Dwellers of the Parallel Economy By James Reed

Discussion of the parallel economy, defined in various ways, but is basically a set of economic alternatives to what we are presently living under, is now mainstream. It is often mixed up, perhaps intentionally, with the “black economy,” a world of crime and shadowy dealings. But it is not; being more about developing local self-reliance, and living with elegant frugalism. It intersects with the minimalism movement, of living better with less. I see this movement, coming from the back to the land movement of the 1960s as one of the good things to come from the Left, with useful insights for us to survive the hard times ahead. It involves doing many things environmentalists had recommended to cut down on waste, recycling, repairing and conserving, but done to save ourselves, rather than some planet in danger. The planet can look after itself as far as I am concerned; we are the ones needing saving.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/11/its-the-parallel-economy-stupid/

“A recent ad for Jeremy’s Razors, the shaving company started by conservative website the Daily Wire, was explicit about its intentions. “Friends don’t let friends shave with woke razors,” their copy reads. It ends with a call to action: “We can’t build the parallel economy overnight — it’s going to take time. But with your commitment it will happen. And razors are just the start.” Shortly thereafter the Daily Wire announced a move to put $100 million into kids’ entertainment.

Peter Thiel seems to be singlehandedly funding the right-wing parallel economy — to the extent that pundits joke about clamoring for “Thiel bucks” while the gravy train keeps moving. Not only is the billionaire entrepreneur investing in politicians like J.D. Vance and Blake Masters, he’s backing a “femtech” corporation “28” and the video platform Rumble, to name a few ventures.

Rumble also acquired a stake in the aptly named payment processor Parallel Economy, and the company is building its own server. These guys are literally building their own internet and payment processors. But will it matter?

“Build your own Twitter,” left-wing activists and journalists sneered as high-profile trolls like Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos were being banned from social media platforms. The right-wing social media site, Parler, did just that. They built their own network only to find themselves removed from the Apple and Google app stores and their hosting services canceled by Amazon Web Services in the aftermath of the January 6 storming of the Capitol. Even Angela Merkel thought Twitter had gone too far in banning Donald Trump. When the Germans are telling you to chill with the authoritarian behavior, it’s time to listen.

It’s not just provocateurs like Jones or Yiannopoulos. Or former presidents like Donald Trump. There are many voices being silenced and demonetized and you’ve probably never heard of them. It’s left-wing political commentators such as Lee Camp who had his entire life’s work disappeared off YouTube. Or a feminist such as Meghan Murphy who was permanently banned from Twitter for referring to Jessica Yaniv, a trans woman, as “him.” Or evolutionary biologist Colin Wright, who recently had his PayPal shut down and Etsy account suspended for violating Etsy’s policy against selling merchandise that “promotes, supports or glorifies hatred or violence towards protected groups.” His merchandise displayed the male and female symbols with the slogan, “Reality’s last stand.”

Perhaps the most chilling example of overreach occurred during the trucker protests in Canada, when Justin Trudeau froze activists’ bank accounts and blocked crowdfunding platforms supporting them. Trudeau also permitted financial institutions to cut off services to individual and business accounts which might have been participating in the blockades.

This cause should unite us. If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s that folks from both the left and right are being deplatformed, censored and demonetized for “wrongthink.” When they say “build your own internet,” they don’t really mean it.

Long before conservatives were decrying Big Tech censorship, adult film stars like Cherie DeVille warned us that financial institutions, particularly the duopoly that is Visa and MasterCard, have too much power. DeVille has written extensively about the hoops her industry has had to jump through to remain one step ahead of the payment processors and why decrees made by companies like MasterCard should scare everyone.

Wake up, sheeple. The frog is boiled, tough and rubbery. It’s long past the moment when the average person has the luxury of remaining in the dark about what’s going on. The time will come when you want to buy a gun, or fund a protest, or speak your mind — and suddenly you might find out that not only are you booted from Twitter, but you can’t access your PayPal funds. On this issue, the porn stars were the Cassandras — and we failed to heed their warning.

We’ll have to wait and see if the Overton window shifts so far to the left and squeezes so many consumers out that the parallel economy becomes the mainstream — or will it shift just far enough that the people investing in it will reap the rewards of spending their Thiel bucks?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnjFXnEH41g&t=359s

https://www.paralleleconomy.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_Economic_Model

All those working on social and economic alternatives need to keep nice and clean and legal, and not upset our overlords at the ATO, all hail ATO! Here they explain the shadow economy, so beware of shadows:

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Shadow-economy/The-shadow-economy-explained/

“The shadow economy is not limited to tax issues. It is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon operating across Australia’s workplace relations, financial, welfare, procurement and migration systems.

Shadow economy activities are not victimless crimes. They have harmful consequences such as:

• workers missing out on their entitlements (for example, proper wages, leave or employee protection)
• honest businesses being undercut by dishonest businesses that don’t pay the tax or superannuation they're supposed to
• criminals operating business models outside regulatory systems, and funding organised crime.

The shadow economy puts pressure on Australians who are doing the right thing. It also has broader impacts on our community by reducing funds for essential services such as health, education, transport and infrastructure, and funding for disaster response and other community services.

Shadow economy behaviours include:

• demanding or paying for work cash-in-hand to avoid obligations
• not reporting or under-reporting income
• underpayment of wages
• visa fraud and bypassing visa restrictions
• identity fraud
• ABN, GST, and duty fraud
• dealing in illegal drugs and tobacco
• sham contracting – presenting an employment relationship as a contracting arrangement
• illegal phoenixing – liquidating and re-forming a business to avoid obligations
• excise evasion
• money laundering
• unregulated gambling
• dealing in counterfeit goods.”

Yes, all very bad things indeed, but distinct from what we conceive as a parallel society/economy, which must be fully legal. The black economy is even scarier:

https://treasury.gov.au/policy-topics/economy/black-economy

“The black economy refers to people who operate entirely outside the tax and regulatory system or who are known to the authorities but do not correctly report their tax obligations.

It encompasses a wide range of practices, including understatement of takings, the payment and acceptance of cash wages off the books, welfare fraud, sharing economy contractors not declaring their income, moonlighting and phoenixing (where businesses deliberately liquidate to avoid paying employees and creditors). Complex interactions with illegal activities, including money laundering, must also be taken into account. Other terms used include: the shadow economy, cash economy, underground economy or the cheating economy.

Participation in the black economy penalises honest taxpayers, undermines the integrity of Australia's tax and welfare systems and creates an uneven playing field for the majority of small businesses doing the right thing.

If left unchecked, black economy participation can lead to a dangerous dynamic. It can foster a culture which legitimises and supports this participation, spurring its further growth. As revenues fall, those remaining in the formal economy may be faced with higher tax burdens, providing a greater incentive to move into the shadows. All other OECD countries are grappling with the black economy issue – Australia is not alone.”

Stay away from this, too.