free money to fight austerity terrorism

CREATING DEBT-FREE MONEY THROUGH NEW NATIONAL CURRENCIES 

In the face of the nationwide poverty, wage- and debt-slavery currently being imposed by the international banks in both the U.K., the U.S. and many countries of the Eurozone, - exemplified by the dramatic increase in unemployment, homelessness, child poverty and ‘food banks’ - the New Economics Movement proposes a radical strategy to counter financial ‘austerity terrorism’. At the heart of this strategy will be ‘free money’ i.e. the free distribution of a new debt- and interest-free national currency in any quantity and denominations, both in the form of paper money notes and as an electronic money system. The free money will be given firstly to independent local traders and then directly to people on the street and on their doorsteps. Distributing free money will itself constitute a high-profile and highly original form of electoral campaigning for fundamental monetary reform – one which is not based exclusively on distributing flyers or pamphlets, or just talking to people without anything more than words to give them. It will also be a way of directly demonstrating and modelling the very aims of this campaign for public money - by building a fully public ‘National People’s Bank’ from the ground up. This New Economic strategy could be implemented in three stages:

1.     Creating a central website through which (a) anyone can download pre-designed images of and print any quantity of the new paper currency in different denominations (b) which explains the principle of its use and distribution (see below) and (c) that can also be used to log and track its distribution and circulation and form the basis of an electronic account, electronic currency and free ‘free-money’ cards. 

2.   Offering local independent traders and craftsmen – in particular independent food retailers such as bakers, butchers and grocers – any amount of the free money they wish. The sole condition imposed on receivers of the new currency will be a pledge (see below and printed on each note along with the address of the central website) to accept as payment from customers as much of the free currency as they ask to be given. Traders will also be encouraged to offer a part of this freely received money to their suppliers on the same conditions – thus establishing a supply chain and leading to a stage at which they pay their suppliers in the new currency.

3.    Handing out the ‘new money’ freely on the high street or door-to-door, along with a list of local shopkeepers, traders and craftsmen and service providers willing to accept it.

It is important to emphasise three basic principles governing the new currency, namely that:

(1) the holder pledges to accept in payment for their own good or services as much of the new money they hold or use as payment for the goods and services of others

(2) the new currency will be a form of money in itself – a mere token of value with no intrinsic value. Thus whilst, for the purpose of domestic or international trade, the new currency will be purchaseable in Pounds or other currencies it will not be redeemable in those currencies i.e. holders of the new currency will not be able to exchange it for the official national currency or other currencies.

(3) the new public currency will be a truly national one – and not merely some form of local currency or LETS scheme, for example in the case of the U.K. a ‘People’s Pound’.  

Given the nature of the new currency, each note will therefore carry the following words:

If used in payment for goods or services from others, the holder promises to accept the amount on this note as payment for any goods or services of their own.

Each note will also carry a statement declaring that it can be bought with the official national currency or with foreign currencies but cannot be sold in exchange for them.