If you could split your post rewards at payout, giving a percentage to a Steem charity fund and a Steem mutual assurance fund, would you?
The interesting thing is, we can do that right now and I think many many Steemians would do it.
The questions we need to answer before we do are;
Who would administer the funds?
How would we decide how the funds were spent?
How would we ensure the funds were spent wisely, fairly and achieve the intended goals?
I believe if we can answer these questions, in short order, the majority of Steemians would support the funds and we would unleash an engine for growth of Steemit the likes of which the world has never seen.
Imagine, the word goes out that there is a global community generating value within an incredible network who are prepared to help each other and the rest of the world buy giving some of that value to those in need.
This is not your average charity. No sir. This is something else. This is human beings organising themselves and utilising a system with inherent integrity to directly help those in need.
Those we intend to receive the help get it and all of it.
The difference between the fund is that charity can be for anyone, mutual assurance can be only for those who contribute.
So can the important questions be answered? I'll have a go....
Who would administer the funds?
A group of people elected by Steemians that have the reputation, passion and knowledge to do the job. It is my belief that Steemit is teeming with such people. We would need to form a consensus around how they work together to execute the best practice management and security of the funds.
How would we decide how the funds were spent?
The elected fund administrators (who control the private keys) would disperse the funds. There would need to be a clear process by which requests for the funds were managed, utilising the inate integrity of the Steem blockchain. Also a set of clear and fair selection criteria should be utilised.
How would we ensure the funds were spent wisely, fairly and achieve the intended goals?
Ensuring the success of this kind of operation will be down to successfully navigating any areas where there is the potential for disagreement on what the funds are used for and the trust that the best attempt to reach the goal was made. The best way to ensure success will be a layered approach based on transparency and accountability, underpinned by reputation.
The layers might be; a comprehensive request with evidence, the transparent selection criteria, transparent selection process, comprehensive reporting on the implementation of funds, comprehensive reporting of outcomes.
The amazing thing is that if we get organised, we have the capability of implementing a system like this NOW. Its impact could begin to be felt tomorrow and I think it would astonish the world.
Radical Alternative
Another way to disburse the funds would be that submission posts were made to either fund and contributors to the funds vote on the post. If the post garners a threshold level of support, the funds are released on the condition that status updates were provided and a closure report with specific attention to goals achieved. Failure to adehere to the process would damage reputation and would impact on the likelihood of support in the future.
I appreciate there's a lot going on here. I think we should get cracking and sort it out! :) I would certainly be willing to divert a percentage of my rewards to both funds today. Perhaps everyone that does so will get a special badge. Perhaps that might affect people's decisions a voting time that means every Steemian will give what they can. The fund could be huge and the good it could do is mind boggling.
Happy Steeming
