Financial Transparency

=The Theory of Financial Transparency=

(The underlying theory in a nutshell. The Theory must be presented as a working hypothesis that is being explored and tested. There must be an experimental procedure to test the theory- the theory must be testable. The Theory question must be well-posed: an answer must exist. If any of these criteria are missing then the project will not move forward effectively.)

Financial transparency refers to open access to information regarding money flows in society. When these flows are understood, then denizens gain deeper insight into the overall workings of society.

Tracing money flows - such as tracing tax revenue allocation, investments of companies, funding of political regimes, or upward flows of capital - helps one understand the legal system, intimately. It is the legal system that sanctions or allows all of these flows to occur.

We hyppothesize that following the money revails many aspects of the legal system. Therefore, financial transparency is the key to legal reform. We have considered approaching legal reform by examining laws. However, we deliberated and strategized that tracing money flows leads to a more tangible understanding of the legal system - by exposing the golden nectar that all people pay attention to. As such, discussing money flows when talking is an effective way to grab popular attention regarding the issue of legal reform.

From a fundamental perspective, law is fundamentally about regulating commerce. Law goes only so far as to regulate flows of money, or commerce. This is not a light statement, and this statement needs to be scrutinized carefully for the reader to gain appreciation. When seen through this light, the logic of law is exposed for scrutiny.

Our working theory is: Is it possible to attain fundamental reform of the legal system, and therefore the operational aspects of society, by providing the most lucid explanation of money flows? First, is it possible to obtain transparency in global and local money flows? And, does this information inform people more explicitly regarding how to fix various global and local problems? We test this hypothesis by:


 * 1) Exposing as many key, staggering, and typically hidden money flow mechanisms as possible, on both global and local scales.
 * 2) In particular, we will discuss whether, and how, these money flows are part of the upward flow of capital
 * 3) Identifying laws, or perceived laws, which sanction these money flows.
 * 4) Informing organizations, individuals, and other agents in society regarding these flows.
 * 5) Observing whether presentation of this information has resulted in various action campaigns or changes of laws. We do this by searching and recording cases which resulted from this information.

=Existing problems=

- in the real world that relate to this theory, a brief description.

An undisputable problem, from the standpoint of general human welfare, is that the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing continuously since over a century. This is the upward flow of capital in society. From an enlightened perspective, this is an abomination to all of humankind - and a feature of our existence that should not be continuously aggravated.


 * 1) Proposed way to apply the theory to those existing problems, the context or pre-requisites for this solution (solution in this case is application of the theory)
 * 2) Related existing work that verifies feasability with context summary of links to those references
 * 3) Related existing data or facts that support theory
 * 4) Existing constraints and barriers to deploying
 * 5) Related existing work that argues against theory (or summary and link to a place where this already exists)
 * 6) facts and data that support arguments against theory
 * 7) A brief summary about how this is related to Open Source Ecology (Relevance to OSE) core values
 * 8) Links to partner site references
 * 9) Seperate headings for descriptions of all active businesses, which will be supported by OSE infrastructure.  We will provide you with resources you need, and help in growing this into an actual pilot project, help in connecting with other people, etc. We will help you grow this into a tangible real world project, the same way that we are growing open designs into real world products right now. When ventures are made, partnered open source software, open knowledge resources, and open design projects will receive a share of revenue

=Facts=

If anyone disputes any of these facts, please comment.


 * Tort claims in the USA are $880/citizen each year
 * Over 1 million bankruptcies in the USA per year -
 * The amount of federal tax revenue collected in the USA that goes to providing services, paying employees, etc, is zero. All tax revenue goes to paying off the national debt to international bankers (private individuals). The government uses newly-loaned money to pay for the services that it provides, and continues its debt status. See reference - and read the history of the Federal Reserve, The Creature from Jekyll Island.