It's predicted the government will spend $200 billion on the Gulf Coast relief. A large portion will go towards reestablishing businesses in the area. "But will the government or citizens benefit from this, or will more money be siphoned to businesses like Halliburton?" asks Deborah Groban Olson, author of the "fair exchange" policy paper and executive director of Capital Ownership Group (COG), an international network of professionals, academics and activists that operates an on-line conference center, think tank and library from Kent State University.

Leaders in government, business, labor and academia will explore the new policy idea of "fair exchange" at the "Fair Exchange Conference on Growing, Governing and Protecting Community Assets" on Friday, Oct. 7, 2005, at George Washington University Law School, 2000 H Street N.W., Washington, D.C. Featured speakers include Bill Greider, The Nation; David John, Heritage Foundation; Ron Blackwell, AFL-CIO; Scott Klinger, Responsible Wealth; Mary Pat Clarke, Baltimore City Council; and Gar Alperovitz, Democracy Collaborative and Lawrence Mitchell, GWU Law School.

The idea of "fair exchange" suggests citizens should receive equity from businesses that are given tax breaks by the community for moving or keeping their business in the area. The citizen's equity from these businesses would be managed by a community trust. Fair exchange uses government buying power to anchor productive capital locally, treat citizen-investors as owners and make corporations accountable.

The United States has plenty of experience in making sophisticated, citizen-beneficial business agreements when it invests tax dollars in private businesses, which it often ignores. U.S. taxpayers lost $200 to $300 billion on the 1989 bailout of hundreds of failed Savings & Loan (S&L) companies (largely to Texas S&Ls). However the government made $350 million on the Chrysler loan guarantee repayment, while saving 500,000 jobs and avoiding bankruptcy for a company providing family wages and good benefits.

Now that companies are global, accountability and upside benefit require an ownership stake for communities and citizens that invest through tax subsidies, loan guarantees and bailouts. The COG policy paper and conference help explain how to accomplish this goal. The paper, commissioned by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from COG, describes legal and economic precedents for the new fair exchange policy, provides model state, local and federal legislation language and discusses implementation issues.

The event is open to the public. Registration costs $100 before Sept. 20 and $175 after Sept. 20. It is free for credentialed press. Registration is at 8 a.m. The program begins at 8:30 a.m.

For a full list of speakers and to view the conference brochure, visit
http://cog.kent.edu/FairExchangeBrochure.pdf . To review the policy paper, visit http://www.capitalownership.org/lib/OlsonFairExchangePaper.pdf
For more information on COG, visit http://www.captialownership.org.

Capital Ownership Group - COG

Capital Ownership Group - COG

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