None of these mentioned local "HOUR" currencies are convertible into real money (USD). When a participant receives a unit of value or a mutual credit, that person must then find a place to spend it. None of these units can be converted into dollars.
What makes Bridgetown Bucks so different from these programs?
While very successful on the East Coast, the Bridgetown Bucks local-currency model has never been attempted anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. Bridgetown Bucks is a local currency with a commercial purpose. This PDX Currency is unlike all other programs currently operating in California, Oregon, and Washington. Portland's new "Bucks" are directly exchangeable into U.S. Dollars.
Unlike the local reward cards and incentive programs that stop generating benefits after each transaction, Bridgetown Bucks can be continuously circulated through many local transactions. It's known as the "local multiplier effect" and this is what makes the new "Bucks" such a powerful economic tool.
The term Local Multiplier Effect (LME) was originally coined by John Maynard Keynes in his 1936 book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. LME refers to how many times a dollar is recirculated in a local economy before leaving the area through the purchase of an imported product.
Imagine a PDX shopper with a $100 to spend. If that person visits a giant warehouse retailer, that $100 is likely to leave the Portland area moments after being spent. The $100 will flow through an out-of-state bank and on to suppliers in places like China, Mexico or Chile. Consequently, those funds are now gone from the community. The $100 will not circulate through any other transactions and won't contribute anything additional to the local economy.
Now imagine if that same shopper spends the $100 at a locally owned store. The PDX shop owner uses a local bank and sources a majority products from local suppliers. That $100 will stay in the area and likely move through 4 or 5 more local transactions before finally being spent on imported goods. The LME shows that funds spent at locally owned and operated businesses produce a much greater benefit to the local economy than money that disappears through corporate America's big-box retailers.
Research and economic studies all show that local spending translates into increasing revenue and income opportunities for local producers. This is the Local Multiplier Effect.
For the past 60 years, national and international corporations that source cheap goods from around the globe have been rapidly expanding into local domestic markets. Money that is spent in local cities and towns is now redirected out of state to massive national banks and centralized multinational corporations. This was not true 60 years ago. A dollar spent at a local business may have circulated through 20 or 30 local transactions.
Using Bridgetown Bucks prevents those hard-earned dollars from leaving the Portland area and helps rebuild local wealth. When a consumer exchanges national currency for local Bucks, that shopper is making the decision to keep money circulating in the local community with locally owned companies.
What makes Bridgetown Bucks so different from these programs?
While very successful on the East Coast, the Bridgetown Bucks local-currency model has never been attempted anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. Bridgetown Bucks is a local currency with a commercial purpose. This PDX Currency is unlike all other programs currently operating in California, Oregon, and Washington. Portland's new "Bucks" are directly exchangeable into U.S. Dollars.
Unlike the local reward cards and incentive programs that stop generating benefits after each transaction, Bridgetown Bucks can be continuously circulated through many local transactions. It's known as the "local multiplier effect" and this is what makes the new "Bucks" such a powerful economic tool.
The term Local Multiplier Effect (LME) was originally coined by John Maynard Keynes in his 1936 book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. LME refers to how many times a dollar is recirculated in a local economy before leaving the area through the purchase of an imported product.
Now imagine if that same shopper spends the $100 at a locally owned store. The PDX shop owner uses a local bank and sources a majority products from local suppliers. That $100 will stay in the area and likely move through 4 or 5 more local transactions before finally being spent on imported goods. The LME shows that funds spent at locally owned and operated businesses produce a much greater benefit to the local economy than money that disappears through corporate America's big-box retailers.
Research and economic studies all show that local spending translates into increasing revenue and income opportunities for local producers. This is the Local Multiplier Effect.
For the past 60 years, national and international corporations that source cheap goods from around the globe have been rapidly expanding into local domestic markets. Money that is spent in local cities and towns is now redirected out of state to massive national banks and centralized multinational corporations. This was not true 60 years ago. A dollar spent at a local business may have circulated through 20 or 30 local transactions.
Using Bridgetown Bucks prevents those hard-earned dollars from leaving the Portland area and helps rebuild local wealth. When a consumer exchanges national currency for local Bucks, that shopper is making the decision to keep money circulating in the local community with locally owned companies.
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