Do we still need more proof that money should exist in sufficient quantity to meet the productive capacity of the people who use it? Here's a local currency model that fills the gap and holds its value far better than the dollar.
From: Warren Mosler
Date: Sun, Sep 18, 2011 at 6:48 PM
Subject: *The UMKC Buckaroo- A Currency Model for World Prosperity
It's been more than 10 years since the economics department at UMKC (University of Missouri at Kansas City) introduced its own currency.
It's called the buckaroo, named in sync with the school mascot, the kangaroo.
It all began when the department indicated a desire to have students contribute their time to community service.
I suggested they do it by introducing a new currency, which would both, for the most part, accomplish the intended purpose and give the students and up close and personal knowledge of currency dynamics.
It works something like this:
All students are required to submit 20 buckaroos by the end of the semester to get their grades.
Buckaroos can be earned by doing designated community service jobs.
There is no limit to how many buckaroo a student may earn.
Buckaroos are freely transferable.
First, a bit of history. In the late 1990's, when the program began, it was reported that students had exchanged buckaroo with each other at a price of $5 each.
More recently, buckaroo have been reportedly exchanged for $15 each.
Therefore, the buckaroo has problably been the strongest 'paper currency' in the world, outperforming the S and P and most other investements.
There has always been 'full employment' in that any student can work for and be paid buckaroo at the designated community organizations without limit.
There has been a 0 interest rate policy since inception, in that the UMKC does not offer interest bearing buckaroo deposits.
The UMKC has run a continuous fiscal buckaroo deficit in that, from inception, it has always spent more buckaroo than it has collected.
The value of the buckaroo has been 'internally stable' from inception, in that one buckaroo has always been able to purchase 1 hour of student labor.
The buckaroo has been operating continuously in a small, open economy, with multiple other currencies trading around it simultaneously.
There has been continuous full employment with no capital controls, no trade restrictions, and no banking arrangements.
Furthermore, it has been obvious to the students that:
The buckaroo is a (simple) case of a public monopoly.
The UMCK's buckaroo fiscal deficit is exactly equal to the buckaroos saved by the students and their associates.
The value of the buckaroo is a function of what the students have to do to earn a buckaroo from the UMKC.
The buckaroo functions first to move student labor from private to public domain.
The buckaroo has operated and sustained its public purpose independently of foreign central bank policies.
Additionally, the students have recognized how variations in outcomes from the utilization of other currencies
can be traced directly to variations in the policies of the issuers of the various currencies.
For example, it's obvious to the students that if the UMKC attempted to run a fiscal surplus- spend fewer than the 20 buckaroo per student it required as payment to get one's grades- the results would be highly problematic and counter to public purpose.
It's also obvious to the students that if, for example, the UMKC started paying 2 buckaroo per hour rather than 1, the buckaroos would probably
exchange for $7.50 each rather than the current $15.00 each.
They also recognize how problematic it would be if UMKC limited its total buckaroo spending
to anything less than what the students wanted to earn
to be able to both pay the required tax of 20 buckaroo and save buckaroo as they may desire.
And they also recognize that if the UMKC decided to buy other goods and service with buckaroo from willing sellers,
they could do that, but that said purchases would tend to reduce the student labor that the community service providers would attract.
The UMKC, as well as the students, have failed to identify any public purposes that may be served by having the UMKC pay interest
on buckaroo savings, so the 0 interest rate policy remains in place.
The students fully recognize that if the UMKC ends the 20 buckaroo tax, the buckaroo will have no further value.
The students have gained an awareness of how, for example,
wealthy students can opt out of community service by purchasing buckaroo from more needy students.
They have recognized how the issues of theft and corruption influence the currency and people's lives.
In general, the buckaroo has been a fully functioning currency that has directed student labor to community service,
and at the same time provided an invaluable educational experience to the students.
And it's also made it obvious that the world's leaders and their economists are necessarily subversive and/or ignorant.
--
Because we fear becoming the next Greece, we continue to turn ourselves into the next Japan
click here
"The most important book ever written"- Elizabeth O'Tool, Jan 8, 2011
The 1998-2001 budget surplus was the longest surplus since the 1927-1930 surplus. Coincidence?
"The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking."
John Kenneth Galbraith
The financial sector is a lot more trouble than it's worth.
http://www.moslereconomics.com
http://twitter.com/wbmosler
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