Comments on: What the Helen of Troy are Potomacs?

By: ishi

ishi — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:57:04 +0000

—regarding qualia’s coffee plantation—-its not well known but there actually is a very small bioregion similar to central american, west african, and southeastern asian coffee growing countries just around the corner.
similarily, many people do not know of the rare (endangered) species which live locally in rock creek park and along the potomac—but they are there.
like all coffee plantations, this one does have the ‘labor issues’ (eg should people be paid more than to work for food so they can work for food, or not? they might waste the money.)

some may argue, following david chalmers, that this coffee plantation is a ‘qualia’ or an emergent mental phenomena, but what isn’t?

———an interesting feature of Ithaca Hours, is they actually have a ‘microcredit’ and also ‘welfare’/tanf type program—-people without IH’s can either get a loan, or even an outright grant, just to get started.

—-from a purely DeCentra-list view, i can imagine keeping things local, like growing your own food in a garden, and printing your own ‘homespun’ potomacs. i like the idea—there is value in the community. you might get interesting things, like some dollars being worht more than others. ‘wampum.’

—as a fact checker, the potomac bioregion actually extends beyond the Metro.
where does all that water come from? i hear its unexplored—be the first to get on i-66, and ‘ go west, young man’ (name of a book by supreme courth justice william o douglas—who helped save the C%O canal).

—–i do like that idea of having the ‘reserve’ on my table. i was thinking some of this could be done by ex-offenders, or even as employment while in jail. Madoff seems a good candidate, since he knows how to cook the books.

———-its interesting the reaction here. i do wonder whether the alternatives have stability, and whether they can really create an alternative to TINA.

——–’keepin it gangsta, la la la la’

By: Ragged Dog

Ragged Dog — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:51:08 +0000

Oooh! Finally! A frequent flier program for youth criminals! Just the business model I was looking for…

By: Larry Chang

Larry Chang — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:24:18 +0000

“failure to address the needs of the wider population, especially lower socio-economic groups”
Local currency systems are ideally suited to include economic activity that is not normally recognized or accounted for in the formal economy: neighbors trading services, such as baby- or elder-sitting, hair-braiding, home-baking, yard-care, etc. The challenge is to market it to these demographics.

Longer term plan is to incorporate Time Banking, created by DC resident, Dr Edgar Cahn as the virtual credit system of the Greater Washington Exchange. Time Dollars are now is use in the DC Youth Court where offenders are judged by their peers, and assigned community service for which they earn Time Dollars.

By: Ragged Dog

Ragged Dog — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:17:18 +0000

“Keep DC GHETTO!” Is our motto over in the 20002.

By: Larry Chang

Larry Chang — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:09:40 +0000

There is presently no oversight of the reserves which sit in an envelope on my desk. Scrupulous records are kept of each Potomac issued. (I’m anal about this, having nothing better to do.) Right now it is all based on trust, the building block of community. The intention is to incorporate a 501c3, separate from Ecolocity (which remains unincorporated since many members are wary of being co-opted into the non-profit industrial complex). Board members will selected from alternative economics, social justice and philanthropic fields. Any volunteers to help this process along?

By: Larchie

Larchie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:41:56 +0000

I appreciate that Larry Chang is directly engaged in this discussion. I’m aware of EcolocityDC and the ideas behind this whole project are very compelling. There is one thing that I just can’t wrap my head around, though:

“…the equivalent dollar amount placed on deposit. It is therefore fully backed”

Where is the oversight of this deposit? I suppose the most reasonable answer is that it would be counterproductive to Ecolocity’s mission to not do as it promises, and so we should trust them to keep their word. However, to take the most cynical position, how do these businesses and individuals know that it will not become part of Ecolocity’s operating budget in a lean year, or worse, fund trips to Rio for the staff. Is there transparency to this backing of funds with federal dollars? How was this done with other currencies after which the Potomacs were modeled?

By: Lee Watkins

Lee Watkins — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:27:16 +0000

Alternative currencies are reported to work as a counterbalance for the local economy. They increase in activity if the local economy slows down, and decrease in activity if the local economy goes up.

The use of local currencies only increases the local economy temporarily. Longer lasting use of local currency results in a decline and stabilization of the economy. This as the increased rotation speed of the money is eliminated by the decrease in the amount of money (as currencies as Freigeld reduce in value rapidly).

Local currencies and have received criticism for a failure to address the needs of the wider population, especially lower socio-economic groups.

By: Larry Chang

Larry Chang — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:20:13 +0000

“They’re also probably really easy to counterfeit”
They are easy to counterfeit but so are most paper currencies if someone wants to badly enough. But it’s not worth the bother. How much can they buy and where? In most local currency transactions merchant and customer are known to each other so there is a degree of mutual trust. It’s all about building community relationships.

By: Larry Chang

Larry Chang — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:10:29 +0000

“customers can do just as much good for LocalShop by paying in cash as they can by paying in Potomacs.”
Dollar profits can leave the area. Potomacs can only remain here and be circulated. Studies have shown that one unit of local currency circulates upwards of five times more than a dollar. Customers therefore do more good using local currency.

By: Larry Chang

Larry Chang — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:05:04 +0000

“It seems like you can’t go two stops on the Metro without having a different local currency to use.”
Precisely why Potomacs are a regional currency for the Greater Washington Area, treating it as a bioregion and economic zone. Potomac goes where Metro goes.