Our microbusiness incubator is working. We're not just creating jobs, we're creating businesses & revitalizing an old Albertson's which sat empty and underutilized for several years which is helping the whole community! We have rebranded the marketplace to Community Renaissance Market, which better reflects the work going on within the space. At this time most of our businesses are sole proprietorships or family-run businesses. We are also working with Disaboom [http://www.disaboom.com/] to create jobs/businesses for people with disabilities [PWDs] and returning veterans. I have a special connection to the PWD community because of my late husband Keith Hogan [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiwHyeY9QRM]. He didn't let anything stop him and went on to graduate with a finance degree from the University of Texas at Austin, founded a bank and was a successful builder & developer...all without the use of his arms or legs. We began developing the vision which has become Community Renaissance Market before his death because we knew that there was an underserved population which wants to actively create financial sustainability in their lives. This can be achieved through the use of accessible technology within a community of like-minded individuals. Community Renaissance Market now houses a variety of locally-owned microbusinesses with products ranging from antiques, organic dog treats and fair trade jewelry, to locally-grown food and art to a disability resource & job training center. We have already been approached about duplicating this model in other cities and will be very happy to share information as it develops.

A government need not be democratic to be representative. In fact, it is the height of irony, that democracy is often the system of government that is least representative due to influence from special interests. The electoral process may be representative in intention, but it is corrupted by special interests in practice. In fact most democracies outside the wealthy industrialized nations have often failed and become dictatorships, case in point, Venezuela. A demagogue sways the rule of the illiterate mob to Change the constitution to gve himself limitless powers, staff his cabinet with friends, and intimidate the media through tacit means as elections are rigged. Hence, you get a democracy that is democratic in name only. Another Case is Iran. What makes western democracies special is the rule of law and the enumeration of powers, disallowing a democratic republic degenerating into a dictatorsh. So it's the checks and balances that make a government representative, not democracy. If such is the case then, could we not have checks and balances to ensure popular representation while ensuring the best people are in power? Yes, it's called a meritocracy. A meritocracy is simply a ideology where people of certain qualifications and/or intelligence are appointed to government. A check and balance could be an educated electorate which could say, comprise a virtual conger, and vote on legislation. This electorate would be everyone with an iq higher than 180. Due to the spread population and no attached special interest or ideology, this electorate by statistical elimination, would very likely end up voting the interests of the general electorate, it would just be an electorate that would be much smarter. The writers ofnthe legislation could also be meritocrats that would be experts in their particular fields, say, bill gates, Warren buffet, Steve jobs or Michael bloom berg, they would oversee their economic sectors and staff budget committees wgile still abiding within the legal constraints ofna constitutional republic. The criteria could be simple: an iq higher than 140, older than 60, and wealthy. Many in this category would reasonably, have more of an interest in their legacy and the future of their country than perks or money, they would have already attained them. Furthermore, further checks and balances could ensure 30 million at the end of 7 years or a life in jail if found to be corrupt... You could also, if you think electoral processes are imperative, simply have a census of ideological makeup of the country (conservative, progressive, libertarian) by which different parities would then staff with individuals in a congress to vote on legislation by meritocrats, you could also have a chamber wich represented the economic blocs of the economy, they would also have a say, to vote on legislation. Im other words, you could make it representative, in fact, MORE representative than our current democratic process, yet still have the best people at the top. The premise of the meritocracy is have people who can actually get legislation right, yet not have an incentive for corruption...I trust Warren buffet more than I do harry Reid, nancy pelosi, or John boehner, don't you?

Don't cap executive pay at a dollar amount - but tie it to the median wage their workers are paid. For example - pass a law that says no executive can make more than 20 times the median and 50 times the lowest paid worker in the company. That way - execs can give themselves raises whenever they want - but if an only if they give EQUITABLE raises to their workers. If the boss gets, a raise, everyone gets one - and if the boss gets a raise of $1000 a week, the median worker would get $50 a week and the lowest paid would get $20. It's still disparate, but right now execs are earning HUNDREDS OF TIMES what workers are making, and it's increasing, and there's no end in sight - and that doesn't even count stock options.