Comments on: A Better Way to Make Money

By: sophie baulch

sophie baulch — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:41:53 +0000

Thank you very much for this. I like the idea of the stamp system. I’ve been looking into Roger James Hamilton’s wealth dynamics and it occurred to me that when he talks about the flow of money he is talking about permaculture. Just as the current food system has waste, we can waste and hoard money. We become wealthier if we allow that money to flow between us. At least that’s my understanding. You may also like to look into the American greenback dollar and the Guernsey pound, which we both fiat, but interest free and very successful. This:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936&ei=ZZGtSZvwGJKwqwLR5Z2OBw&q=money+masters&hl=en#

Is an excellent documentary with a good deal about the history of money.

Another take on how to sort out the economy is http://www.thegreatrecovery.com . It’s basically a movement to get us all to sort out our individual economies, to get out of debt, get financially educated together as whole communities. Very empowering stuff. Knowledge is power they say.

By: Warwick Rowell

Warwick Rowell — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:26:53 +0000

I pounced on this issue due to the name: George, your book HEAT has changed my life!

Alternatives to money have been done, very well, in a number of plcaes in modern times. It is called LETS: Local Employment/Energy Transfer/Trading Systems. Michael Linton in Canada started it off in about the early 70s, and it has spread in various forms around the world.

I can remember Michael describing the need for his local currency: It is paralleled by the situation we face now… Ïmagine being on a building site, with all the materials, all the people, all the plans needed, and someone saying “We cant start, we forgot the feet and inches”. All money does is measure the producitivty of the system – it is NOT the productivity..

Ithica Hours is a well known example of LETS. In Japan there is a system for aged care: you get credits for caring for old people in your community, and pass the credit to your aging parents where-ever they live, so they can get the care you can’t provide due to geographical separation.

We had a similar system in an ecovillage we set up, using rocks as the name of the dollar equivalent, for all “common purpose” work. We had an additional very important sophistication of an employment services company that enabled anyone to emply anyone else, and easily “Render unto Caesar..” what was due – tax, workers comp, etc etc…

By: Alex Sprunt

Alex Sprunt — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:53:42 +0000

The very word ‘economy’ has it’s origins in thrift, and the management of scarce resources.

The Universe and our beautiful planet are definitely abundant and definitely do not exhibit any characteristics of ’scarcity’. Only man has introduced scarcity as a concept rather than working with nature he often works against her.

R Buckminster Fuller very eloquently describes what has really happened over the past 100 years and how ‘technology’ has for the first time ever in human history (C1971) provided the know how and the resources for everyone on planet earth to be living at a standard of living higher than any of us has ever known.

The first step in transforming our economy is to change the ‘context’ of it from scarcity (which no longer exists) to a context of ‘abundance’ or plenty. The ‘content’ or the amount of wealth available to everyone is determined by the context.

Another important point put by Fuller is that you can’t make money and make sense at the same time, they are mutually exclusive. For the past century or two we have focused on making money … at the expense of our environment, health, community and more.

It is impossible to die of starvation in Australia, USA, most European countries … someone will put food in your mouth and clothes on your back. Find a JOB that needs doing and that makes sense, and trust that the Universe will provide for you and your family and watch what happens.

By: Mike M

Mike M — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:07:36 +0000

Lets start like Ron Paul suggeted to eliminate taxes on gold and
silver. Why should money itself be taxed?
This would begin to allow people to actually have a money that is
a medium of exchange and store of value . Stamp schemes would seem to rob individuals who are saving for the future. There are
public companies like ITEX that are setting up business barter
networks that seem to have promise as well.

By: Marcin Gerwin

Marcin Gerwin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:58:45 +0000

The banknotes with stamps do work well, but unfortunately there is a small problem with them… They work too good! The idea behind this project was to create money that would rust, like iron, so that people would like to get rid of as soon as possible, and keep money in circulation. It means that it encouraged them to spend, spend, spend. The unemployment in the Austrian city decreased, but the consumption rose. For a small community that may be a good idea, but just imagine if this kind of money was introduced in USA

But sure, local communities should be able to print their own money. And some already do.

If you are intersted in Silvio Gesell’s idea, you could check out a book written by Margrit Kennedy, entitled “Interest & Inflation Free Money”. It is available for free download here:

http://www.margritkennedy.de/index.php?modus=BUE&inc=ENG&lang=EN