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Local
Currencies
From conservative
economic commentator Jane Jacobs to the followers of the radical
E.F. Schumacher, academics spanning the political spectrum
have advocated for local currencies, whether to facilitate
more sensitive natural economic adjustments or to empower
communities in the face of globalization. Local
currencies offer a promising insight into how a geographically
rooted and locally determined economy might operate.
Heeding
this advice, activists around the country and around the world
have started their own local currencies, including: Berkeley
Bread (Berkeley, CA), Ithaca Hours (Ithaca, NY) and Brooklyn
Hours (Brooklyn, NY).
The specific
strategies of introduction have varied as have the actual
configuration of the currency systems, but all strive to root
economic activity within the local community. Some systems
have been shown to increase the money multiplier of local
spending by as much as 200 percent.
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