EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Our Idea Factory... by avoiding the worst elements of today’s economic failures… OIF will turn innovative concepts into productive opportunities by initiating resident and hands-on worker owned cooperatives; self-funding its own operational and venture capital needs.  

Historical Concept

Worker cooperative structures have many advantages, simple to create, inexpensive to establish, offer significant tax benefits, build local assets and are easily understood by workers and owners. Added benefits include enhanced productivity, improved product and service quality; co-ops promote worker’s skill development and provide necessary tools and information to help them increase personal control of their economic lives.

Broadly owned by its workers and local residents, they elect their Board of Directors in a democratic one-vote one-person system, deciding who, what, when, where, why, and how their sweat equity and personal resources will best serve themselves and their local community.

David Pauling is an 80 year old former U.S. Marine... just returned to the Seattle area, from three years of volunteering as an AmeriCorps VISTA… first year was doing (Katrina) recovery and reconstruction in Alabama/Mississippi.  The last two years were in California’s Central Valley, fighting the city/county of Fresno’s dubious distinction of having the highest concentration of poverty in the entire USA.

He has returned home, but he is not retiring.  His exposure to the extremes of poverty have inspired me to proffer this new ownership paradigm … a unique way of turning ideas into new opportunities, by initiating clusters of worker co-operatives and self-funding its own operational and venture capital needs… creating new wealth and building new businesses that are owned and operated by local hands-on workers and co-op members… keeping all of the profits … a prototype brochure/flyer and business plan is available and free

I eagerly look forward to an open discussion of the possibilities provided herein…