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STARTING POINTS

CREA chose the name Starting Points for our newsletter because the phrase signifies both the lens of our organization and the purpose of the newsletter.

Whenever we begin to think about an event, or a system in which events occur, we think from some starting point.  That point is often how the event or system affects us or those we love.  CREA invites all of us to stretch that starting point, to expand our way of looking at things.

CREA’s own starting point, the lens through which we do our analysis of economic and social systems, is the perspective of persons and communities  who are impoverished and without social or economic power.  CREA believes that Earth is home to all peoples, and all people have the right to live in human dignity.  We do our research, our analysis, and our projects from that starting point.  Our analysis does not stop there, but it begins there. 

We chose this as our starting point because most mainstream economic analysis uses general indicators, such as gross national product.  Analysis of the effects of systems on the lowest social-economic segment of the population usually comes last.  We see our work is a positive contribution to the efforts of impoverished peoples and communities to achieve the income that enables them to live in dignity.

Starting Points, the newsletter, uses the phrase in a second way.  The newsletter is short, with concise articles and references for further information.

We present brief overviews of economic and financial institutions.  We present up-dates on CREA projects and findings. We raise analytical questions about current economic and political events and systems that are meant to assist readers in their own analysis and decision-making. In this way the newsletter raises starting points for further exploration of the topics by the reader.  

Starting Points Inserts.  Each issue of the newsletter includes a one-page double-sided insert by Ruth Rosenbaum, TC, PhD.  The insert is a substantive consideration of an issue, a system, or a report on developments in efforts to create a more just economic system.  The inserts are easily duplicable, and permission is given to copy.

Starting Points is published four times a year.  Annual subscription is $25.

For individuals or groups unable to meet that cost, the subscription is on a contribution basis.  To subscribe contact crea-inc@crea-inc.org  

Click to download newsletters
2001 Winter: Trade Promotion Authority Act, Kenya PPI Study, Mexico PPI Study
2002 Spring: International Trade Organizations, Privatization of Water
2002 Summer: Privatization of Water, World Trade Organization
2002 Fall: World Summit on Sustainable Development, Trade Act of 2002, War & Economic Policies
2003 #1: Fair Trade vs Free Trade, El Salvador PPI Study
2003 #2: Corporate Responsibility in Agriculture, Coffee Crisis
2003 #3: WTO, Water & Sanitation Issues, Iraq War Economic Repercussions, United Nations
2003 #4: Trade Negotiations, Global Water Crisis
2004 #1: Election Coverage, Trade Agreements, Budget Deficit & National Debt
2004 #2: Information, Public Reporting
2004 #3: Election Issues, China Labor Project, El Salvador Wage/Income Project
2004 #4: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2005 #1: Systemic Analysis of Hunger & Food Supply
2005 #2: Debt Forgiveness, Environmental & Energy Legislation
2005 #3: CREA 10th Anniversary, Guatemala Wage Study
2006 #1
: US & Global Economy, Guatemala Wage Study
2006 #2: Working towards positive change
2006 #3: Midterm Election Issues, Expanding Government Power, Toxics Release Inventory

2007 #1: Debt & Deficit, US Farm Subsidies
2007 #2: 2008 US Elections, Private Equity, Fair Trade
2007 #3:
2008 #1: Understanding Security, Housing Insecurity
2008 #2: Overlooked Election Issues, Human Rights & Cotton, WTO Negotiations
2008 #3: E-Waste, Economic Issues in the Elections, Chocolate & Child Labor
2009 #1: Lead Poisoning from Discarded Batteries, Social Premium in Fair Trade
2009 #2: Rebuilding New Orleans, G20 Meeting, Food Labeling, Child Labor, Bisphenol A
2009 #3: CREA House 10th Anniversary
2009 #4: Systemic Change in Supply Chains, Fair Trade

Starting Points Insert Articles
Factoids, Facts, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom
The Exotica and the Economica
Codes of Conduct in China Congressional Testimony
Sanctuary: The Face of Justice
Codes of Conduct part I
Codes of Conduct part II
Codes of Conduct part III
Contract Supplier System in a Globalized Economy
Reclaiming Public Conversation
The Dangerous Deconstruction of the Democratic Process
SRI and Unionization
It's About Time
Introducing the Cui Bono Rule
It's About the Workers
Kaleidoscope Thinking
Finding the Right Words
Imagine How Things Could Be Different
The Balancing ACTion
Tradition

 

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