 February 2010
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	\| ''Billy''		\| ''Billy''
	\|}		\|}

			----

			Equality for ALL

			«All men are created equal» is a principle that we Americans have heard repeatedly throughout our lifetime. It appears in our Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, and is considered the foundation of American democracy. This principle was intended to guarantee the basic freedoms and natural rights of all citizens of the United States. Many Americans, however, including women, ethnic minorities and people with lesser abilities, poorer education and little or no material possessions have been denied equality from day one of our national independence. As a matter of fact, the Father of our Constitution, James Madison, did his best to limit this universal principle to white, male property owners by inventing a principle of his own, known as the «unequal faculties of acquiring property», which he explained in ‹The Federalist no. 10›. According to this principle, property owners, who were solely wealthy white men back in 1787, are endowed with unequal faculties, from which their rights to acquire property originate. Furthermore, the first object of government, according to Madison, is the protection of these faculties. In other words, the main job of government is to protect the privileged property owners from the unprivileged populace (see «All Men Are Created Equal?» by Steven Hill).

			Has equality in America improved since 1776? Well today, the top 20 percent of American earners take over half of the national income, while the bottom 20 percent only take 3.4 percent. Moreover, the U.S. has 269 billionaires, who live in unimaginable luxury, while 37 million Americans live below the poverty line, many of whom, by the way, work two or three jobs (see «37 Million Poor Hidden In The Land Of Plenty» by Paul Harris). On a global basis, the world's 356 richest families own 40 percent of humanity's wealth, while the remaining 7 billion members of our global family have to more or less fight for a slice of the rest of the pie. Nearly half of the human population is losing this fight and now lives in poverty. Inequality is the root cause of all discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, degradation, oppression, exploitation, mismanagement and slavery. Combined with a rapidly growing population, it inevitably leads to mass unemployment, the collapse of traditional social services like health care and old age assistance, a shortage of food, water, housing and energy and ultimately to poverty, hunger and disease. These consequences have already hit many of America's hard-working lower and middle class citizens, whereas the upper class continues to swim in luxury due to the unequal right of propertied citizens to acquire more wealth, more riches and more property than the rest of humanity, based on their unequal faculties.

			[http://www.figu.org/ch/verein/periodika/sonder-bulletin/2006/nr-31/gleichheit-engl]

	==References==		==References==

	* [http://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/meier.p14-16sb31.htm gaiaguys.net (backup copy)]		* [http://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/meier.p14-16sb31.htm gaiaguys.net (backup copy)]

Jamesm: /* FIGU Special Bulletin 30 Translation */

2010-02-13T22:56:37Z

FIGU Special Bulletin 30 Translation

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:56, 13 February 2010
Line 26:		Line 26:
	* Israel's plan to bomb Iranian nuclear plants		* Israel's plan to bomb Iranian nuclear plants

	== FIGU Special Bulletin 30 Translation ==		== FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation ==

	[http://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/kodex.htm An Important Message for the Reader of this Document / Eine wichtige Nachricht an den Leser dieser Schrift]		[http://www.futureofmankind.co.uk/meier/gaiaguys/kodex.htm An Important Message for the Reader of this Document / Eine wichtige Nachricht an den Leser dieser Schrift]

Jamesm: FIGU Special Bulletin 31 moved to FIGU Special Bulletin 031

2008-08-29T16:00:14Z

FIGU Special Bulletin 31 moved to FIGU Special Bulletin 031

← Older revision	Revision as of 16:00, 29 August 2008
(No difference)