“That is simple. In the Colonies, we issue our own paper money. It is called ‘Colonial Scrip.’ We issue it in proper proportion to make the goods and pass easily from the producers to the consumers. In this manner, creating ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power and we have no interest to pay to no one.” - Benjamin Franklin
"All the perplexities confusion and distress in America arise not from defects of the Constitution, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation." -John Adams
Alaska, the Frontier State, has forever been a land of independence. The common Alaskan roughs through times that normal people in the lower 48 States really have no idea about. The costs of goods and services in Alaska is very high in comparison to the rest of the United States, accidental death rates are 20x higher than the national average at 49 per 100k residents, harsh weather, treacherous roads, hungry bears, moose that just don't care that your in a car going 65 mph or not ... they are going to cross the road right Meow!
Currently here in Alaska, a new threat has emerged, and this one is of the financial type. Each year, qualifying Alaskan's receive what is known as a PFD, or Petro Fund Dividend. This is the a constitutionally established permanent fund managed by a state-owned corporation, the "Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation" or "APFC". The fund has a history dating back to Governor Jay Hammond in 1976. Right now that fund is being looted by what can only be described as a slick "misappropriation of funds" by the current Governor, Governor Bill Walker.
The raiding of the Alaskan PFD by the State is only a temporary fix, which is rumored to be followed by an income tax and other financial burdens that will probably drive more people away from the state and slow the economy before it gains any ground at all against our financial problems due to the price of oil dropping.
This story is about community currencies, and how specifically a Crypto Community Currency can build our economy to a self sufficient level. So before we go into what a community currency is, lets take a historical look at how the introduction of a new currency in a financial crisis has happened in the past.
Early America has a wide range of currencies, mostly because very few coins were coined (made) here, so the main coin that circulated was the Spanish Dollar. Early on the British Parliament passed currency acts that regulated paper money. Peter Cooper, industrialist and statesman wrote: “After Franklin gave explanations on the true cause of the prosperity of the Colonies, the Parliament exacted laws forbidding the use of this money in the payment of taxes. This decision brought so many drawbacks and so much poverty to the people that it was the main cause of the Revolution. The suppression of the Colonial money was a much more important reason for the general uprising than the Tea and Stamp Act.”
When Abraham Lincoln was facing war with the southern 11 States, fractional reserve lending spread through charter banks in the US like a virus. The money changers were offering loans of 24-36%, wanting the Union to fail. Lincoln put Colonel Dick Taylor in charge to solve the problem, the Colonel came up with a novel idea, lets just make our own money. When Lincoln asked if the people would accept this new currency, the Colonel replied "The people or anyone else will not have any choice in the matter, if you make them full legal tender. They will have the full sanction of the government and be just as good as any money; as Congress is given that express right by the Constitution"
Now these are examples of extreme times, and I am not here suggesting that the US Dollar be eliminated from our wallets here in Alaska in any way shape or form. The previous examples were to illustrate how financial problems have been dealt with in the past. Community Currencies are just tools to keep local dollars circulating within the community, following will be a discussion of Community Currencies within the United States right now. To find out legalities, here is a resource http://www.communitycurrencieslaw.org/
A long list of community currencies can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States
GO LOCAL (Featured in the pic of this article) https://sonomacounty.golocal.coop/stories/what-go-local/Who is Go Local in their own words? "Studies indicate that the more economic self-reliance a community achieves the greater the economic health for them. Sonoma County GO LOCAL Cooperative works to grow the market share of locally owned businesses. We promote GO LOCAL member businesses and work with them to adopt innovative programs like Rewards Card"
Ithacash http://ithacash.com/#ithaca-dollars A copy and paste from their website "HOW THEY ARE issued Ithaca Dollars are used to reward shopping locally, provide grant support to causes, and make credit available for micro and community-based enterprises. Partner institutions, local residents, and visitors to our community may also purchase Ithaca Dollars. A variable "buy in" bonus is added on such purchases as gratuity for the commitment to purchasing locally.
The present buy in bonus rate is 10% so that $100 nets i$110.
Ithaca Dollars may not be cashed out for USD.
How they are earned
1) Shopping, paying, sharing, and posting listings in the app (Very easy)
2) Selling goods & services in the marketplace (Also very easy)
3) Working for a place that accepts them (Pay, perks, bonuses)
4) Adding value to the system personally (Everyone has value)
Another example of a community currency is Bay Bucks, http://www.baybucks.com/ In their own words " We envision a greater Bay Area where sustainable, regional economic growth and development are in service of the people and the environment, rather than corporate profits. We envision an economy that promotes stewardship of our land and local resources, supports local business and innovation, drives re-localization of production, and recreates the market from being merely transactional to a place for community building."
Those are a few examples of community currency here in the United States, but now I would like to get specific on what I am proposing for the 907. I propose that the Alaskan Legislature approve a crypto-currency application that co-exists along with our MyAlaska account, and a BlockChain Wallet. Our (I refuse to offer a name to this fictitious currency in fear of causing a bad label, from here forward it will be referred to as AK) new Crypto-Currency. The State will be able to mine AK at a commercial level, as well as Alaskans. The State will purchase local goods and services with AK. The State has open projects within the community, such as Trash Clean-Up, Subsistence Hunts and Fishing for those that need food, and many other projects. While State taxes and Federal taxes must still be paid with Federal Reserve Notes, having businesses accept the AK and allow them to pay a percentage of payroll in our new currency, will dramatically reduce the amount of out of State workers willing to accept the AK, which in turn will secure positions of employment to people who will spend their paychecks in Alaska. The State can offer Job Bids in AK, ensuring money spent on State projects stays in Alaska.
I can go on in far greater detail, but by now I am sure few have read this far, to those who have, Thanks for reading!