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CONTEXT

Funny Money

There are plenty of fun things money can do=97talk, = make the=20 world go round, buy material girls. Just think, without = money,=20 Cameron Crowe would have had to compose some other = catch-phrase for=20 his hit date flick. And =93Show me the gold bars=94 = doesn=92t sound nearly=20 as romantic.

But money can also make people neglect important things = that help=20 create healthy communities. Take low-income housing. It=92s = not that=20 there aren=92t enough workers to build it=97it=92s just that = the market=20 economy won=92t fund it. Then there=92s the credit problem. = Economist=20 Michael Linton argues that our credit system encourages = lenders to=20 hoard their money=97which slows the economy and leads to = unemployment,=20 and more debt. =93Money makes the world go round, but when = money isn=92t=20 moving, it stops the world,=94 he says.

Over the last 50 years, communities have been trying to = drop out=20 of the money system, or at least counteract some of its = problems,=20 with alternative currency. So far, the most popular template = is the=20 one Linton founded in Courtenay, B.C., during the early = eighties=20 recession=97the Local Exchange Trade System (LETS). There = are now 40=20 of these systems across Canada, and hundreds worldwide, = spanning=20 Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Trading LETS =93Green Dollars=94 is similar to bartering, = except=20 you=92re not trading one thing for another, you=92re trading = information=20 about your debts to the community. When you make a purchase, = you=20 phone the 24-hour LETS hotline, and the staff plugs it into = an=20 accounting program. It doesn=92t matter if you don=92t have = any Green=20 Dollars; credit is unlimited, so you can start shopping on a = balance=20 of zero.

The concept may be noble, but if you think the whole = spiel sounds=20 a little wavy gravy, you=92re not alone. Joining a LETS = requires a=20 suspension of disbelief many are not willing to make. For = starters,=20 there are no legal guarantees to ensure the accountability = of users=20 or administrators. According to the LETS manual, =93once it = becomes=20 clear who does what, there is no further need for regular = meetings,=20 constitutions and other legal paraphernalia.=94 Not exactly = the kind=20 of guarantee your average business wants to hear.

The result of this vague utopianism is simple: the = merchandise=20 sucks. Scan any LETS online exchange registry, whether = it=92s in=20 Peterborough, Edmonton or Vancouver, and you=92ll see scads = of reiki,=20 astrological consultations and massage oil, but very little = you can=20 actually eat, and even less you can use to heat your home or = treat=20 illnesses of the non-karmic variety. Consequently, = businesses that=20 offer useful services end up with thousands of Green = Dollars, but=20 can=92t spend them on anything they need. Allen Pinkerton, = former=20 business manager of Trent University=92s campus newspaper,=20 Arthur, found this out when the paper accepted = Peterborough=20 Green Dollars in exchange for ads. =93We couldn=92t even buy = things to=20 give away at fundraisers,=94 he says. =93All we could buy = were reindeer=20 made out of logs and potholders nobody would want.=94

Despite these wrinkles, green economists like Brian = Milani would=20 rather see LETS ironed out than abandoned. =93If people can = create=20 their own money when they need to, they=92re not so = pressured by the=20 need to get money that they have to ignore sociological and=20 ecological issues,=94 says Milani, author of Designing = the Green=20 Economy.

Gavin Cameron, a professor of economics at Oxford = University,=20 disagrees. =93We don=92t need lets to have a greener, more=20 ecologically-focussed economy, we just need to have a = government=20 that gives people and businesses appropriate incentives to = improve=20 the environment and install clean technologies. The idea = that LETS=20 can clean up the environment is mere quackery,=94 he says. =

Still, escaping the money economy is a subject of growing = interest and=97love or hate them=97alternative currencies = are slowly=20 garnering attention. While some are belly-flopping in pools = of=20 patchouli, others are swimming along quite nicely. Ithaca, = NY, for=20 example, seems to have struck a balance between conventional = currency and the big dreams/no management approach. Like = LETS,=20 Ithaca=92s currency is based on hours of labour, but it = differs in two=20 crucial ways: there is a consensus to keep the currency = local, and=20 self-created credit is not allowed. This gives the Ithaca = =93Hours=94=20 system the credibility lets so desperately lacks, and brings = in a=20 broader number of organizations. Sure, you can still buy = lots of=20 massages, but you can also get your computer fixed, your = groceries=20 done, heck=97you can even buy hearing aids. Ithaca Hours is = also=20 branching out to provide more essential services, including = a=20 member-owned health security system.

Until LETS offers more useful stuff, it will never be = more than a=20 glorified rummage sale. Perhaps the first step is limiting = credit,=20 to ease the fears of fledgling businesses, and then gently = telling=20 log reindeer-makers they need not apply. In the meantime, if = you=92re=20 on the prowl for the perfect macram=E9 plant holder, you = know where to=20 go.

=97Allison Gifford

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Copyright =A9 2002 Red=20 Maple Foundation ISSN 0381-3746
THIS MAGAZINE
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