Local Currencies: Communities Print Their Own Currency To Keep Cash Flowing

Local Currencies: Communities Print Their Own Currency To Keep Cash Flowing

www.huffingtonpost.com

A small but growing number of cash-strapped communities are printing their own money.

Borrowing from a Depression-era idea, they are aiming to help consumers make ends meet and support struggling local businesses.

There is a growing interest in currency production for communities hit by the recession. New currencies, like the Detroit Cheers are coming into play.

Detroit Cheers joins an estimated 75 local currency systems that have sprung up recently in the U.S.,

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.usatoday.com

[edit on (4/9/09) by AllSeeingI]

Im all for it. Considering the US Dollar is worthless once the truth gets out to enough sheeple.

But isnt this illegal? I seem to recall hearing a story about some people getting busted and thrown in jail for doing this.

Does this act of creating a new currency directly devalue the US dollar?

www.huffingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on (4/9/09) by AllSeeingI]

This is similar to the script or "chits" that were used to pay employees of coal mines, plantations, and sawmill towns back in the thirties. The practice was finally stopped in the late 30's or early 40's. The scrpt could only be used at the company store, and since the "employees" never quite made enough to cover all the needs of their families, they would have to charge the groceries against the next week's pay. Hence, the minoer, the plantion worker, the lumberjack who worked for the the company that owned the sawmill. It was most prevelant in the coal mine towns.
Hence the phrase from the song "Sixteen Tons," written by Merle Travis, "Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store."
The government made it illegal for companies to pay their employees in script, but it doesn't preclude towns printing certain Bonus Bucks or WORK bucks, and are only redeemable at the advertisers. If a town decides they want to do it and enlist local merchants to participate in the program, in order to keep money in the community longer, I don't see where there is a problem.
Of course, Obama, Geithner, and Bernake might diagree with me, but it's just because they're jealous that someone outside of Washington had a better idea for economic stimulus.

Issuing currency is illegal since its the Congress that solely has that power overall. But like so many things there are ways to get around this.

Can't find the story atm, but I read that a city in Colorado (Lamar I think) was giving out gift certificates for at a rate of like $30 for every $300 spent at local stores. There was a direct example of how this is stimulating spending in the story when a guy who bought a $599 snow blower wanted to get that extra $30 so bought a level to put him over $600.

I don't know how far this can go though since the money has to come from somewhere (Theoretically anyway). Also the city said they were thinking only $50000 would have to be spent on the program. Sounds small but for a city of 8500 people its pretty good.

The problem I foresee is that small towns that are near each other are going to go into benefit wars to attract consumers.

I didnt believe this story when i say it on a Iranian news source a few days back, but it is almost word for word re-posted on the USAtoday site?! craziness. I have to go through Pittsboro pretty soon, Ill see if i can get my hands on a plenty. what i dont understand is why it (the plenty) was invented in 2002? that was my first year in college, so i wasnt really in tune with the national and local economies, but i cant really remember anything that would have lead to their creation in the first place.

Hell yes!!! The federal government might have a cow but it is about time the individual states and cities start standing up and reminding the FED that they are the central government but not the supreme government of this country!!!
It's about time here for the Lone Star Buck or something to that effect. Offer a rate of exchange for the dollar!!!
Alas it'll probably never takeoff.

I wonder what Ron Paul has to say about this.

Second line.

Issuing currency is illegal since its the Congress that solely has that power overall. But like so many things there are ways to get around this.

A forex account where you hold foreign currency and have a debitcard attached.

Local non-profit organizations can also benefit by purchasing BerkShares at the 5% discount rate and selling them at full face value to their supporters.

Greatest Scam EVER!

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Ron Paul had this to say. In February of 2008:

…allowing for competing currencies will allow market participants to choose a currency that suits their needs, rather than the needs of the government. The prospect of American citizens turning away from the dollar towards alternate currencies will provide the necessary impetus to the US government to regain control of the dollar and halt its downward spiral. Restoring soundness to the dollar will remove the government’s ability and incentive to inflate the currency, and keep us from launching unconstitutional wars that burden our economy to excess. With a sound currency, everyone is better off, not just those who control the monetary system. I urge my colleagues to consider the redevelopment of a system of competing currencies.

The whole speech is here. it's a great read.
www.lewrockwell.com...



[edit on 9-4-2009 by spacedoubt]

This story came up from somewhere awhile back. There are disadvantages and advantages but it's a great way to help keep the local economy in tact. ----
------------

Sonoma County activists may issue their own currency
ala ITHACA DOLLARS
By Paula Harris
CRAVING MORE CASH? Not those familiar greenbacks adorned with dead presidents, but a colorful currency exclusively for Sonoma County, featuring indigenous animals, or local landmarks, or a boat-full of old ladies, babies, and pierced-punk rockers floating down the Russian River.
It may sound crazy, but creating your own money--even during a cozy potluck dinner--does not necessarily lead to jail time.
Uncle Sam may be crushed to learn his bank notes aren't inspiring much confidence in some local residents. Sonoma County residents are part of a growing number of communities across the nation exploring the possibility of establishing a local currency as a way to stimulate locally owned businesses.
"The money stays in the community rather than going to corporate headquarters, " explains Bill North, one of several local residents pushing for Sonoma County cash. "This would support local products instead of national chains; rather than being backed by debt, this money is backed by skills, products, and labor."
Stefan Goya, a local manufacturer of wind-chime parts, who's designed a prototype local currency note depicting "River People", agrees. "There are all kinds of handicrafts people do and they can't break into the mainstream economy. If there was an alternate currency, those people would have a better chance," he says. "This currency would build morale and create a focus."
Here's how it works. The non-profit group pushing for an alternate money supply is patterning its version on a successful homegrown currency phenomenon in Ithaca, N.Y., a counterculture haven and college town where the local tender is known as "Ithaca Hours." The Ithaca Hour is a locally created $10 bill, designated as the average hourly wage. The Hour notes buy a myriad of local products and services, and the credit union accepts them for mortgage and loan fees.
Every business that agrees to accept Hours is paid one or two Hours ($10 or $20) for being listed in the Hour Town directory, which is how the per capita supply of money is gradually increased.
Paul Glover, the chief clerk of Ithaca Hours who created the alternate paper money for the town in 1991, says there are 35 communities nationwide using local currency, five in Canada, and one in Mexico, and he's had inquiries from France and England.
"It's becoming popular because the national system is serving a smaller proportion of the general population by putting money into speculative investment rather than productive capacity, by putting money into high-return investments regardless of the effects these investments have on communities or the environments, " says Glover. "I saw national money was being used to degrade the environment and enrich an elite.
"Every community has talent and time that is not compensated by the formal economy, and a community with a money boundary around it is dedicated to bringing its talents into the market and giving us more spending power to trade with one another."
He says that local currency systems like the Ithaca Hours differ from more common trading or bartering systems because they bring together all sectors of the economy.
Since 1991, Ithaca Hours members have issued $63,000 in local notes, and thousands of people have made transactions with the Hours, including 360 local businesses, such as movie theaters, restaurants, and even the hospital. In some cases, businesses in surrounding communities will honor the notes. Taxes on Hours are paid individually.
The five Ithaca Hours denominations are tinted, and, according to Glover, "reflect nature and cultures that are most widely respected by people who value ecology and social justice." He adds that the local district attorney has declared that counterfeiting the Hours would be "forgery of a financial instrument," giving the notes more credibility. Decisions about how much money to release at a given time are made at potluck dinners.
Glover, a former journalist and urban designer, says his full-time job is now to promote the alternate currency idea. He sells display ads, Home Town Money start-up kits, videos, and T-shirts. (He does, of course, accept the Almighty Dollar--$25 for the kit, $17 for the video, and $15 for the T-shirt.)
At a recent meeting in Santa Rosa, a handful of Sonoma County residents met and voted on a name for the proposed new local tender.
After tossing out about 20 suggestions- -including "Sonoma Currency Now," "Money Tree," "Mo' Money," and "Sonoma Buck Fund"--the group settled on "Our Community Cash"--with the word our to be possibly replaced with an hourglass symbol. (time equals money?)
Goya envisions members silk-screening and printing the currency themselves, with a $5 charge for paper and ink costs. Materials such as watermarked cattail or handmade hemp paper could be used, with non-Xeroxable thermal ink and a serial number to deter counterfeiters. A design contest would be held.
Some critics think the group is trying to reinvent the wheel. "The problem is in the distortion of the money system, not the system itself," says one meeting participant. "I'm not sure they're addressing the real problem."
If there's sufficient interest, the Sonoma County group would like to have the local currency in place before the end of the year. But Glover hopes that the Sonoma County plan will develop at its own pace.
"In Ithaca, we started with 90 people and very little local currency, and it's taken more than five years to achieve several million dollars of trading," he says.
"It's a cultural process that takes its own time."
* * * * * * * * *

Just store this away in your head for the time banks close with all your hard earned bucks in them.

reply to post by AllSeeingI


it isnt any more illegal than what the federal reserve does.

it is not illegal as long as the Script your printing in no way resembles a federal reserve note.

The alernate currency doesn't cause inflation in the federal reserve note. actually it is shrinking the amount of federal reserve note in circulation and actually increasing the value of the fed note.

Think about it. if it was illegal to use any other form of payment than a federal reserve note then everyone that has ever written a check, used a debt card, or credit card would be looking at jail time. a check, debt/ credit cards is a form of script!

edit to add. not every Business has to except the new local script and it can only be used locally!

Also this is already being discussed here
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by Mercenary2007
it is not illegal as long as the Script your printing in no way resembles a federal reserve note.

US Constitution Article I

Section 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

reply to post by stereotype


The thing is article I section 10 does not apply in this case!

They are not representing it as LEGAL TENDER of the United States. and it does not look like the LEGAL TENDER of the United States.

Todays form of script is nothing more than gift certificates that can only be used locally if a business chooses to accept it. (you buy them with Legal Tender and use them for goods and services in your town. you even pay taxes on them so the tax man gets his share.)

so let me ask you do you use a debit/credit card? have you ever written a check? ever used a gift certificate? Of course you have. what do they have in common? they are all forms of script. and they are NOT ISSUED BY THE CONGRESS!

The best deal I ever was involved in was a barter system, I don't recall what it was called, but it was prevalent in Colorado Springs years ago. I'd do computer work for folks, get currency, but they were barter dollars, spendable in any participating company. I used to get furniture, food, dishes, plants, car parts, you name it, through this system.

I'm all for barter systems.

I believe silver coins in various denominations are the better option since silver, in it's very essence has value in and of itself. Gold coins of various denominations could be used for larger purchases.

This would also send a message to the Fed that US 'sovereign' citizens no longer support fiat currencies backed by debt the Fed. created in the first place.

A barter system mentioned by previous post ^^ works as well in any community.

The first step consists of eliminating legal tender laws. Article I Section 10 of the Constitution forbids the States from making anything but gold and silver a legal tender in payment of debts. States are not required to enact legal tender laws, but should they choose to, the only acceptable legal tender is gold and silver, the two precious metals that individuals throughout history and across cultures have used as currency. However, there is nothing in the Constitution that grants the Congress the power to enact legal tender laws. We, the Congress, have the power to coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, but not to declare a legal tender. Yet, there is a section of US Code, 31 USC 5103, that purports to establish US coins and currency, including Federal Reserve notes, as legal tender.

The mere 'existence' of the Federal Reserve is unconsitutional and was never ratified by Congress or approved by the people, the rulers of This Republic.

Audit the Fed. and watch them run for cover. You'd probably Never see them again for their own safety.



[edit on 10-4-2009 by Perseus Apex]

reply to post by fleabit


That isn't a barter system. Exchanging goods and services for currency, which you later exchange for goods and services, is the system we have now. Barter would be if they paid you with material goods, rather then currency.

I believe silver coins in various denominations are the better option since silver, in it's very essence has value in and of itself. Gold coins of various denominations could be used for larger purchases.

No commodity has 'in it's very essence has value in and of itself'.

Secondly, gold and silver is impractical at the current prices or even at the prices before the recent increases. Why should merchants have to put up with having to have prices in both gold and silver AND have to change them several times a day based on the goldexchange.

Third, gold and silver are as most other commodities monopolized commodities, meaning that they are mined and put to market by cartels that effectively control the supply and thus the price.

Base metals for coinage is a pipe dream by people who haven't actually thought about how cumbersome it would be to use. Having to hold, carry, exchange and use metals would be a nightmare for any merchant. Buying a car, you have to carry around 500 to 1000 grams of gold or 50 to 100 kilos of silver, or some combination thereof. If you want to buy a house, massive amounts of gold or silver will have to be shifted around. It doesn't make sense.

reply to post by aaa2500


Check the thread in my profile if you are interested as to how I came to my conclusion. This is a long topic. My main point is that a fractional reserve banking system has always ended in massive hyperinflation. A gold and silver backed currency would stem the tide of inflation while giving the consumer and producer confidence in a sound currency.

It is true that there is a oligopoly (not monopoly) in the precious metals mining and supply, just as there is with diamonds and oil and just about every other commodity these days though there is only so much gold and silver to go around since only so much has been mined and only so much can be mined annually thereby it is a rare commodity in an of itself.

When the currencies of the world crash, are you going to be holding onto debt backed currencies or something tangible that has value due to it's scarcity? I'll stick with precious metals and land as has been done throughout the ages to preserve one's wealth.