So. I was driving my ugly SUV to work after watching some Dexter today, and stumbled across an idea. I was listening to NPR (big shock, right?) and heard an article about Tasmania and a new micro-lending system taking place there. It employs small loans to farmers, normally around the 400-500$USD range, and has had swooping effects on both poverty and crime rates. So this lead me to think; Is this possible in an area as stricken with distraught as Palestine?

My idea is this, at least in a blueprint format. Open a non profit organization with with the specific intent of sending money to Palestine. In the same vein as Smallcanbebig.org or Invisible Children, look to the internet for your support, asking as little as five to ten dollars per donor. You would have a stated agreement of being a pro peace, pro economic stimulant package, with the sole goal of providing both by means of a small loans system. A few hundred dollars can go a long way to starting that new business, be it helping get clean water to Gaza or opening a laundromat in the West Bank. But you attach the incentive of this; all loans would be dependent on the crime rate in Palestine, with special attention paid to Israel. As crime goes up, loans go down, or possibly interest goes up. In my mind, this might provide a new rational for the citizenry to do their best to keep the peace. I haven’t crunched the numbers yet, but I would wager that you could easily compile a flow chart of average age in Palestine, average crime levels, numbers of attacks into Israel and unemployment. I would not be surprised to see a correlation in the figures. This could be a simple WordPress powered site with a staff of perhaps three to five allocating loans once a certain amount was raised, hopefully working pro bono. Giving Palestinians a way to borrow money, as long as they do their best to keep their neighbors in check could be a way to lessen the harshness of their day to day life.

Thoughts?