Is our economy truly fair to all? Or is it rigged? Are there other means to get our needs met? This article speaks to this issue by focusing on a general article regarding Local Currencies. My goal is to interview some other resources regarding alternative currencies while also looking at Transition Towns and Permaculture. And, yes, they do relate.

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Let's begin this article by asking, "Is our current currency equitable? Or is it shown as not equitable when you hear a line such as 'the rich get richer and the poor get poorer'." This isn't just a lyric repeated in several songs. It's an ever more visible statistical fact.

First appearing in the revue Satires of 1920 , it then moved into Vaudeville recordings, "Ain't We Got Fun?" and its jaunty response to poverty and its promise of fun ("Every morning / Every evening," and "In the meantime, / In between time") have become symbolic of the Roaring Twenties. Their meaning and impact in today's economy has become much more serious.

How does a statement like "The rich get richer""affect you? Can you speak about yourself regarding getting poorer? Is your response "jaunty"?

Are you getting richer? Do you understand the idea that the poor get poorer as the rich get richer? How much worth is the "dollar?" Are we living in a matrix in which the world we live in is a pile of lies?

Does this also mean we of the "working class" are going to hell in a hand-basket?

How do you compare your life to the 60's, 70's, 80's""",2016? Has our monetary system gotten better, or worse, in your estimation?

What is the actual worth of the dollar bill?

At this point, I don't even acknowledge its worth.

Why?

It's simply because the dollar is worthless because it is not based on anything.

It's a hallucination designed to control people and to make the real "money holders" more and more money, which equals more and more power.

The dollar, as I understand it isn't worth the paper it's printed on. It's akin to the movie Matrix. We are living within a horrid hallucination that makes us think the dollar bill has worth.

As an answer to this predicament, consider a statement in 1984 by Robert Swann. His essay is titled The Role of Local Currency in Regional Economic Development:

"Much of this tendency for money to leave the rural areas and be sucked into urban financial centers results from the centralization of banking, which took place in the early part of this century under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and the pressure of World War I.

Previous to 1913, local banks created their own funds based on their gold reserves. They were not dependent on the Federal Reserve Board to control reserve requirements-the amount of credit or money available within local regions. During the early part of the nineteenth century, this fact played a very important role in the rapid development of the U.S."

Where are we now with our currency and the condition of the United States?

Where is the gold? Is it under the bed sheets of the Rothchilds?

Does a dollar bill still state its value in gold? It used to.

What of inflation in line with these lies we are living?

What if, like Maine, we have what are called "Time Dollars" where a dollar equals an hour of work that can be exchanged for services and in some cases goods? I say some cases because often folks have to pay the cost for goods".e.g., seeds a farmer may buy to create the food.

But what if a farmer is paid by how much time he spent planting, harvesting, etc.?

Is a local currency of benefit to farmer and community? What are the advantages of local currencies?

(1) It keeps money local;

(2) It supports local business;

(3) It allows people to start a local business

(4) The currency supports the local environment and the values of the local people;

(5) It is more supportive of family needs

(6) Money will be spent locally multiple times. Because it stays in the loop, it keeps being paid, or spent. Each giving and receiving magnifies its value (according to Meredith Hall);

(7) It's not under the power of money manipulators of the "official currencies;"

(8) It can't be under the scrutiny of the overlords of the global economy (locality has the power);

(9) It's not abstracted or divorced from the local sphere; it's immediately wedded to community needs;

(10) No party from afar can steal it. What is local stays local, alive, ever circulating;

(11) It bonds the people trading to each other while tying them together in a living web;

(12) It isn't vulnerable to the rises and crashes of the global economy.

Research this. Most people that use Local Currencies use both "US dollar" and "local dollars". Obviously, they have to. Yet imagine a contract between you and a local farmer to do business. Perhaps you can pay some money (the cost of the meat/produce) while also doing the farmer a service? For example, his daughter is failing math and you have a great ability to teach children math.

It's a "win-win" situation. He is supporting you nutritionally while you are supporting his business while also supporting the work of others in your community, both now and into the future.

Is a farmer's produce better than what you buy in the grocery store? Ask him. He should be able to tell you what benefits you can have in buying his food. I for one KNOW (direct experience!) that local foods are healthier for you.

So, do we continue not knowing who is producing our food and how? How do we know how healthy food is? Do we look at the labels? Do you often read chemicals that you don't know anything about?

Could it be that going local can be empowering and even healthier, for you and those you love? How would it affect your community?

This does not mean we move immediately beyond the federal dollar. If we did, we would be hurting ourselves. It means we vary the economy for this time we live in. It also means that we can get past big corporations and begin supporting more local businesses that can take both alternative currencies alongside the national standards!

Consider this piece on Ithaca Hours:

Paul Glover explained his currency system, Ithaca Hours. The value is based on the average hourly wage of the community, which is ten dollars an hour. An Ithaca Hour is equal to ten U.S. dollars and is equated to one hour of time. The idea is that everybody deserves to be paid at least the average wage, regardless of education, age, sex, or race. Ithaca's money sports images of local features like waterfalls, flowers, crafts, farms, and children; and reads, "In Ithaca we trust" (see illustrations). It comes in four denominations: two Hours ($20), one Hour, Half Hour, and a Quarter Hour. They are printed in different colors and some come on locally made watermarked cattail paper. All have serial numbers and are harder to counterfeit than dollars.

Paul publishes a newsletter called "Ithaca Money" which presents both offers of goods and services and requests for them. Each listing costs one dollar. By listing, you become a member and agree to accept Ithaca Hours in payment. You also receive four Hours upon joining. Offerings in the newsletter include plumbing, nursing, chiropractic, childcare, car or bike repair, eyeglasses, firewood, farm produce, restaurant meals, and movies. A local credit union accepts Hours for mortgages and loan fees. Some people even pay their rent with them.

http://www.islandbreath.org/TheGobbler/Articles Published/02 Greens/05 Ithaca Money/gr_05_Ithaca_Money.html

The Ithaca Dollar Web page is at:

http://ithacahours.com/

It is inspiring to know that Ithaca Money kept Ithaca afloat while most of us floundered and some drowned in the 2008 recession.

You can learn much more about local currencies in the following sources.

A listing of Local Currencies throughout the United States is at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States

Research it. Don't take my word. Get in touch with someone locally. Ask questions.

Resources You May Want to Research

"The Center for New Economics" site regarding local currencies: http://www.centerforneweconomics.org/content/local-currencies

One of the most successful local currencies is the Ithaca Dollar in New York State:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithaca_Hours

Also, visit:

http:// w first appearing 1921 with music by

Authors Bio:
Burl Hall is a retired counselor who is living in a Senior Citizen Housing apartment. Burl has one book to his credit, titled "Sophia's Web: A Passionate Call to Heal our Wounded Nature." For more information, search the book on Amazon.

Burl's philosophy entails the idea that "everything effects and causes everything thing else." His spirituality of Sophia i.e., Wisdom is universal as well as within each of us. He also sees the idea of Chaos as not being "all over the place" but as infinite relationships.

The question I present in my articles speak not so much towards the politicians, but how WE the people can empower ourselves within a planet that is healthy, wealthy and wise.