Main Street Bets

We can imagine an entire ‘stock market’ for a city — not r/wallstreetbets but ‘Main Street Bets’ — asset prices reflecting the growth and success (or failure) of different communal projects and efforts. We can envision how such liquidity dynamics would dramatically reduce the ‘cost of capital’ for any local ‘social’ entrepreneur and venture, unlock... See more

In this scenario, a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) is formed for a particular street or business district. All participants in the fair ‘zone’ are awarded tokens by proving that they’re residents of the community (ie. a real address, or some other verification, a certain number per adult, a certain number per kid). Everybody automatica... See more

In this context, the mission of local news and information takes on an entirely new dimension. Instead of holding it responsible for all civic failures, the local news site becomes a portal to projects.

But the management and organizational ‘overhead’ of traditional associations often exceed the will and ability of potential participants. If you’ve ever been part of a community or school group, you understand the often prohibitive burden. It’s not only the time commitment of planning meetings — it’s the social dynamics where a few very active memb... See more

American communities founded on intense associational activity now have a civic participation vacuum. Associations once mobilized their constituents for specific improvements. Now only local governments -- often elected by tiny numbers of voters, or self-appointed small business groups -- serve as public custodians. While there have always been goo... See more