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Author Archive for Chris
INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN URUGUAY, APRIL 2009
The Executive Power prepares details for a new system of payment which will be adopted to stimulate micro and small businesses.
In two months, the government will release a new way of payment, a transaction network, which will allow micro and small business to interact among themselves, through a new alternative currency, and at the same time to face their obligations with the State.
This was announced recently by the Minister of Work, Eduardo Bonomi, during his participation in the talk “International Crisis and Uruguay 2009”, organized by Montevideo City Council.
Minister Bonomi said that the development of this new system is the result of working together with the Ministries of Work, Economy, Industry and Energy, and with other governmental organisms, as well as state banks and state insurances and city councils of Montevideo and Canelones. Moreover, state companies will take part in this new system as well.
“This new network of transactions will allow small and medium businesses access to credit through an alternative currency, but it will be exchangeable throughout the whole country, where they will be able to pay for petrol, taxes and it will be redeemable into money”, he confirmed. Nevertheless, he made it clear, that this project is about giving support to the production and it’s not a credit for consuming. “Next week I’ll have a talk with the Meyer of San Jose (neighbour city), so that he enters the whole metropolitan area to the system. The idea is that city council providers can also trade through this currency”, said Bonomi. In a first stage, this system would include just micro, small and medium businesses, but in the future it could also absorb privates to the network.
This initiative counts with the support of the ILO, IADB (Inter-American Development Bank) and the General Inter-American Secretary. This project aroused a lot of interest among the region countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, which means that in the future inter-regional transactions may be possible.
Mechanism
All over the world similar systems already exist. In this case, the different element is that the administrator will be the State. It works as a network of payments through electronic debits and credits. To join the system the companies must request approval of the State Bank. From there on, the company will be assigned an account in the system. This company will be able to order the payment from its account to be credited in favour of a state organism or a private member of the network. Accounts will be balanced periodically and participants advised of their trading position.
This amount will be redeemable into national currency or used to pay for petrol or taxes. Bonomi said that this idea was presented to the National Association of Micro and Small business and to the Uruguayan Confederation of Cooperative Entities and other cooperatives, arousing great interest among them.
Implementation
The development of the network doesn’t create any costs for the country, since it was originated in cooperation with the STRO Foundation from Holland, which supplies the network model, known as C3 (Consume and commerce circuit). The name for the virtual money circulating through this payment scheme is called “internal liquidity”, although the technicians working on its development adopted a more native denomination: “charrua” (name of the Indians, that inhibited Uruguay before the colonisation, and who were completely exterminated, therefore it is ironic that the Uruguayans are called like that even nowadays, and more that this name it’s used as a icon of local identity)*.
However, in Uruguay STRO chose a new approach, which might also work out well for other C3s. Small businesses cannot obtain the same payment guarantees that large businesses receive. C3 Uruguay is going to work with a guarantee fund that will assure small businesses of payment on delivery in internal C3 money. In such case these small businesses do not have to wait for months until they receive payment and are therefore able to maintain their stock level. In the capital Montevideo, where over a half of the Uruguayan population lives, the same method of payment on delivery in internal C3 units to small businesses will be followed.
For STRO this new C3 approach is a fascinating experiment, because large partners have joined in. We therefore hope to gain more insight in what a C3 business network can do with a complementary currency in a poor country.
Access to the credit
Operations would be 100% guaranteed and the system will allow access to low cost credit -around 10 to 12% to small business that aren’t currently covered by the traditional banking system. This will also improve competitiveness of this economic unit and its formalization will be stimulated, reducing administrative and transactions costs at the same time. This network won’t create inflation dilemmas, since the financing will be channelled towards production, which will broaden the supply of goods and services.
National System of Guaranties
A guaranty fund of 5 Million US$ is planned to be established as the initial capital to stimulate the credit for small businesses. (What backs this fund?)
Interesting information about Uruguay’s current financial situation
Mario Bergara, President of the Central Bank pointed out that: “the main message from the finance system is one of tranquillity, since it is dealing with levels of solvency and liquidity unknown for the last six years. The liquidity level of the system is currently 60% of deposits, while in the worst financial crisis in our history the withdrawal of money reached 47% of total deposits.
Moreover, in contrast to the 2002 crisis, where the foreign deposits were 42% of total deposits, nowadays this amounts to 18%. The Argentinean deposits among these went from 40% to 16% in the same period.
14
Oct
08
Sacred Economics 101
It might be said that the proverbial emergence of humanity, in the form of Adam and Eve within the Garden of Eden, was, in fact, the emergence of the self-aware human being. By ‘self-aware’, I do not mean in the sense where someone is feeling insecure or out of touch, but someone who is connected to the source of one’s own being, both within one’s own consciousness and also permeating throughout all of nature, the cosmos, the totality of physical and non-physical existence. This primordial enlightening occurred thousands of years ago. The cultures, knowledges and ways of life assumed by these ancestors has been past down to the remnant of indigenous cultures and tribes scattered across the earth. But in modern ‘civilized’ times, these people are dismissed as primitive charlatans; naive savages, who, unable to come to terms with the perilous forces they were confronted by in the wilderness, projected imaginary visions of supernatural beings into the world. Because they did not have the faculties of reason to understand the world around them, or to accept what they didn’t know, these supernatural beings were the result of make-believe stories and myths to satisfy their desire for meaning. However, there is much evidence that there is another side to it. These peoples were, in fact, communing with the deepest depths of their own consciousness — a consciousness that was intimately one with the rest of Creation. They were adept at willingly entering states of consciousness that gave them access to another reality, an alternate reality, yet one that was inseparable from the one of waking consciousness. The Aborigines call this state ‘Dream Time’, because it was literally connecting with the same lucid state that we often encounter in our dreams, where we are connected with a myriad of characters and visions. For these ancient people, it was Sacred knowledge. It gave them, not just faith, but an experiential connection with what may be called the spiritual forces animating the physical cosmos. With this direct experience of a transcendental force, behind the veil of space and time, comes a profound respect for nature and the awesome and mysterious powers, rhythms, and patterns that sculpt its perpetual transformation.
In the world of modern cities, a whole other side of our consciousness reigns supreme. The shamanic and revelatory consciousness has warped into a new perverse form — the religion of Economics. Yet, conventional economics has a fundamental error: it has narrowed our relationship to nature from one being based on a primary respect and recognition to the integration and interdependence of living systems, to a sense that we are somehow disconnected from this rudimentary fountain of life, and that it exists solely to fulfill our unquenchable thirst for material pleasure and our personal pursuits for power and prestige. So, the modern economic system is designed to do just that. It is the proverbial ‘Ring of Power,’ placing God-like abilities to dominate nature and other human beings into the hands of a relatively small group of unspeakably immature and irresponsible individuals. It is unapologetically biased towards the dominance of private finance over all aspects of the economy, the rest of humanity, and of nature in general.
If economics is the religion, then money is the god. After all, what is money but an unholy faith? It puts trust in a system that fundamentally erodes the livelihood of those who are not strong or clever enough to compete, erodes the very ecological system that we depend on for our ultimate survival? Nearly all religions and spiritual traditions bear warnings to humanity. The greater we exercise our powers of creation upon the earth, we must, at the very least, assume a much greater respect and reverence for the cosmic and unknown forces at work. Buried in scriptures and mythologies is an awareness of humanity’s fated, perilous clash with the God of nature — a recognition that should we open up the Pandora’s box of money, capital and economic growth upon the world, we would be fatally undoing the natural balance of things. Yet, whether you believe in religious prophesies or not, our times are wrought with looming catastrophes of apocalyptic proportions: global warming, mass species extinction and species loss, peak oil, global warfare, financial meltdowns. What’s more, they all appear to be moving toward a common, imminent convergence point.
In the face of these disturbing truths, our only hope is to radically transform the systems that are largely responsible for this destruction. Even more importantly, we must transform the elements in ourselves that bind us to the unholy will of global corporatism, militarism and private finance. This economic transformation can be synthesized by creating a new economic practice: the practice of sacred economics.
This new discipline is the inclusion of knowledge and respect of the sacredness of all living beings, of all life, directly into our economic institutions. The means for measuring and valuing wealth must also be designed to account for the health of the environment that we live in, as well as the collective wealth and vitality of communities. Of course, it is essentially impossible to quantify all of these values in numerical terms. Nor is it essentially necessary to account for their transfer. Nature provided for all life forms without the written means of accounting for the exchange of energy. People can live with this in mind. Those who have discovered the art of ‘paying it forward’ have shown that magical transformations can occur in a person, when they awaken to the power and possibility of giving (see groups like www.charityfocus.org).
Here are a few principles of sacred economics. It is a concept and practice I am still evolving, and I would love your feedback on it.
Giving and Receiving
Life is a constant act of giving and receiving. In order for life to thrive, energy must circulate. It is a general principle that in any system the energy that goes out of that system must be replenished. This is true for our breath when we breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, and it is true when we consume food and drink and expel human waste. This ecological reciprocity is key to life. In nature, every bit of waste becomes the food of another organism. In our rape and pillage economy, we have overloaded the environment with wastes that it cannot use, so they become toxic and destructive. And so it must be with money, if indeed, money remains a part of human society. Money must be made to account in some way or another for the generosity of the sun, the air, the waters. It must be real reflection of nature, and it must be sure that all things that we extract from nature go back in a way that nature can assimilate in a life-sustaining way.
Land
Chief Seattle said in a famous speech, “How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?” This principle is shared amongst all indigenous peoples and is central to an economics of the sacred. Putting land, or the rights to land, in the marketplace creates a cultural disconnection from nature, because people become preoccupied with an artificiallyprescribed monetary value, rather than understanding that land’s real value cannot be measured, only experienced by relating to it with gratitude and reverence. ‘Property-fication’ also forces us to relate to land in terms of ‘plots’ and artificially created borders, thereby negating the natural seamless-ness and interconnectedness of ecology.
Knowledge
Information is only scarce, when people make it scarce. If I have knowledge, sharing it does not deprive me of it; it only makes everyone better off. Unfortunately, the modern education system operates on the opposite principle: putting a price on knowledge, so only a few can access it, thereby keeping it scarce. Part of Sacred Economics will be dismantling this scarcity of learning in our lives. It will mean breaking out of the monopoly of schooling, and instead exploring and creating a myriad of learning spaces to connect to the passions, dreams, needs, questions, of each person and community.
Usury
Sacred Economics cannot have interest as the principle means by which money is created. Very few people know this, but the fact is, all money is created as interest-bearing debt. This creates a fundamental burden on society to work under stress, to keep ahead of the compounding of compound interest. If you think about it, the mathematics of interest dictate that those who have more money earn greater profits on their money than those with less. This very simple yet profound reality is at the core of our social woes. Nearly all religions have in them some prohibition against usury. Islamic countries, in fact, have instituted this prohibition into their laws. Yet, these warnings have been completely ignored in western society. The recent financial bubble bursts are simply what is destined to happen when we base our system on usury. The bubbles of debt, financial speculation, and real estate grow so big that they overwhelm the physical economy, essentially eating away at it, just like cancer depletes the life force of the body until it collapses completely.
Oneness
The modern economy is very good at making people feel separate and alone. By creating an intrinsic wealth gap into the system, it tends to build resentment and depression into the minds of those who have less, and it creates a fear of that resentment in the minds of those with excess wealth. It also compels people to exploit the land, so as to get ahead in the market. The result is social and ecological alienation and degradation. This way of being is illusory and pathological. Einstein once said,
“A human being is a part of the whole that we call the universe, a part limited in time and space. And yet we experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical illusion of our consciousness. This illusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and all of nature.”
I believe that this task is the only thing that will allow human beings to continue living on this earth. To be here, to be alive, is a blessing that needs to be appreciated through the way we interact with one another, by bringing forth generosity and love, consciously, into all dimensions of life. Dismantling the systems of domination that perpetuate the illusion of separation, most notably, the neo-liberal system of economics, but also religion and politics, is the most important step in the liberation of humanity.
However, this cannot be done by any activities that oppose the system. We must do it through dis-engaging from it. We can do this gradually by creating new systems, new social organisms, that, like the emergence of a butterfly out of a caterpillar, will feed off of the energy, resources and knowledge generated by the old system. Once this process begins, it will be unstoppable. I believe that it has, indeed, already begun.
I am in the middle of co-organizing an unconference (meaning it is organized by YOU) on money and credit systems to take place right after the Green Festival in Seattle, WA. The conference will bring together a broad range of cutting edge social-entrepreneurs, system changers, economists, philanthropists, academics and business people, to build collaboration regarding the true role and nature of money, its place in the grand scheme of things and how we can transform the system to build a more just, sustainable, and creative world.I am happy to announce that Hazel Henderson has agreed to give our keynote presentation.The conference is cosponsored by:
On the face of it money is a tool for measuring value. In today’s world it is ubiquitous throughout the entire world, in influencing the way people relate and work with one another. But money seems to be failing us on a number of fronts. The things most vital for the sustenance of life aren’t measured by money because they simply have no quantifiable value, and so they get left out (discounted). How do we turn this around? And furthermore, how do we optimize our “value measuring” systems to be accountable to the real wealth that is created and to the well being of all instead of making real wealth and real relationships beholden to the measure.The conference will be looking at these critical philosophical questions and the obscure world of monetary systems change: complementary currencies, micro credit, slow money and new ways of accounting and book keeping that maximize the amount of wealth creation, flow, collaboration and innovation to occur within and without business and non-profit organizations while accounting for the health of the environment and society. It will be exploring mysterious overlap between spirituality and money. There will be special talks on synergy between the technological space around mutual credit creation, value measurement and wealth acknowledgment. If you are a veteran or simply interested in learning more or getting involved, this conference is for you.I don’t know what will become of this gathering. My hope is that it will be a continuation of an emerging movement to penetrate into the Gordian Knot that is our monetary system. The last conference that I organized under the Schumacher Society I know was a life changing event for many of the people because it invoked in peope the sheer magnitude of this this issue. I expect that this upcoming conference in Seattle will be an appropriate follow up gathering for those who were present and for those who missed the conference at Bard College.For more information email unmoneyconvergence (at) gmail (dot) com
17
Jan
08
Kucinich on Monetary Reform
This is an amazingly inspiring talk given by Dennis Kucinich at the AMI 2005 conference. http://www.monetary.org/video/kucinich/quick_broadband.html
11
Dec
07
An Exchange With a Friend…
From: wor@slac.stanford.edu
Subject: Re: Interesting Reading
Date: December 4, 2007 7:30:37 PM EST
To: chris@smallisbeautiful.org
Hey Chris,
Feel free to post it on your blog.
Give an extreme lack of data regarding the future, I totally agree with your synopsis.
I think it’s safe to say – We’re pretty sure we’re going to see some significant changes – in the coming decade, but not too sure how bad its going to be.
I can supply some current references.
I believe that given an infinite amount of time, education and the creation of incentive systems, would be enough to change our culture into a more equal and just one.
“Why settle for anything less?”
So essentially its a risk analysis problem – that is really hard to asses.
Firstly – If we actually saw a tornado coming at us it may not be a good time to be working on family dynamics. Not enough data?
Secondly what other options do we personally have? I assume the rich elite have their vast think-tanks with smart people thinking of all these scenarios. . . . data?
I don’t actually think we’re dealing with a black and white Mt. Doom situation here – i.e. As far as our goal is seeing the evolution of diverse, complex, abundant, collectively intelligent life. I don’t actually think the world’s elite want to see any species wiped off the planet. . . ?
I see Humanity as immature and the elite that would and do take advantage of the poor as an emergent phenomena. But a world run by those people still has the possibility of learning, changing, and promoting complex diverse life.
Are we willing to change strategies based on new information?
Lets say we have a decade before economic collapse and massive crop failure. Lets say Lovelock is right and 6 billion will die.
Or what if it will be very gradual … 100 years before seeing change ….etc.
I totally believe in educational and economic solutions toward the world problems – but the doomsday scenario throws a monkey wrench in things. But in the end I personally don’t have another choice right now – other than to put one foot in front of the other and deal with the information I have and look for more.
Best,
-Will
Chris Lindstrom wrote:
Hey Will,
My answer is that there really is no definitive answer out there. We have to choose which one we are going to fight for. We may be wrong but thats better than settling on the doomsday scenario, supporting the benevolent elite, and then finding that the doomsday scenario was not as bad as we thought it would be but in the process the benevolent elite morphed into the malevolent elite who have decided to recreate the system (just like frodo’s hesitation to destroy the ring at mt. doom). I think that in reality, we must fight for the possibility of a ’synergic,’ as Bucky would call it, future. That’s the win win future. I think that when and if human beings realize collective, synergetic consciousness, we will be able feed 6 billion people, create a more egalitarian society, and help heal the environment at the same time. Why settle for anything less? An elite society that survives the apocalypse at the expense of the poor and the disenfranchised does not deserve to inherit the earth. That’s my view.
-Chris
On Dec 4, 2007, at 4:07 PM, Will Ruddick wrote:
Hey Chris,
I’ve got no factual information on this – but it was an interesting read.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7529 <http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7529>
I can imagine many many scenarios where a seed vault would be a great idea … I hadn’t thought about what it might mean for corporations trying to profit off GMO foods.
The elitist argument for the future might go something like this – Listening to scientists at NCAR and NOAA in Boulder, we are extremely likely to see massive worldwide drought in the next eight years. From the economic perspective – this would be also be coupled with failing markets. Perhaps Lovelock is right and we will see 6 billion dead in the next century….. … So those with the most resources should be planning for that future. In the face of impending disaster – redistributing wealth accrossed the billions of people on the planet right now would actually reduce our long term survivability.
I know someone doing a ton of work on making efficient solar greenhouses (hi is trying to build a giant one in downtown in Chicago) I see this along with GMO foods as the technostate solution (small high technology bubbles were Human’s can still live in large groups).
Lets say the 8 year time line is true….
Where does this place the alternative currency movement? At worst it could preemptively take away money from the benevolent elite that are attempting massive conservation efforts.
….. At best it takes money away from the control of the malevolent elite that are focused only on short term profits, ‘creates massive synergy and collective intelligence’, eases the transition.
As usual I don’t have enough information to make a logical decision. . and hence just have to just pick the best direction I can. It’s obvious our debt based currency system is un-sustainable … but it is the relevant lever, given some amount of urgency?
Best,
-Will
Project for Ending Farmer Suicide
Quoted from Amma’s website: www.amma.org
“Tens of thousands of beneficiaries have been recently added. Please read on for more details.
Due to economic pressures leading to irresolvable debt associated with continually failing crops, many farmers have been committing suicide by drinking the very pesticides that no longer work on their crops. Especially in South India, with the growing rise of climate changes and other factors, crop failure has become more and more common causing suicide to spread like an epidemic amongst the suffering farmers. For example, in 2006 in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra alone, there were 1,044 reported suicides – one every eight hours.
In the spring of this year, after discussions on the issue with Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Amma found herself pledging 43 million dollars to address this problem. She admitted later the large dollar amount she had pledged surprised her but in the moment she had felt drawn to offering at least that much to help the situation. As part of the pledge, Amma offered that the MA Math would launch a massive project to provide aid and hope for the future for these struggling farmers.
“The problem cannot be solved through economic packages alone,” Amma told the Maharashtra CM. “What is needed is social and spiritual interventions so that the farmers realize that suicide is not the way out. In fact, it only further aggravates the problem for the families. Feeling immense compassion for their suffering due to their unfortunate circumstances, Amma felt counseling and education could really help them get through to the other side. .Yet another generation should not become slaves of emotional weakness like suicide,” Amma said. “Rather than that, they should understand that they need to develop self confidence. The future generation should have the mental strength to face life’s challenges.”
On 27 September 2007, the Ashram inaugurated two programs responding to this dire situation: Vidyamritam and Amrita SREE. These projects focus aid on the places with highest farmer-suicide rates – Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. These two initial relief projects are aimed at lessening the financial strain placed upon such agricultural families.
Vidyamritam – Educational Scholarships
Through Vidyamritam, the Ashram is providing full scholarships for free education to 100,000 children (ages 10 to 15) of farmers living below the poverty line. Many of the beneficiaries are in fact children who have lost one or both parents to suicide. The children receive a monthly stipend until they finish their education, subject to their performance in their studies.
Since the announcement of the project, thousands of applications have been received and they continue to pour in daily. Because of the huge response, the number of beneficiaries continues to grow.
As an extension of this project, the MA Math is conducting awareness programs to inculcate life skills for personality development.
A newsletter containing articles, stories and discussion forums to further facilitate the intellectual and mental growth is also being received by all the children. Furthermore, special advanced-education camps and symposiums on environmental preservation are being conducted.
Amrita SREE (Self-Reliance Education & Employment)
Through Amrita SREE, the Ashram is providing free vocational training to 5,000 different groups of women from impoverished agricultural families. Though many of these women have now incurred their husband’s debt due to suicide, the MA math has been supporting them in building their own businesses through vocational training in various fields, including tailoring, making snacks for small-scale industries, electrical repair, and making paper products. After completion of their training, the women are given the necessary start-up capital to begin small, home-based businesses.
The use of pesticides and its effect on the life of farmers:
Currently many non-organic, commercial foods are genetically modified. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) present a profound danger to humans as well as the ecosystem. Many species of animals, such as the monarch butterflies are becoming extinct due to the GMOs. For vegetarians, GMOs pose another problem, as they are frequently spliced from animal DNA. It is hypothesized by many experts that the GMO food will eventually even alter human DNA. As GMOs are a recent creation their long term effects are unknown.
In India and other developing nations, western based GMO / pesticide companies are aggressively promoting extremely heavy use of chemicals for farming. This is leading to serious depletion of soil and contamination of the water. Many insects are developing stronger resistance to pesticides and sometimes even huge amounts of chemical are ineffective. For this reason many farmers have little or no yield, year after year. Having gone deeply in debt to these chemical companies, the farmers begin to feel hopeless. Unfortunately, large numbers of Indian farmers are committing suicide by drinking their pesticides. Amma has expressed concern about this issue, and is working to help the farmers and their families. When we choose organic, non-GMO foods, we can also do our part to end this tragic situation.”
20
Nov
07
Liberty Dollar raided by feds
The word on the street is that two days ago the Liberty Dollar headquarters was raided by the FBI and Secret Service. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/16/AR2007111602267.html The liberty Dollar is one of the most successful (up until now) “alternative” currencies out there. One thing is for sure, Bernard von NautHous is trooper. He has a relentless committed to the cause of reestablishing Gold and Silver as money. This is a distinctly libertarian pursuit. It is rooted in a strange conviction that we must return to the wisdom of our for fathers to restore justice in our country. Although, reading through some of their literature they make some sense. But the idea of returning to Gold and Silver, in my view, is shockingly naive. Curseth be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the crafstman, and putteth it in a secret place. (Deut. 27:15) Gold and silver money is that abomination of which the scripture speaks. In the Bible we hear of the Golden Calf and the perils that should come to Israel if they worship this “false idol” The Golden Calf is a direct reference to money (both cattle and gold were commons forms of money) but specifically money that was controlled by the priesthood and kept scarce relative to the needs of the people allowing them to lend it out at high interest rates. This gave the priest an immense amount of power which they often abused. In fact the history of all empires arose from this tradition. So those who advocate any kind of limited physical token as money miss the point. They don’t see that the true measure of value is in the heart of each individual–that real value can really only be measured subjectively and is fundamentally abstract. After all, money is nothing but a transaction that involves a credit and a debit, a promise and a debt which is bound by the “good faith” of each party. Yes, we can try to form a “sound” measure of value, but it will never replace the faith nor the integrity of the members of society. When Gold and silver became money people came to objectify value. The value, and thus relationships, became embodied in the thing, not in each human being. People began to mortgage each other and the land for debt. Because money lenders were more concerned with getting their money back than they were with the well-being of those that they lent to, they would possess the property, and in those days, the people themselves (as debt servants) if the debtor was not able to repay the loan. Usury was considered such a serious crime because it eroded the social fabric of society by disenfranchising the main producers, the farmers and agriculturist, while stirring ill feelings and distrust within the tribe or city. This was the basis for the laws against worshipping money (usury) and the Jubilee, the ancient tradition of releasing all slaves, debts and mortgaged land. Please read Michael Hudson’s paper, “The Lost Tradition of Biblical Debt Cancellations.” michael-hudson…Hudson,LostTradition.pdf
15
Nov
07
Someone took my book title!!
Ah, shux! On whim, I decided to search my blog (and future book) title up on Google and was totally shocked that someone by the name of Walter Lubeck has already written my book “The Tao of Money!” I can’t believe it! Well that save’s me alot of work then! The full title of the book is “The Tao of Money: The Spiritual Approach to Money, Occupation and Possessions as a Means of Personal and Social Transformation.” Well, knock me out with a feather, Walt, you really couldn’t have ripped off my idea more! Yeah, so its not the most original title in the world. But it reflects oh so well what I was hoping to communicate. Oh, whoops, it says its copyrighted material. Shoot, does that mean I have to change the title of my blog? Hmmm…”The Yoga of Money;” “The Tao of Currency?” Any ideas folks?In the first few pages of his book he covers some of what I envisioned my book to be about, but only half of it. For the most part he sticks to the self-help and philosophical side of the coin. He doesn’t go into the historical or structural part of it so much. Maybe I can write a book called “The Tao of Money: the better, upgraded, and better-written version to Walter Lubeck’s book.” Walter, no offense, but your time as the holder of “the Tao of Money” title is over! Stay tuned for more on my responses to my book by another author. (-:If you want to browse the book it can be viewed at http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0914955624/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-9321892-1039949#reader-link Ok, after a second look there is one other book with this title. So this is totally cliche title. I’ll find a better one.
Time Dollars (www.timedollar.org) or “Timebanking” as it is now called has been an interest of mine since I first became involved in community currencies at the end of 2002. I remember visiting my cousin in Providence and telling him about my discovery, feeling kind of proud that I had discovered such a revolutionary idea, and quite sure that I was on to something big. He responded rather matter-of-factly, “my dad has been involved with that since 1998.” He was talking about my uncle Richard who is the founder of the Maine Time Dollar Network, one of the larger Time Banks in the country, based in Portland, Maine. Although Timebanking hasn’t been my main focus since I first got involved with community currencies, I have been continually drawn to its emphasis on the meeting of basic human rights through generosity and a “pay-it-forward” ethic as the core of its mission. I also remember my late mentor, Mike, saying to me once that if money were to continue into the coming age, it would most likely be denominated in units of time.
The conference was sponsored in part by the Dane County Time Bank (http://danecountytimebank.org/) who has made amazing progress since their launch in 2005. I am so impressed with Stephanie Rearick, an attendee of the Local Currency Conference I organized in 2004 and the director of the Dane County Time Bank, for her amazing leadership in pulling the whole thing together including the conference itself. They now have 562 members and a variety of programs that are based on the Timebanking program including a stellar Youth Court initiative where young people earn time dollars for jury duty and for their community service sentence. There president, Cheri Maples, was one of the key-note speakers. She deservedly received a standing ovation for an amazingly touching speech. She was only one of many top notch speakers including John McKnight who, short of Van Jones, gave one of the most moving talks I have ever heard. John is the Director of the Center for Urban Development and a pioneer in “Asset-based Community Development” which is a staple part of the Timebanking movement.
But who caught my attention the most was Nipun Mehta. An ex-programmer for Sun Microsystems, Nipun started an organization called Charity Focus (www.charityfocus.org) and has dedicated his life to teaching and inspiring people around the power of the gift economy. Nipun also wrote a beautiful blog entry about his experience at the conference. I highly recommend that you check it out, http://www.charityfocus.org/blog/view.php?id=1663, for he has summed up the conference with more eloquence and grace than I am able. It must be said that Nipun is a master in the art of story-telling. He had pretty much comprised his entire talk of stories that he had collected over the years, of people being transformed by the act of giving. Each story was recited with an angelic presence that had everyone in the audience spell-bound. Reading his blog, it is easy to see where all the stories come from. For he has fully embodied the phrase, “be the change you wish to see in the world,” where his every action seems to bring forth a supreme generosity that in turn, infectiously brings out in others the desire to do the same. He reminded me that behind the veil of money, the true currency, is the alchemical process of transforming the proverbial lead into spiritual gold, which is none other than a state of being that, through one’s transactions, inspires in others the wish to do good for the world. Money, in my opinion, is this light, bound in the opaque container of economic theory, jargon and institutions. Money, when fully liberated, will be the full account of this transformation in human beings.
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