Aug 27

Written by:
8/27/2010 12:29 PM 

Two articles caught my ire, uh eye, the credit union and new governance.

Giving up on making a new credit union makes a lot of sense and dashes a lot of hope. I believe I have let it be known that the primary merit of a local CU was the high degree of cooperation it would engender. Point being that the strictly dollar merit of our very own CU would  likely evaporate when the shock waves of assorted disasters reach the Pacific  Northwest. Hyperinflation for example. Point being that we-all  would have learned how to cooperate, specifically how to trade without dollars. I could point out that any one of us could already be in a CU if they chose.

Margot Boyer and Bob Powell with clarity and grace have laid out the case for a new governance. I wish they had included the word survival. Implicit in their case is an immediate future of stability. Ferry rates will continue to rise gradually, but without catastrophe. Groceries, same. Energy, same. This is dreamland. We are a bedroom community bereft of all but the merest shred of former agrarian resilience. We are vulnerable. And so for them to picture K-2 as a bit of this and a bit of that is dangerous narrow thinking. We need battery rebuild, re-manufacture of building materials, solar hot water, smithys, communal compost like in the real King County, and so on. Nice try. Margot and Bob.

PS, for those of you who do not follow the Beachcomber on the web, here is my e-comment upon hearing that half the Council Board had resigned:

• The breakup of the Council is good news in that its structure is based on funding by the County that creates an obvious conflict of interest. Indeed, a good chunk of that funding goes for insurance to protect the Council from fusillades of rotten tomatoes. Notice that the County’s response to the Board’s plea cited “extent of county funding” as a reason for its decision. I say good riddance to the VMICC as funded. As to K-2, a mountain that to Tom Bangasser must be climbed because it is there, the Council dropped the ball in the third inning when it thought a buyer was imminent. The Council should have insisted that the factory be made part of an island economy dedicated to “eggs and us”. The plant was, and now is more so, in need of major rebuilding that’s only feasible by issuing work receipts to islanders. I don’t care to what degree self-interest is a factor in Bangasser’s crusade. He has done us a favor.