Trust funds

As I read books and watch videos about where our food comes from, it becomes evident to me that the driving force behind it is just plain greed. Huge, wealthy companies are squeezing everyone, from farmers to consumers in order to stuff their pockets fuller. It is easy to become discouraged, to feel that one person can't make a difference, that we are powerless to change things.

When Number One Son was but a wee babe, we joined a group of mothers and toddlers. It was wonderful to feel part of something. As years passed, we brought many a meal to welcome a new baby or support an ailing family member--we even cleaned house for one mom on three months' bed rest. One of our members suggested a babysitting co-op as a natural extension of this good will. We all agreed it would be ideal to have a trusted friend to watch our kid, not just in dire straits, but for such luxuries as a teeth cleaning or an evening out with our husbands.

The first step involved distributing coupons representing 1/2 hour of sitting, ten per person, a kind of currency for sitting. When you sat, you earned, when you dropped your kid off, you paid. Sounds simple, but as it turned out, the formalization spelled doom. Too many moms 'spent' their coupons, and then dropped out, leaving the rest with handfuls of useless scrip. The co-op fizzled, and mistrust poisoned the group.

Fast forward to the present day: we are part of a small school community, where no such formal system exists. Yet our kids--for we see ourselves as the villagers who must raise them--are constantly in motion between families, passed hand to hand with small-town casualness and trust. After one particularly harrowing experience that landed me in the hospital for five days, it took a series of calls, from friend to friend to locate my little boy, well-fed and playing happily at a friend's home.

My heart is warmed by this community, a rarity in this world. We all trust that it will even out in the end, and certainly no one is keeping score. If one of us drives more than the other, we are still content, for we're making it one less car on the road. We all win.

I am encouraged when I see small signs of this kind of trust and calculated abandonment of greed. The paper tells me about a café in Kirkland, Terra Bite Lounge, where the menu bears no prices. You pay what you feel the meal was worth, and as you are able. The owner isn't worried about getting stiffed--his vision is based on trust, not greed. It all evens out in the end.

The CEO of Whole Foods announced that beginning this year, his salary will be $1/year. He states simply, "The tremendous success of Whole Foods Market has provided me with far more money than I ever dreamed of and far more than is necessary for either my financial security or personal happiness." And he's working to spread his gospel of conscious capitalism.

The unfortunate reality is that we live in a world driven by money, especially big money. But that doesn't mean we can't do the right thing. Many voices remind us that we can vote with our dollars, and not enough of us do. But I think we can do even more by not opening our wallets to begin with, but by opening our hearts and homes.

The IRS doesn't care much for this kind of attitude, as it leaves less for the taxman. But if you look at the grand scheme of things, we wouldn't need as much government funding--at least for peaceful pursuits--if we were watching out for each other instead of watching the bottom line.

It all evens out in the end.