Recovery Zone on 04/24/13

Hi Leslie, Thanks for your great questions and sorry for my late reply. I'll try to answer them below. If I don't completely answer you, please feel free to post again or email me anytime, carl@pdxcurrency.org (Q)How is this a new or separate currency if it is still using the old currency as the creation of itself? (A) There are two categories of local currency. One is 'social purpose' and the second is 'commercial purpose'. They are mutually exclusive and don't compete with each other. Each category includes currencies with different purposes. The 'social purpose' category includes: Local Exchange Traded Systems (digital mutual credit systems) Credits are created used by members to pay each other. Credits are closely monitored and limits used to ensure fairness. Hour Exchanges (these are generally paper currency based on one hour of local wages) A one hour note would have a value of $10 Time Banks (digital systems) One hour of your time = one digital unit, everyone's hour is equal. None of the social purpose currency is exchangeable into U.S. dollars. Participants do not need dollars to use these systems. Time, knowledge, skills and experience rule this category. It is community based and users rely on each other to deliver services in good faith. Generally, no commercial merchant or store will accept full payment for goods in a social purpose currency. As an example, if you sold laptop computers and accepted a social purpose currency, you could not then use the same currency to restock your laptops. As a general rule, merchants only take in what they are confident they can easily respend each month on other services within the community. These currencies go places that national money does not make it into. If you have a part of your community or neighborhood where dollars don't circulate, then you may create a 'social purpose' credit and fill the gap. Trade using the credits and get everyone involved regardless of how much money they have... The 'commercial purpose' currency includes: Berkshares      (1 Berkshare = $1 dollar) Bridgetown Bucks        (1 Bridgetown Buck = $1 dollar) and many others with unique purposes in their own community (Salt Spring Island dollars, Traverse City Bucks etc) Commercial purpose currency CAN be exchanged back and forth into U.S. dollars. The unit is based on the dollar because that is the common unit of commerce for the area of circulation. Local currency is not a national currency[U.S. dollar (Federal Reserve Note)] Bridgetown Bucks is a separate currency that only circulated in the Portland area. It only utilizes the unit size of one dollar out of convenience for merchants and consumers. Everything you buy in the store is priced in dollars and so is the 'commercial purpose' currency. Merchants use a cash based accounting system when transacting in Bridgetown Bucks just like a regular cash transaction. When a merchant respends the Bridgetown Bucks at another merchant to restock his shelves, they would get a cash receipt for what they spend. Having the dollar sized unit serves several purposes, but accounting and convenience the top on that list.