No, we're not talking about counterfeiting. We're talking about local currencies. The Wall Street Journal has done a story about a village in northern Thailand which has boosted its own economy by using its own money, even successfully overcoming challenges from the national central bank. Local currencies are legal in this country, as long as it does not resemble a Federal Reserve Note. The value of local currencies is to encourage local residents to shop in local stores, instead of the large chains. This way, money recirculates within a community, instead of being shipped outside it.
Two well-known local currencies in the United States are the BerkShares in the Berkshire Mountain region of western Massachusetts, and the Ithaca Hours in upstate New York. More technical information on local currencies is available from the E. F. Schumacher Society.
Buckeye Bucks, anyone?
Virtual buckeye to Carl Etnier at Vermont Commons.
3 comments:
Do we consider local governments the state?
Technically, local governments are "political subdivisions" of the State, which means that they are regulated by the Ohio Constitution and by the General Assembly.
To answer what I suspect is the question behind the question, local currencies are issued by private non-profit organizations, not by local governments.
If it is done by the state or any of its agents then it is not allowed
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