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“Back in the 1930s on the Olympic peninsula, people were paying their taxes in alternative money…The banks shut them down. This is an example of the monopoly the banks have, and the level of control they have over peoples’ economic lives… People need to know [local currency] is a possibility, an option, a realistic tactical and powerful way to take back your economic power from the bankers.” Fourth Corner Exchange co-founder Francis Ayley says the current debt-based global money system is an unsustainable Ponzi-scheme that will crash. By contrast, local currencies are unlimited, based on whatever members want to exchange. He and director Lia Ayley share the nuts and bolts for new members starting to exchange, how values are set, and exchanges involving both Life Dollars and US dollars. The biggest challenge, they say, is changing our mindset from the scarcity built into the existing monetary system to one based on relationships, cooperation and plenty. [fourthcornerexchange.org]
Watch our 2006 interview of Francis Ayley: Local Currencies – Replacing Scarcity with Trust (episode 49).
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