WashingtonsBlog

Protesters Consider Launching Their Own Currency

David DeGraw – a key organizer in the Occupy Wall Street protests – reports:

From last night’s GA [Occupy Wall Street “General Assembly”] meeting: “Work began today on a proposal trying to implement a currency for this movement. The Wall Street banks and their best customers, the multinational corporations control the source and flow of $$$$. This is an open invitation for you to join us in this process! We will be meeting at 11am every day, every week, until we’re done, at the red cube in the Southeast corner of Liberty Park.”

The Powers-That-Be Don’t Like Competitive Currencies

As I’ve previously noted, the average life expectancy for a fiat currency is 27 years … every 30 to 40 years the reigning monetary system fails and has to be retooled.

Uncle Sam obviously benefits enormously – and is able to get away at least temporarily with trade deficits, costly wars, etc. – because the dollar has been the world’s reserve currency (although that role is quickly slipping away).

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As counter-intuitive as it sounds, experts say that the current money-creation system is the exact opposite of what everyone thinks. In fact, loans are created first, and then “money” is created second to fund the loans. And some experts say we don’t even need money in the traditional sense.

As such – even though the Fed doesn’t like competition (all of our bills are “Federal Reserve Notes”) – there is actually tremendous flexibility in creating currency systems, as long as there is agreement by enough people to use them and accept them as payment.



Local Currencies Help Get Money Flowing … Especially In Tough Times

USA Today pointed out in 2009 that local communities are printing their own currencies in a Depression-era move to keep cash flowing.

And John Stossel noted in March:

The Cleveland Federal Reserve notes that private currencies have even helped the economy function in the past: During the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve failed to keep enough currency in the economy – so some companies issued their own currencies and helped fill the void.

We are in tough times, so alternative currencies could be helpful.

But the Department of Justice prosecutes people who make currency which resembles official U.S. coins or bills – and labels them terrorists. So the protesters should stay away from any currency which looks like U.S. dollars or coins.

States Starting to Break Away Monetarily?

In potentially related news, Ron Hera claims:

Earlier this week I attended the Utah Monetary Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah [here’s the list of presenters]. As you may know, the state of Utah passed a Legal Tender Act earlier this year authorizing the use of federally minted gold and silver coins as money in the state of Utah. Now, legislators in other states, many of whom attended the Monetary Summit, are evaluating similar legislation.

Among other things, this means … states are beginning to financially break away from the federal government…. The Utah Monetary Declaration … is a financial declaration of independence whereby states are beginning to opt out of the Federal Reserve System.

Time will tell whether or not he is right.