Three 'R' Savings Plans are an investment opportunity founded on
the premis that our well-being as we age will depend on access to nutritious
food, comfortable shelter and supportive relationships with others.
This contrasts with conventional retirement savings plans where old
age security is sought solely through monetary return from investment in
stocks, bonds, currencies and other financial commodities.
How do RRRSP's work?
Money is invested in the development and maintenance of domestic
ecosystems. These are a balanced combination of energy efficient dwellings,
soil-food-soil nutrient cycles and a wide variety of other products: clothing,
tools and utensils, the supplys of which are maintained through cyclic material
use and the power of renewable energy. Also integral to the investment
portfolio is an educational element that assures that the skills to develop
and service these facilities are maintained, and a research wing to refine
the efficiency with which all the above are provided.
Why would one want to invest in RRRSP's instead of mutual funds?
It is a matter of confidence. If you feel comfortable with the
present form of planet management, your trust will be with money markets
and perpetual economic expansion. If on the other hand you are worried
by the cumulative impacts of environmental degradation, resource depletion,
and the social instability of increasing poverty, you may view the long-term
prospects of the present system with less optimism.
The present system has grown to gigantic proportions yet requires continuous
expansion to remain viable, particularly when it comes to servicing retirement
funds. Do you feel planetary and social systems can tolerate the impacts
of perpetual expansion and increasing inequity for as long as you may live?
Your answer will determine where to place your retirement savings bets.
The other reason you may want to invest in Three 'R' SP's
is for your children's sake. RRRSP's are transferable to one's children
should they be interested in an environmentally stable lifestyle. Domestic
ecosystems require a certain amount of maintenance. This could be provided
by your children if they share your interest, or it could be provided by
other young people with young families who are interested in stable employment
and a solid foundation for their own retirement. If the premis of the RRRSP's
is sound, ecologically secure settlement opportunities will be in high demand
in the new millennium.
There is a multiplier effect to RRRSP's.
As these funds expand, the level at which they can be invested expands
as well. On a small scale they are applied to living units - facilities
for the housing and provision of individuals, couples and communities.
As the funds expand they can diversify into more and more productive systems
for the sustainable provision of the goods and services that make life satisfying.
The ultimate expression of the plan would be the transformation of the
entire economy from the exploitative model to a sustainable one.
We believe there is a limit to how far the Earth and society can be
stretched by the perpetual expansion model. The evidence is not too difficult
to understand, so the initial educational component's objective is to clarify
the option of creating a sustainable cultural form. As people come to recognize
that a pattern is available for social/ecological security, more people
will invest in the RRRSP option.
As it expands, the RRRSP process can transform ever larger portions
of the waste economy into the sustainable alternative, providing ever greater
stability to the entire system. Ultimately, with your participation, we
will come to look to the world our children will inherit with more hope
than fear.