| Alternative Forms of Currency |
 |
 |
| Articles - Culture |
| Written by Allen Howard |
| Monday, 15 December 2008 10:32 |
 Bob Fishman asks what I think is a particularly important question given today's economic climate. I'm bringing it here to its own article. What products and services should be available for Equal Dollars (=$'s)?For those unfamiliar with the =$'s program, a thorough description can be found here. Here are some scenarios listed there:
First, I would love to see a comprehensive listing of businesses accepting this alternative currency. Presently, we only have a listing of the types of businesses. Location can be just as important a factor in a consumer's decision to use a service as price. If I need automotive services, it would be convenient to use a mechanic closer to my home than not. Second, a broker might be a nice feature to add to the program, initially. For those of us not proficient at bartering, or even just plain shy, a broker would afford the system the means of bringing providers and consumers together more effectively. This could be a paid position based on the success of the transaction. Those issues aside, what methods are currently employed to expand the program into new markets of business and new areas, geographically? I think that I'm correct in writing that people will use what benefits them everyday. Groceries, legal work, travel, automotive and home repairs, etc., are important topics to cover. Is there any push into supermarkets or local grocers, for instance? And, how would that work? Interestingly, these are areas where a broker would certainly be able to structure some fairly complex bartering structures. Trackback(0)
Comments (3)
...
written by Pardonme, December 17, 2008
Well, given my history here at RHD (11years). I need to commend Deneene. First, because she has done an absolute incredible job in promoting equal dollars with new enrichment initiatives . Secondly, because from time to time when I think about different idea that I believe would benefit RHD employee's or my community in general. I will brainstorm with her and I know she understands and listens. Now as (adahow) pointed out the need for a more categorized listing of businesses and locations.I agree but, when I think of a broker I think of someone trying to make a sale. Although Equal Dollars is a alternative currency and yes (adahow) I want the mainstream business side of equal dollars to flourish too. I don't want it at the cost of loosing that grass roots approach. So for me, the question is how do we further equal dollars through to mainstream and keep our grass roots approach, while offering more domestic and practical vendors? Ultimately, (adahow) we are the brokers, the community of vendors and businesses.
Grass Roots written by adahow, December 17, 2008
I believe that the grass roots approach of =$'s is a good approach. I hope that my comments were not seen as reproachful, but rather as my observation of what would make it work better for me. In fact, it seems that those running the program are already hard at work configuring a database of services.
As for the broker concept, it is imprecise to think of them as salespeople. Traditionally, a broker is simply someone who knows how to effectively connect a buyer to a seller. Bob referred to them as coaches. They act only when contacted with a need. The point I had hoped to make was that bartering can be very complex. In a busy world for busy people, brokers or coaches might distill a little of the complexity making buying and selling easier. I think that this fits perfectly in a grass roots system.
Write comment
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
second we certainly need coaches to help us find the goods and services we can use.
Our =$ central committee (equal in strength to the Federal Reserve's closed committee) has plans to address both of these suggesstions.
We are also trying to suggest a way that Mayor Nutter and the City of Philadelphia could join with us and use this non-interest bearing local currency to add Millions of these units of currency (money) to the local economy. We hope to reach him during this next month to present our thinking but in the meantime we will be working to increase use of =$ beyond the average of 2,000 units per mon that we are now approaching.
Deneene Brockington at RHD is our director and we can all let her know what we can contribute to this needed mony service