# "community" or "local" currency



## The_Blob

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.
During the Depression, local governments, businesses and individuals issued currency, known as scrip, to keep commerce flowing when bank closings led to a cash shortage.
The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a network to print currency. Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 90-95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the currency.
By law, local money may not resemble federal bills or be promoted as legal tender of the United States, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

I'm not sure if the folks in the area I live in would be receptive to this idea... but the Giant Eagle supermarket chain offers 10 cents discount on fuel (30 gallons maximum) for every $50 spent & it is very popular. 

20 cents x 30 gallons = $6 of free fuel per $100 ... or 6% & it can only be used on fuel

what do all ya'all think?


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## Canadian

The mint would have to print it to prevent fraud. The cost of the printing and security features in the bills would be high. If you made the bill too simple people would just scan and print their own money. I'd rather barter or take a wheelbarrow of hyper-inflated cash to the store.


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## NaeKid

We have a "local currency" here known as CT-Bux. CanadianTire (large retailer of autoparts, camping-supplies, kitchen-gadgets, home-renovation stuff, gas-stations) pay you for shopping with them. You buy gas, you get $0.07 / litre back. You get your car fixed there, they give you CT-Bux back. Any time you spend money there, you get money back.

Now, when I return with my wallet full of CT-Bux, I can buy anything as long as I have sufficient in my wallet. At one point I had well over $500.00 in CT-Bux. I purchased paint for my house, I purchased camping gear, I have bought autoparts, I bought fluids (oil-change, etc) .. and I get CT-Bux back after purchasing with CT-Bux. 

Now, there are some businesses here in Calgary that accept CT-Bux at par. I can go into the local pub and drop my CT-Bux on the table to pay for my meal / brew. I can visit a farmer's market and get fresh-fruit for CT-Bux. I can visit many "family" businesses and give them CT-Bux at par for the products that they have. They in turn will spend the CT-Bux at CanadianTire or at another business that accepts the CT-Bux as cash.


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## The_Blob

Canadian said:


> The mint would have to print it to prevent fraud. The cost of the printing and security features in the bills would be high. If you made the bill too simple people would just scan and print their own money. I'd rather barter or take a wheelbarrow of hyper-inflated cash to the store.


That's one of the concerns I had as well, but it appears to be working in Detroit (Cheers), Ithaca (Hours), North Carolina (Plenties) & Massachusetts (Berkshares). IMO, they encourage people to buy locally & merchants, hurting because customers have cut back on spending, benefit as consumers spend the local cash.

Buy Local-With Town Currency

has some good info about the idea/movement... too bad you can't do coins, IMO that would be easier, IF you could use those novelty charm makers that turns pennies into charms, some of the designs are intricate enough to make forgery non-viable... you could even use old washer die-stamping equipment (I've looked into it for novelty coins for gaming) to produce many many coins, but it's pretty moot since it is specifically prevented, I find that kind of odd.


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## Canadian

I don't like Crappy Tire money. I always stick it in the donation box at the door. I'm fine with it going to charity instead. The thing with Crappy Tire money is that it's only good as long as they stay in business. It's far more likely that Canadian Tire will go out of business before the Canadian government collapses. 

That said some people do take it in lieu of normal currency. In Toronto it's not that common.


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## Chieftain

*In case things ever go really wrong, anything of value can become "local" currency. One item to consider is ammunition. .22 caliber long rounds make excellent hard cash in a "barter" economy, and it makes good sense to have a couple of 500 round bricks on hand for just that purpose. Each brick has ten boxes of 50 rounds that are very handy to carry if you needed to.

The same goes for any long rifle that you own. Remington sells an inexpensive 30.06 round with a 150 grain bullet, that is perfect for hunting, defense and trade. You can buy inexpensive plastic boxes for rifle rounds that individually support each shell either bullet up or bullet down.

If you own a shotgun, 500 or more suitable shells for both hunting and home defense are a good idea, but shotgun shells are handy for trading too.

You can't eat a Kruggerand, and I doubt you can throw one hard enough to knock out a deer. Live ammunition that has been properly stored is more valuable than gold, depending on the circumstances, so ammo stocks must be a part of any preparation kit.*


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## dukman

Chieftain said:


> You can't eat a Kruggerand, and I doubt you can throw one hard enough to knock out a deer.


All you need is a slingshot..... 
Or use it as bait for some two-legged varmit  J/K


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## SurvivalNut

Chieftain said:


> *In case things ever go really wrong, anything of value can become "local" currency. One item to consider is ammunition. .22 caliber long rounds make excellent hard cash in a "barter" economy, and it makes good sense to have a couple of 500 round bricks on hand for just that purpose. Each brick has ten boxes of 50 rounds that are very handy to carry if you needed to..*


I have always been outspoken against including ammo as a barter item. Why arm the other guys? Then I drove to Cabela's next state over. Ammo almost non-existent, not ONE round of .22 ammo. I just wanted some plinking stock replenished. (guess no more plinking). Makes you rethink.


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## SurvivalNut

The_Blob said:


> 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.
> During the Depression, local governments, businesses and individuals issued currency, known as scrip, to keep commerce flowing when bank closings led to a cash shortage.


Shoot me full of holes, but it is a silly idea based on social discourse. I have to have dollars to pay my mortgage. I have to use dollars to buy the local script.

Using coupons, buying in bulk or shoping around does the same. When I can use eggs or produce to trade for script, like in the Civil War or Depression, then I am for it. Until then, it is just a local marketing gimmick. There is no cash shortage. It does't fix unemployment or being broke. It's just a local coupon game to play.

If a business sheds debt, markets wisely and sells fairly, it has done all it can do. Script is coupons. I am not fooled. This consumer is putting the brakes on consumption.

PS Try the Garage sales, the deals are getting awesome. People are trimming the excess. Recycle!


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## Canadian

I'd never barter ammo. If someone else is out of ammo that all the better in keeping my family safe. I'd feel safest if everyone was out of ammo except me. 

Also part of the idea of surviving is being able to rebuild afterwards. That's where gold comes in. Whoever survives can harness the buying power of gold to buy up land and goods at incredibly low prices. Buy low sell high. Post war Europe was rebuilt with gold not with devalued paper currency.


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## SurvivalNut

If I had excess I would hold gold. In the meantime, I am ensuring I have a means to be comfortable through any exingency. I'd rather be broke and thriving on the other side than rich and emaciated. In that interim, my eggs can be bought, with gold, if I have extra to spare. Check back tomorrow. 

I totally agree about not bartering ammo. All the 70's and Y2Kers listed .22 ammo as a barter item. To borrow from Naekid, I'd rather be bingo ammo with friends than armed among enemies.


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## dgroover

*Other Golden Rule:*

The other "Golden Rule' states that: "He Who Has The Gold Makes The Rules". 
However, if (or rather when) the economy collapses, Good Old Benevolent Uncle Sam will probably do the same as during the last economic collapse.

During the first Great Depression, anyone owning GOLD were required to hand it over to the government. They were paid a small amount for it. But, it was not nearly as much as what it had been worth.

A $5.00 Gold piece could be worth the face value of $5.00.

I am banking on the barter system as the best bet for trading value. The government is printing out U.S. Currency so fast that soon it will de-value way beyond what it is really worth on the Internation Markets.

The national news has recently reported that the true U.S. debt is not the $13 - $15 Trillion that we have been previously told. Instead it could be well over $200 Trillion. It doesn't matter if you or I believe the report or not. If the other governments of the world start believing it, WE ARE IN DEEP DO-DO. (Just trying to keep it G rated.) No other country in the world will extend us credit for another cent!

Then comes the Global Currency that China, Russia, several other countries and the United Nations are already pushing for. (** See Link Below) When it comes time to value our share, do you think they will give us a fair deal? I Don't Think So...

We may have to give China everything west of the Rockies to settle our debt with them. I bet there would be fewer farmers out of work because of some endangered minnow species. PETA would become an endangered species there.

Hopefully, we are being told the truth when they tell us that the recession is over. Then, we won't have to worry about it. Maybe the world will forgive us of our debt just like the U.S.A. has done for so many other countries. And, maybe just maybe, every country in the world will want the Almighty Dollar again.

** http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/tdr2009_en.pdf and go to Page 127

No Matter what, I'M STOCKING UP ON BARTERING SUPPLIES!


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## mosquitomountainman

Even if/when the "recession" is over the "recovery" portion is going to be long and slow and will take a half-century or more to bring anything near what we had 20 years ago. Unemployment will remain high for another ten years so any recovery will be slow as molasses. That's one of the reasons the massive debt is such a bad deal. The thing that brought us out of the depression was WW2.


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## bunkerbob

The_Blob said:


> 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.
> During the Depression, local governments, businesses and individuals issued currency, known as scrip, to keep commerce flowing when bank closings led to a cash shortage.
> The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a network to print currency. Shoppers buy it at a discount - say, 90-95 cents for $1 value - and spend the full value at stores that accept the currency.
> By law, local money may not resemble federal bills or be promoted as legal tender of the United States, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
> 
> I'm not sure if the folks in the area I live in would be receptive to this idea... but the Giant Eagle supermarket chain offers 10 cents discount on fuel (30 gallons maximum) for every $50 spent & it is very popular.
> 
> 20 cents x 30 gallons = $6 of free fuel per $100 ... or 6% & it can only be used on fuel
> 
> what do all ya'all think?


Happen to find this one....


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## HozayBuck

*Many years ago*

I read something that was attributed to the Druids ( I have no idea if anybody has ever translated anything they left if they left anything ) and it really made an impression on me, true or not..it is really words to live by.

It went something like this....

When the invaders come..as they will...

it will be a time of much confusion..

with many running about shouting and hiding.

BUT..until that time

He who leans upon his spear is a traitor to his family and his people...

I really don't know if that's a true translation of Druid writings, but it should be true for all people....

Anyway, thought I'd toss that into the mix!!...


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