Massachusetts town creates its own currency

[terry78]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070619/lf_nm/usa_economy_berkshares_dc

 

[Drakon]

Another step toward seceding?

 

[Spider-Fan]

First Vermont, now a small town.

CIVIL WAR 2.0 IS COMING!!!

THIS TIME, IT'S PERSONAL!!!

If another civil war happens, I ain't fighting. I have a policy against doing jobs involving bullets or getting killed. I would be like the worst soldier anyway. Killing ain't in my blood.

 

[PhotoJones]

I think it's quaint.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

They should have gone with Schrutebucks and Stanley Nickels.

 

[moraldeficiency]

They're just disney dollars, I doubt this is a sign of the apocalypse. It does sound like it might be illegal unless they've got permits for all this nonsense.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

Damn seperatist!

 

[Superman79]

Supreme Court will strike it down.

Under the Constitution, the creation and tendering of money is a right specifically reserved to the Federal government. Not to mention the burdens it will place on interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause.

This currency will last 6 months tops...

 

[Erzengel]

Racist currency?

 

[amazingfantasy15]

Supreme Court will strike it down.

Under the Constitution, the creation and tendering of money is a right specifically reserved to the Federal government. Not to mention the burdens it will place on interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause.

This currency will last 6 months tops...

Tell that to Walt Disney and his Disney bucks.

 

[terry78]

Does Six Flags have Looney Tunes dollars, or no? What's the Twicket?

 

[tzarinna]

Woodstock had their own money.

 

[Kritish]

Wait, what's going on with Vermont? I haven't heard jack **** about them?

 

[Showtime]

OK...I live just outside Boston, and I have no idea where this town is nor have I ever heard of it. Why do they get their own money?

 

[Sandman138]

Ithaca did it first:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithaca_Hours

There a tons of local currencies in the US, this isn't even the first one for MA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States

 

[Leto Atrides]

Supreme Court will strike it down.

Under the Constitution, the creation and tendering of money is a right specifically reserved to the Federal government. Not to mention the burdens it will place on interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause.

This currency will last 6 months tops...

If you read the article, private entities are allowed to print their own paper money, as long as it is easily distinguishable from a real dollar.

It's called scrip: subway tokens, arcade tickets, gift certificates, Disney Dollars, "mall dollars", they're all completely legal.

More than anything, this seems like a cutesey attempt at tourism/community buildup that's so popular in New England. "We're such a quaint little community, we even have our own money! Come on, you can spend them at our coffeeshops and book stores and antique stores."

 

[Sandman138]

Actually, the main reason for local currency is to invigorate a small town's economy.

From wikipedia:

1. Local currencies tend to circulate much more rapidly than national currencies. The same amount of currency in circulation is employed more times and results in far greater overall economic activity. It produces greater benefit per unit. The higher velocity of money is a result of the negative interest rate which encourages people to spend the money more quickly.
2. Local currencies enable the community to more fully utilize its existing productive resources, especially unemployed labor, which has a catalystic effect on the rest of the local economy. They are based on the premise that the community is not fully utilizing its productive capacities, because of a lack of local purchasing power. The alternative currency is utilized to increase demand, resulting in a greater exploitation of productive resources. So long as the local economy is functioning at less than full capacity, the introduction of local currency need not be inflationary, even when it results in a significant increase in total money supply and total economic activity.
3. Since local currencies are only accepted within the community, their usage encourages the purchase of locally-produced and locally-available goods and services. Thus, for any given level of economic activity, more of the benefit accrues to the local community and less drains out to other parts of the country or the world. For instance, construction work undertaken with local currencies employs local labor and utilizes as far as possible local materials. The enhanced local effect becomes an incentive for the local population to accept and utilize the scrips.
4. Some forms of complementary currency can promote fuller utilization of resources over a much wider geographic area and help abridge the barriers imposed by distance. The Fureai kippu system in Japan issues credits in exchange for assistance to senior citizens. Family members living far from their parents can earn credits by offering assistance to the elderly in their local community. The credits can then be transferred to their parents and redeemed by them for local assistance. Airline frequent flyer miles are a form of complementary currency that promotes customer-loyalty in exchange for free travel. The airlines offer most of the coupons for seats on less heavily sold flights where some seats normally go empty, thus providing a benefit to customers at relatively low cost to the airline.
5. While most of these currencies are restricted to a small geographic area or a country, through the Internet electronic forms of complementary currency can be used to stimulate transactions on a global basis. In China, Tencent's QQ coins are a virtual form of currency that has gained wide circulation. QQ coins can be purchased for Renimbi and used to purchase virtual products and services such as ringtones and on-line video game time. They are also obtainable through on-line exchange for goods and services at about twice the Renimbi price, by which additional 'money' is being directly created. Though virtual currencies are not 'local' in the tradition sense, they do cater to the specific needs of a particular community, a virtual community. Once in circulation, they add to the total effective purchasing power of the on-line population as in the case of local currencies.

 

[terry78]

So we can just create our own money at a whim, huh? Reminds me of that Flintstones ep. where Barney cons Fred into thinking he's a counterfeiter.

"I use a better grade than the government. Once people get used to my money, they won't settle for anything less." That coupled with Fred's expression always cracked me up.

 

[Superman79]

If you read the article, private entities are allowed to print their own paper money, as long as it is easily distinguishable from a real dollar.

It's called scrip: subway tokens, arcade tickets, gift certificates, Disney Dollars, "mall dollars", they're all completely legal.

More than anything, this seems like a cutesey attempt at tourism/community buildup that's so popular in New England. "We're such a quaint little community, we even have our own money! Come on, you can spend them at our coffeeshops and book stores and antique stores."

I guess I didn't read that closely. Technically then its not real currency. if it were, then the Consitution would apply as stated.

And I still maintain if someone brought a suit about something like this it would be struck down.

 

[Kritish]

So, I'm going to assume that their currency isn't as counterfeit proof as the USD? I bet I could make some of this stuff up with a Xerox and go to town.

 

[Jack O'Lantern]

Wait, what's going on with Vermont? I haven't heard jack **** about them?

There was a thread around saying that 13% of Vermont's population favored leaving the union.

 

[Kritish]

There was a thread around saying that 13% of Vermont's population favored leaving the union.

Jesus that's a lot of people!

 

[Jack O'Lantern]

Jesus that's a lot of people!

Yeah, like.....12?

 

[Addendum]

Jesus that's a lot of people!

13% of a state with a population of 100

 

[Leto Atrides]

I guess I didn't read that closely. Technically then its not real currency. if it were, then the Consitution would apply as stated.

And I still maintain if someone brought a suit about something like this it would be struck down.

As far I know, there's no real grounds for it unless someone is forcing people to use or businesses to accept it, like with company towns.

But yeah, it's definitely not real currency, and if it lasted more than a few years I'd be surprised. Like they said, consumers can use these as much as they want, but businesses still have to pay bills in real currency. They're not going to want to be bound to exchange all of their money with the one bank that's issuing them.