Republic of Athens

How to make a buck (or several of them)

Jobs all over the country are being slashed at alarming rates, leaving more and more Americans to clamor for even the most menial work (when good luck strikes), and for the barest subsistence.

As wages for working people stagnate, fuel and nearly all of our basic staples have reached all-time high prices, relative to the increasingly diminished value of the un-mighty dollar.

Some economists predict the second coming of the Great Depression, or worse. Whatever we call it, the reality is that millions of productive, able, hard-working, determined Americans are flat broke.

So, what’s a community to do when jobs are limited, the costs of basic needs have soared out of reach, and there simply aren’t enough dollars to go around?

Let’s print our own! No kidding.

Local currency is legal, economically and ecologically sustainable, backed by a strong historical track record and, by all accounts, a highly effective tool for empowering more citizens to participate in bolstering their own communities’ viability.

An estimated 2,500 local currency systems, at least 60 of which are known to exist throughout the U.S. and Canada, are in place in countries all over the world. While the implementation of local currencies vary greatly from one system to the next — for instance, some favor using hours of labor, rather than actual monies, as a medium of exchange for goods and services — the basic concept remains the same.

Local currencies (or “hours,” as the Ithaca, N.Y., system prefers) establish trade barriers determined by a community’s people, and for the benefit of that community’s people. Additionally, such systems help to keep the importance of local economy in the minds and hearts of consumers, while helping to invigorate a sense of pride in one’s community.

The idea of local currency is just like any other currency, but in a smaller, more community-oriented way. Such systems in the U.S. have historically never been intended to replace federal dollars. Rather, they act to supplement the collective spending power and financial stability of a locale’s people and, in turn, the strength of local businesses.

For example, imagine that Rosie’s Riveting Auto Shop accepts 20 Athenian dollars as payment for an oil change, then spends those 20 Athenian dollars at Big Hank’s Flowers ‘n Things, which pays those 20 bucks as an agreed-upon portion of its delivery driver’s wages, which that driver then spends on copious beverages and a locally made paw-paw pie at Trendy’s Coffee Shack, a business that then pays a guy named Stu to buff the floors, before Stu spends those 20 Athenian dollars on a buffing of his own over at Manicures For Everyone, whose workers convert that same 20 into a lunchtime delivery from All About Sprouts, et cetera.

Provided that a varied enough group of individuals and local establishments participate, and provided that steps are taken to avoid such pitfalls as lopsided distribution and hyper-inflation, more dollars to spend — whether they’re marked with images of dead presidents or sketches of the College Green clock tower — means more vitality to inject into local resources.

The more those dollars are limited to circulation within the city of Athens, to be exchanged between local businesses and local residents, the less our dependence on federal dollars, and the less our money is reduced to a fleeting export with little to no economic return.

Editors’ note: This introductory piece on local currencies is the first of (at least) a two-part series. Coming soon: “The Case for Athenian Dollars.” Questions, concerns, and ideas from readers are highly encouraged.
photo credit: indi.ca