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of acquiring and possessing income-generating assets. When concentrated ownership of anything was rare in the United States, such as Jacksonian America, newspapers, pamphlets, speeches, broadsheets, books, and all other modes of communication flourished. If someone had something to say, he or she said it, and offered it to the public. True, much of what was published was narrow, bigoted, untrustworthy, and anything else you care to say about it. Newspapers were mostly the private opinion of the editor, who was in most cases the publisher and sole reporter as well, just as with today's blogs.

The difference between the newspapers of the Jacksonian era and today's blogs, and the concentrated media ownership otherwise prevalent in modern society, however, was that, with so many different opinions floating around, it was and is easier for people to think for themselves, if only to sift through all the conflicting information. The problem faced by today's bloggers and would-be independent media, however, is one that (by and large) the journalists of the Jacksonian era didn't have to worry about: how to generate sufficient income to take care of the cost of living while delivering your message to the public.

Everyone who has tried to make a living by blogging knows that advertising isn't going to do it, and contributions in most cases don't take up the slack. You might get hired by some company to promote their views on your blog and make sufficient income that way, but that, by its very nature, means that you are no longer expressing your own opinion as an independent voice.

The only real solution is to restructure our financial and economic institutions so that people can acquire a sufficient ownership stake of income-generating assets to maintain them while they pursue their true vocation of presenting independent voices in the media. A program such as Capital Homesteading is designed to do just that, and should be seriously investigated by every writer, journalist, and media figure seeking to present and maintain a truly independent perspective.

Learn more about this author, Michael Greaney.
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