When people gave up the self-sufficiency
of the homestead and the family farm after the First World
War, they became dependent on the money economy. The total
income now depends on the job. Today, in this global money
economy, that job cannot support a family. To support a
family, people need to reduce their dependence on the income
from a job. They do this by reducing expenditures on housing,
food, and childcare. RMI supports changing our culture
of selling houses so that other generations can reduce
housing costs. RMI supports changing our agriculture to
return to gardening our own food. RMI supports the concept
of one parent always at home to care for children. Those
three changes alone reduce the income requirement by ½ and
make a resilient economy possible.
But even more important that a resilient and more secure economy,
is one that fosters a more fulfilling work life. Work should
not be for the production of money alone. Life is too short
to work for just subsistence. Work should be integrated with
our objective of leaving behind a legacy of our lives. The
legacies of life are education, creation and contribution.
The Rockhouse Mountain Institute helps people find their particular
legacy, be it the rearing and educating of healthy self-actualized
children, creation such as in the arts or sciences, or in contribution
such as protecting our environment, helping create sustainable
energy sources, helping create a sustainable agriculture or
promoting quality in our culture and everyday lives.
