With host Stephanie Potter, Collin Ferguson, founder of Cascadia Commons/Community Way, and Andrew Utman discuss their efforts to establish Open Money or a Local Exchange Trading System (LETS) in Portland. LETS are local, non-profit exchange networks in which goods and services can be traded without the need for printed currency. In the same way that Open Source works, the idea of Open Money is that we design our own systems for transferring value. More info: Community Exchange Network , the community exchange network, and metacurrency project. Get involved in Portland.
Money is our present means for measuring value. With this system there may be plenty of materials, equipment, skills, time, goods and needs to be met, but we cannot work or trade with each other when the currency--the measure of value--has been transferred out of the community. But proponents of LETS assert that there need never be a shortage of the measure for value. Instead of suffering business closures and unemployment because money's gone elsewhere, we create our own means of exchange. We can then finance local needs, generate wealth and be protected from poverty.
