of the transactions are reflective of real goods and services. The remaining 98% is speculative. “The Future of Money” was published in January 2001, before the 9/11 attacks, before the War on Terror, and before the housing and financial crisis. The book predicted that the emergencies of the old Industrial Age money system would cause a global money meltdown and a global depression if precautions were not taken.
Simultaneously, locally owned businesses tend to close. When the small businesses fail, it puts pressure on municipal services, which in turn forces the costs of those services like water, sewer, and road maintenance to rise.
Today, there are about 2,000 local communities around the globe issuing their own currency that is independent of the national money system. The form of the currency varies from physical printed money to mutual fund databases and ATM cards.
A community predominantly built with relocated workers without roots or stake in a community, compounded by fewer people joining local organizations creates a society with residents that are not invested in the area or its history. This breakdown may open opportunities for more national chains and fewer locally owned businesses. Which in turn, further destabilizes a small community.
LOCAL DOLLARS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT While the majority of current complementary currency are in their infancy, there is a lot of growth and benefit from creating a local dollar. A complementary currency not only increases local jobs, but it can also create a valuable tax base to improve municipal services and promote local economic development.
New ideas are needed to connect residents and join them together as networks of community members. Complementary currency empowers the people to hire locally and buy local goods and services. A local dollar used for local payments like municipal services fills the barrier gap to stimulating the growth of the currency.
Local and state governments work to stimulate local economies by pursuing tax-breaks for large companies to move to their area. These companies bring money, jobs, and growth to a community. However, the stability of a corporate move undermines the longterm economic security of the communities. Large businesses often send a majority of their profits outside the local economy.
Keeping the dollars earned in the community preserves and restores the social nature of business and trade; benefiting the entire community, not just the banks and high-powered executives.
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