It's the day after Thanksgiving, and I probably won't write a "Christmas" blog entry, but since this is the holiday season it seems the right time to bring up a few observations. Apart from the 2.3 million Americans (they're willing to admit to) who are using or are in dire need of the services of food banks. It's almost impossible not to think of those who are in need when you're eating 3 plates of food in one night and you're eating because it tastes good, not because you're actually hungry.
As someone who is pushing for one type of local based economy (out many sustainable options), I know the challenges associated with such a campaign. And so I was disappointed to hear of the roadblock placed in front of another alternate economy called
Prosper.com (as of November 24th). Prosper connected everyday people who needed money to start businesses, go to school, and a host of other ventures to other everyday people who have just a little extra money to lend. It was very interesting because someone who needed $5k for example would receive it from a number of people who put in $50, $250, $99, etc. Now, there are many
factors involved with the shutdown and I'm not taking sides. However, I hope to see the concept revived in a way that benefits the borrowers and lenders AND keeps the SEC at bay (smile).
Naked Capitalism talked about the creative doging of the dollar exchange - not between individuals - between countries! "Talk about getting creative to avoid use of the dollar (the iranians are particularly keen to avoid use of the dollar in oil trading, it verges on a point of honor with them. They have been selling oil to the Japanese with trades denominated in yen rather than the dollar as the reference currency for some time. But in their case, as the news story below discusses, is also making a virtue of necessity). However, the UN said that they expect agricultural goods barter to become more common."
I'm listing all of this to say that the need to get creative (not exotic, like exotic mortages!) will continue to grow. At the deepest levels like donating to soup kitchens and food banks, to seemingly more lighthearted issues like enjoying some sort of decent lifestyle (your CD collection for mine)...If entire countries can't rely on the traditional money/credit system to get the things they need (The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation said such government-to-government bartering – a system of trade not used for decades – was likely to become more
common as the private sector was finding it hard to access credit for food imports.) what makes us think that a couple of years will make the traditional system "all better?" Not likely.
