Theft proposals turn potential cases of rigged economy theft into an investigation. You, the public, take on the role of the detective, deeply examining the details to discover whether theft has occurred—if so, the amount stolen and by whom. By taking charge and authoring a proposal, you become a leader of our movement to expose crony capitalists and corrupt officials, eradicate the rigged layer of the economy, and leave the ethical economy free to thrive for all.
We have made authoring and publishing theft proposals simple and secure for all of you who want to take matters in your own hands. Your investigations serve as our foundation; without them, we will not have the power to achieve our collective mission.
You will write your proposals as a YAML (YAML Ain’t Markup Language) file. This format makes editing large blocks of text easy for you, and organizes all of your content in a way that’s easily interpretable for use in theft reports.
STOP!
Have you taken the required steps before you can author proposals?
Link your Zero Theft Account to Github
Your proposals first get published to GitHub, not the Zero Theft Movement. This ensures multiple copies of your proposals exist, so your work never gets lost.
Publishing to a large hosting site first provides extra protection for you and the Zero Theft movement from potential libel/defamation cases. A copy of your original document then gets automatically published to Zero Theft, as you will have synched your local git repository to our network. The Zero Theft copy is stored into the blockchain to ensure its permanence.
➤ Connect Zero Theft to an existing Github account
➤ Create a Github account to connect to Zero Theft
Connect Zero Theft to an existing Github account
- Go to your Settings.
- Select Github from the menu on the left.
- Select Setup Github Repo.
- Enter your Github username or email address.
- Enter your Github password.
- Select Sign in.
- Select Authorize
Skip to authoring options
Create a Github account to connect to Zero Theft
- Go to your Settings.
- Select Github from the menu on the left.
- Select Setup Github Repo.
- Select Create an account..
- Enter a username, your email address, and a password. Check the box if you want product updates, announcements, and offers.
- Verify your account.
- Select Create account.
- Access your email and verify your Github account.
- Select Authorize
Authoring Options
In order to author the best, most effective proposals, we encourage you to structure your investigations in a way that is easily readable. That means building your arguments in a logical fashion, showing the step-by-step process of how you reached your estimate for the amount stolen in that specific economic area.
We have carefully designed the problem hierarchy, and it covers many potential problem areas of the economy already. Nevertheless, there are likely gaps in our coverage.
Creating Proposals from your Proposals List
- Select Proposals in the navigation bar.
- Select Create new proposal.
Skip to authoring
Creating Proposals from the Problem Area
In certain areas of the rigged economy, we have done the initial work by researching and publishing a report. The original will remain as is, but all citizens can freely use our work as a springboard for their own proposals.
Extend or delete whatever you want based on your supplementary research, and propose the amount you believe has been stolen.
- Select the broad economic area from the hierarchy and then the specific subset you want to investigate.
- Select Continue on the right side of the page, under Ready to Vote?
- Select Add your proposal.
- A pop-up window will appear at the top of your browser. Select Open xdg-open.
Authoring proposals
- The Zero Theft model proposal or the citizen’s proposal you are responding to will appear on the right half of the editor. Create your version on the left side of the editor.
After you have checked out the template and taken what you want from it (e.g. problem description, quotes, reasoning, etc.), select Hide to remove it from your workspace;
To copy and paste, select Select All.
Make sure to backup your work by selecting Save.
Note: Your proposals must follow our authoring guidelines. Please read them carefully to ensure your work meets Zero Theft’s standards.
2. While writing your proposal, you can make sure you haven’t made any errors in YAML requirements and/or formatting by selecting Check. There will always be a final check before you can publish your proposal.
3. If there are no errors, select Publish.
Notes: You always have the option to Save if, for whatever reason, you would like to take a break from writing your proposal or put off publishing. For those of you who don’t have sufficient funds, you can still publish locally, on GitHub. Publishing to the Zero Theft blockchain requires a small fee, which completely goes to keeping the public ledger running.
Authoring Guidelines
In order to get your proposal published, you must follow the authoring guidelines. These guidelines do not limit what you write whatsoever; they are in place so you have provided all the requisite information to properly log your proposal in the Zero Theft records.
To save your time and make authoring as convenient as possible, you can copy and paste the content in the template or counter proposal, and replace the information with your own.
Quick Checklist
- Wherever you see # {~C~}, you have to delete it and enter your own content.
- Fill out all of the key summary fields (year, country, title, author, problem area description, etc.). These must be typed in lower case and spaces are replaced with underscores (e.g. problem_area_description).
- Provide a detailed description of the problem area (so others can understand the issue as well as get a sense of your perspective). You can copy/paste the one provided by the template, another citizen’s description if you believe it accurately captures your own view of the problem area, or compose your own.
- Outline the steps you took (breakdown of your reasoning) to arrive at your theft amount
- Or for a “counter proposal” how you concluded no theft is occurring in that specific area.
- Include all relevant research and evidence, even if you don’t use each piece. Other citizens might have good uses for the sources you didn’t end up quoting.
- For other citizens’ reading ease, please include the number and written form of values over one million (e.g. $ 1,745,000,235,002 ($1.7 trillion))
Overview of the problem
summary Your estimate for the amount of theft occurring in the specific problem area.
summary_year: The year(s) when the proposed instance of theft occurred.
summary_country: USA (in the future, Zero Theft will expand to other countries. For now the Zero Theft Movement only operates in the US).
hierarchy: What part of the problem hierarchy your proposal addresses.
title: Whatever you wish to name your proposal.
# {~C~} ZeroTheft.net {~C~}
# /industries/finance/all_summary/
# {~C~} The following is a template to use when authoring a new proposal for the problem for this path {~C~}
# {~C~} Provided are: {~C~}
# {~C~} – an overview of the problem {~C~}
# {~C~} – some ideas you can use to build your case {~C~}
# {~C~} – extensive researched data you can use to back up your reasoning {~C~}
# {~C~} – useful quotes on the subject you can use for your case or as a starting point for further research {~C~}
# The following summary is not an exact amount, but an opinion on an approximation
# Citizens are often powerless.
# The government rarely uses criminal prosecution tools (subpoenas, legal discovery, etc.) when the privileged class steals.
# When these tools aren’t applied, citizens have no recourse except to approximate what is being stolen.
summary: {~C~}Enter Dollar amount ripped off in rigged economy on this issue yr{~C~}
summary_year: {~C~}2019{~C~}
summary_country: USA
hierarchy: /industries/finance/all_summary/
title: Does the Finance industry (including WallStreet) steal by rigging the economy?
The items in italic red would be replaced by what is appropriate to the specific proposal template.
author
We strongly urge you to provide your name and email address. This promotes good faith and transparency within the Zero Theft Community, showing to others you truly stand by the claims you make in your proposals. Crony corporations and corrupt officials conceal their foul play; the Zero Theft Movement hinges on trust and honesty. Please, to the best of your abilities, honor that and do right by your fellow citizens.
IF in the rare case you must remain anonymous, you have the option to fill out these values with something other than your actual information (e.g. Anonymous, anonymous@gmail.com).
author:
name: {~C~} anonymous {~C~}
email: {~C~} anonymous@example.com {~C~}
describe_problem_area
The describe_problem_area section is your opportunity to present the area from your perspective. This helps other citizens to gain some understanding of your views on the proposed area and on what counts as economic rigging. Particularly, if you feel you have a unique perspective or new insights to add to existing problem area descriptions, you are strongly encouraged to write your own problem area description.
Templates and existing proposals should have robust and comprehensive problem area descriptions, but you are always welcome to compose your own if you feel it’s necessary.
# {~C~} This describes the problem. You may want to edit this in your proposal. {~C~}
describe_problem_area: |
The modern day rigged economy hides in complexity and jargon, and Wall Street
is a perfect example of this. Even the Federal Reserve uses the term
“Quantitative Easing” instead of money printing in order to keep citizens in
the dark.
…
reasoning
The reasoning section is where you succinctly lay out your claims as you would any argument. Effective proposals will have its claims ordered in a way that makes the case easy to follow and read. A few sentences for each claim should suffice.
If you are unsure of how to approach this section, each template has questions you can answer. Your responses to some or all can serve as the basis of your reasoning.
# {~C~} The following are questions you may want to answer in building your case. {~C~}
# {~C~} Your reasoning should provide a strong case for how the economy is being rigged against citizens. {~C~}
# {~C~} These are just examples and ideas to get you started. You should delete them and build your own arguments. {~C~}
reasoning: |
1) Are any of these examples of rigged prices, rigged economy, or theft?
Enough that you consider the Finance industry rigged (and we can declare
a problem exists)
2) …
reasoning_on_size_of_problem
The reasoning_on_size_of_problem asks you to show how you reached your theft amount. In other words, this is your ‘working out’ or calculation method.
You can freely use a calculation method included in the template or other problem proposals, if you believe that it will yield the most accurate estimate of theft.
# {~C~} The following are questions and suggestions you may want to use in building an estimate of the “size” of the problem. {~C~}
# {~C~} Your reasoning should provide a strong case for how much is being ripped off through rigging of the economy. {~C~}
# {~C~} These are just examples and ideas to get you started. You should delete them and build your own arguments. {~C~}
reasoning_on_size_of_problem:
– reasoning: |
Antibiotics (like penicillin) have often been invented many decades ago…
– how_summary_is_calculated: |
Take the total industry and estimated percent of revenue coming from theft…
size_of_problem
The size_of_problem refers to the dollar amounts involved in the case (e.g. finance sector revenue, amount lost during 2008 mortgage crisis, etc.). You will probably utilize these figures in your calculations for the above section.
The template and other problem proposals will have the requisite financial data, but if you think you have more accurate figures, please include your own information.
Each subsection should include:
- source – the source of the data (human-readable)
- url – the URL where the data can be found
- data – an array of data entries. This will contain (as appropriate)
- year – the year this data applies to
- month – the month this data applies to
- amount – the amount (typically a currency)
- other_breakdown_keys – keys appropriate to this data
- description – a description of what these values mean in terms of the industry or proposal
the_financial_services_industry_in_the_United_States:
source: “https://www.selectusa.gov/financial-services-industry-united-states”
data:
–
year: 2018
industry_contribution_to_US_GDP: $1,500,000,000,000 ($1.5 trillion)
employment: 6,300,000
assets_of_US_banking_system: $17,900,000,000,000 ($17.9 trillion)
net_income_of_finance_employees: $236,800,000,000 ($237 billion)
description: |
In 2018, finance and insurance represented 7.4 percent (or
$1,500,000,000,000) of U.S. gross domestic product.
quotes
The quotes section is where you provide evidence for your claims from your extensive research. An effective way of ordering your quotes is to list them based on when they appear in your reasoning.
You do not have to find completely new quotes, as there are many in the templates and other proposals. However, if you are introducing new information or making a different claim, you need to find reputable sources to support your reasoning. Also, you should even include good quotes you don’t end up including in your reasoning as other citizens might want to use them.
- quote – the number of the quote (for quick reference elsewhere, like in reasoning)
- topic – an optional value to specify what the quote addresses within the overall proposal problem
- source – the human-readable source of the quote (e.g. name of website and article title)
- url – the url to the website where the quote can be found
- description – the actual quote
quotes:
–
quote: 1
topic: “The LIBOR Scandal”
source: Investopedia
url: “https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/libor-scandal.asp”
description: |
The scandal sowed distrust in the financial industry and led to a wave of fines, lawsuits, and regulatory actions. Although the scandal came to light in 2012, there is evidence suggesting that the collusion in question had been ongoing since as early as 2003.
resources
The resources section is a human-readable indicator of where data or a quote came from. All sources should follow a standard format.
Web sites should give the common name of the site (or specific section of a larger site).
- Investopedia – Article Title
- Joe’s Blog – Article Title
- US Bureau of Data – Title of Data Set
Books should give the title, author, and year of publication. Title should be quoted.
Optional chapter and page keys can also be provided.
- “The Catcher in the Rye”, J.D. Sallinger, 1937
- source: “Who’s Running This Place?”, M. Questioner, 2018
chapter: “Inmates and Asylums”
Articles should give the title, publication, and publication date. Author is optional. Title should be quoted.
- “The World Is Ending”, New York Times, November 6, 2017
- “Why Are We Here?”, National Geographic, March 2016
- “Should You Worry About a Runny Nose?”, Ann Worrywort, Mothers Weekly, May 10, 1996
years_covered
This section defines the years the problem area affected and is backed up by the data provided. It can also list the key year (or years) of the problem.
For example, if there is a problem that began in 2005 and faded away in 2012, after a crisis moment in 2011. But let’s say we were able to find hard data only from 2008 through 2015 (including years after the problem faded for comparison).
We’d specify it as such:
years_covered:
– start: 2005
– end: 2012
– key_year: 2011
– data_range:
– from: 2008
– to: 2015
Some problems may not have a start or end, and some may only have a data_range.
license
The license should always appear as follows:
license: CREATIVE COMMONS – CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Start your Investigation…
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Eradicate the Rigged Layer with the Zero Theft Movement
The rigged layer of the U.S. economy rips all of us off, including YOU. Crony capitalists and officials who have succumbed to regulatory capture have created the 50 years of wage stagnation and violations of antitrust laws.
The Zero Theft Movement seeks to end the corporatocracy and rid moneyed interests from politics. Our mission is, and will continue to be, on waking up 330 million American citizens to the truth. We can all profit from an ethical, powerful, and safe economy if we stand up against the crony capitalists.
Will you refuse this call to action, or take action to eliminate the rigged layer of the economy?
View how much is being stolen, according to the public
Investigate your areas of interest
All areas of our economy could be experiencing rigging by crony capitalists and corrupt officials. We need to systematically investigate each instance in order to find out if best evidence suggests it is truly rigged.
Alternatively, find an area that interests you most.
Commitment to nonpartisanship
The rigged layer causes all of us to suffer, regardless of our political allegiances. If we are to eliminate rigged economy theft, we have to set aside our differences and band together against crony capitalists and corrupt officials.
Free Educational Content
An educated public is an empowered public.
We regularly publish informative articles on ZeroTheft.net that teach you all about the rigged layer of the economy in short, digestible pieces. You can better protect yourself and others from the schemes of crony capitalists by reading our articles.
Standard Disclaimer
The Zero Theft Movement does not have any interest in partisan politics/competition or attacking/defending one side. We seek to eradicate theft from the U.S economy. In other words, how the wealthy and powerful rig the system to steal money from us, the everyday citizen. We need to collectively fight against crony capitalism in order for us to all profit from an ethical economy.
Terms like ‘steal,’ ‘theft,’ and ‘crime’ will frequently appear throughout the article. Zero Theft will NOT adhere strictly to the legal definitions of these terms (since congress sells out). We have broadly and openly defined terms like ‘steal’ and ‘theft’ to refer to the rigged economy and other debated unethical acts that can cause citizens to lose out on money they deserve to keep.