1001 monnaies Fundraising — Fundable — Online Fundraising Energy-Backed Currency | Jeff Eisen, Ph.D. The problem with money The problem with money is that it either has to have intrinsic value in itself, like gold, or it has to be backed by or exchangeable for something that has intrinsic value. The abandonment of this principle, and the worldwide move to fiat currency, money freely printed and backed only by the soundness of the country or bank that issued it, has been brought the world’s economies to the verge of collapse in short order. The world needs to return to the sound money policy of backed currencies, currencies that either have intrinsic value in themselves or are readily exchangeable for something that has intrinsic value. In addition, this move has to be worldwide. For thousands of years money has been literally either gold or silver coinage. Fiat currency, because it is only back by the financial stability of the issuing country, has numerous advantages and disadvantages. We need to go back to backed money, but what to back it with? Dr. Like this: Like Loading...
Will the Brixton pound buy a brighter future? | Environment It has all the makings of a taxing pub quiz question: what links dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, environmental scientist James Lovelock, black civil rights activist Olive Morris and comedian Chris Morris with David Bowie, the Clash, Harold Macmillan and Sharon Osborne? The canny among you will have spotted that they are all one-time residents of Brixton in south London – but the more astute answer is that they have also all been in the running to appear on one of Brixton's new bank notes, a local currency that is officially launched tomorrow night at Lambeth town hall. The results of an online poll to determine the most popular local celebrities will be revealed at the event, as will the designs of the £1, £5, £10 and £20 Brixton notes. The aim in Brixton is to "support local businesses and encourage trade and production," says the team of volunteers who have spent the last year preparing for the Brixton pound's introduction into the local economy. But Beider has his concerns.
Les monnaies complémentaires & locales : une nouvelle réponse de la société civile à l'industrialisation de la finance ... Cela fait plusieurs fois que l'on me dit que les Monnaies complémentaire et locale (MCL) sont de l'ordre du "gadget" sans intérêt au niveau macro économique ... J'ai donc, depuis peu, modifié mes interventions et ma présentation des MCL en y intégrant leur importance en matière de transition vers un métamorphose de notre système financier toute entier. Les citoyens que je rencontre depuis m'ont dit que cela les avait éclairé et aidé à changer leur représentation des MCL. Ainsi, pour aider chaque volontaire engagé, dans cette expérimentation de la société civile que sont les MCL,à dépasser les arguments de certains "coupeurs d'ailes", j'ai donc rédigé ce texte court issu de mon expèrience personnelleen tant que coordinateur du sol-violette, la monnaie éthique de la ville de Toulouse, et administrateur du mouvement national Sol,initié par PatrickViveret, pour une réappropriation citoyenne de la monnaie. 3- Amplifier la circulation monétaire au sein d'un circuit local court
Complementary Currency Resource Center Association Chrissel Local currencies cash in on recession -- latimes.com PITTSBORO, N.C. — The stimulus for this mill town turned artist's colony arrived in the form of green bills bearing sketches of herons, turtles and trees. A few dozen local businesses banded together this spring to distribute the Plenty -- a local currency intended to replace the dollar. Now 15,000 Plenties are in circulation here, used everywhere from the organic food co-op to the feed store to, starting this month, the Piggly Wiggly supermarket. Last popularized during the Great Depression, scrip, or locally created stand-ins for U.S. currency, is making a comeback. "The Plenty is not going to get siphoned off to Wall Street, or Washington, or make a stop in Bentonville on its way to China," said B.J. Over the last two decades, a few communities have created their own cash in an effort to preserve local ties or businesses. The idea caught on fast, and other taverns agreed to help back the currency. "It's like a wink or a secret handshake," Belanger said. Thus Mesa Bucks were born.
Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY 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. The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a network to print currency. Workers with dwindling wages are paying for groceries, yoga classes and fuel with Detroit Cheers, Ithaca Hours in New York, Plenty in North Carolina or BerkShares in Massachusetts. Ed Collom, a University of Southern Maine sociologist who has studied local currencies, says they encourage people to buy locally. "We wanted to make new options available," says Jackie Smith of South Bend, Ind., who is working to launch a local currency. About a dozen communities have local currencies, says Susan Witt, founder of BerkShares in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts. "We print the real thing," she says. The IRS gets its share.
Local Currencies Grow During Economic Recession The gentle mountain slopes of New England isolate the Berkshires, creating a peaceful remoteness in this southern Massachusetts region. As a result, independent thinkers have thrived here. Herman Melville penned Moby Dick; Norman Rockwell etched paintings of American life; W. E. Today, the Berkshires is giving rise to a new wave of free thinking. Since the currency's launch two years ago, five local banks have printed more than 2 million paper notes. The Berkshires is not alone. Witt is now fielding calls from around the world, she said, especially from the United States and United Kingdom. "In the last four years, there has been a renewed interest in local economy, local production," said Witt, executive director of the E. Complementary forms of currency are nothing new, and they frequently appear when mainstream financial systems are in distress. The currencies take on various forms. In Switzerland, the WIR (the German word for "we") functions as a mutual credit system. Hello Bruce