Comment

Comment by Ron Tocknell on April 1, 2011 at 8:49am

Comment by Ron Tocknell on December 27, 2010 at 1:28pm

As much as I prefer the idea of local currencies to bank-issue currencies, they are still based on the same concept introduced around 700BC: a unit of exchange. The problem I have with this is
that it involves assigning a fictitious value to a token that has no
intrinsic value. The problem here is that the face value has to be an
invention and, therefore, its value can go up or come down. It is
potentially as volatile as any other bank-issue currency.

 

I think we can do better than this.

 

What do we want our economy to do for us? Essentially, we want to ensure that those who contribute to society are rewarded for their input with
some means of entitlement to the benefits of society. But what about
those who do not contribute? Do we want them to starve to death?

 

Resources and labour are only expensive because of the system of currency we use. If, instead of having a unit of exchange that can be loaned and return
an interest (and, consequently lead to debt), how about establishing a
value to each and every product and service according to its value to
society. This is a base value that is consistent.

The price of a loaf of bread can vary from one day to the next but the value of a loaf of bread is the same today as it was in Biblical times. So value is clearly more stable than price.

 

People are also valuable so they should have a base value that entitles them to food, basic housing, serviceable clothing, clean water, basic health
care, education, energy for heating, lighting and cooking and access to
public transport by default... ie; without having to earn it. This is the base value of a human being in a humane society.

There are many industries that provide non-essential services that make life more meaningful and most people will want to be able to participate in
these. So, by contributing our skills and time in service to the
community, we can upgrade our base value to entitle us to these
additional services and products. The overall "currency" is the value
of the whole society. An individual's wealth is determined by that
individual's value to society. The greater the contribution, the more
benefits one can access. This can be in the form of points
that are earned at an hourly rate and canceled against transactions.
But the points cannot be loaned or borrowed or gambled or inherited or
bequeathed (or stolen) because they are simply a record of the value of
an individual's input and the value of goods and services to which they
are entitled. The value is linked directly to products, services and
the people who provide them.

But the points have no intrinsic value independent of the item, service or individual to which they apply.

 

This is a simplistic sketch but it would address poverty, corruption, financial theft and banks would be obsolete. Value would remain constant
and only subject to change if the value in real terms changes. If a
person upgrades their base value then that is a real term change. If a
loaf of bread has sun-dried tomatoes added, then that is a real term
change.

 

At the moment, our economy is based on a unit of exchange with a fluctuating, fictitious value. It doesn't matter whether it's a dollar, a pound, a euro, a Life dollar, a Baltimore Buck,
a Delaware Dime or whatever. They would all be tokens with a fictitious
value and open to abuse. Assign realistic value to items, services and
people that reflect true intrinsic value and you have a stable economy.

 

Of course, the banks won't like it.

Comment by Matthew Slater on October 7, 2010 at 7:58pm

My actual concern is with producing the software to do this. I'm encouraging all small and medium sized projects to migrate to Drupal so we can move forward together on one platform. I'm gathering technical and politial support for this, Timebanks USA is switching. I'm building online intertrading with CES, and multiple currencies will be working imminently. SMS transactions are coming after that. We have mass hosting down to a T. So I'm very happy to see communities valuing each other's currencies, and looking for ways to offload pastoral & governance duties and take on technical duties. So I'd be interested to hear about your medium/long term plans.
Would you be interested as well, in writing an article for the CC Magazine?

Comment by Francis Ayley on October 7, 2010 at 7:31pm

The North Olympic Exchange on the Olympic peninsula WA, and what used to be the Sound Hours Exchange in Olympia WA. We have many other groups starting up around the USA and overseas. The Life Currency Cooperative Exchange is accepting Sound Hours on a one to one exchange for Life Dollars. Anyone out there got Sound hours they cannot spend. Join us!

Comment by Matthew Slater on October 7, 2010 at 7:12pm

Thanks Francis I changed it. How many more communities are there participating?

Comment by Francis Ayley on October 7, 2010 at 6:56pm

Done.

The entry Fourth Corner Exchange is incorrect. Fourth Corner Exchange is now a local chapter of the Life Currency Cooperative Exchange, which is an international cooperative exchange. So the primary listing should not be for Fourth Corner but for the Life Currency Cooperative Exchange. Who do I need to contact to change that on the Community Forge website?

Comment by Matthew Slater on October 7, 2010 at 5:20pm

Community Forge is making a map of CC systems. There is a special category on there for Fourth Corner. Would someone in this group care to populate it?
It's very simple, no login needed.
Please http://ccmag.communityforge.net/directory

Comment by Collin Ferguson on September 24, 2010 at 11:31am

Hello,

Thank you for your invite to the Fourth Corner group page. I represent Xchange Stewards in Portland, OR and soon, we want to begin developing software to link community currency/trade exchanges together. Please let me know if you're interested. You can reach me at collin@xchangestewards.com.

Comment by Francis Ayley on November 25, 2009 at 1:04pm

What would you like to know? We have a large selection of recommended reading on our website here: http://www.fourthcornerexchange.com/info/reading.php. Watch 'Money As Debt' http://www.moneyasdebt.net/ as a preliminary introduction to what is wrong with traditional bank issued money and take it from there.

Comment by Skystar Jamilla Indriel on November 25, 2009 at 11:28am

I attended an intro meeting of the Fourth Corner Exchange at Zippy's a few months ago. I want to learn more.

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