Advertisement
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. Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the 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. Merchants, hurting because customers have cut back on spending, benefit as consumers spend the local cash.
...
www.usatoday.com/money/eco...crip_N.htm
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. Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the 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. Merchants, hurting because customers have cut back on spending, benefit as consumers spend the local cash.
...
www.usatoday.com/money/eco...crip_N.htm
posted by:
|
Los Angeles
|
Advertisement
Advertisement
-
Re: USA Today: Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing
Tue, April 7, 2009 - 6:34 PMI'm glad you posted this.
Deepening our dependency on federal notes has never been a wise idea. One can see by the current state of affairs within and without the government that it's time to bring our focus back to our communities by establishing local means of connecting with one another.
Strengthening local economy is truly the only sustainable, compassionate, and non-isolating way to redirect the grim future.
Four months ago I co-founded a group in Tucson that is currently working fervently on establishing a complimentary currency. There used to be a complimentary system in Tucson called the Tucson Tokens formed by the Tucson Traders. Tucson Tokens existed from approximately 1996-2001. There were numerous reasons why it fell apart, but we're trying again with a different group, name, and system.
In case anyone else is interested, here are a few very successful models:
Ithaca Hours
Berkshares
Humboldt Exchange
Fourth Corner Exchange
Madison Hours
(Just to name a few)
Many Blessings!
-
Re: USA Today: Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing
Thu, April 9, 2009 - 9:26 AM
-
Re: USA Today: Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing
Sat, July 4, 2009 - 3:27 PMYes Community Currency is becoming very popular and it's legal in the U.S.
See our monthly magazine. (community currency magazine)
ccmag.net
Mark
www.twitter.com/dgcmagazine
