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The capivari—a currency named after a rodent—circulates only in one dusty, agricultural town 60 miles north of Rio de Janeiro.
Ten months after introduction of the capivari—named after the capybara, a pig-sized rodent common in a local river—the currency is lifting fortunes of local retailers and gnawing holes in the pockets of consumers. Capivaris pay for everything from haircuts to restaurant tabs to tithing at churches. The mayor even has plans to open a "Capivari Megastore," where local artisans and growers can showcase wares.
The capivari is one of 63 local moneys—including bills named after the sun, cactus and the Brazil nut—now circulating in needy neighborhoods throughout Latin America's biggest economy. The idea is gaining currency as towns seek a share of current economic growth. This month, a new local currency hit the streets in Cidade de Deus, the Rio slum that was the subject of a blockbuster film and a stop on President Barack Obama's South American tour this year.
While equal in value to the real, local currencies gain traction because local merchants offer discounts when using them. No one is forced to quit the real, but shopkeepers say greater volumes make the markdown worthwhile.
"It brings customers through the door," said Roseanne Augusto, manager of a Silva Jardim hardware store, where a builder one recent afternoon set aside 2,700 reais in supplies, about $1,520 worth. He then left the store, went to trade reais, and returned to pay with capivaris, saving 5%.
Capivaris are managed by a new, community-run Capivari Bank. Inside its one office, a brightly painted space the size of a small fast-food joint, are the bank's employees, three women in their 20s.
For each of the 50,000 capivaris first circulated, Capivari Bank holds an equal number of reais on deposit at a traditional bank.
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Money news
We already have soft money - to a degree.
There are a myriad of local exchange systems springing up, the reformers are busy. Yet, it is easy for all those efforts to be marginalized. For one, they are split into many small initiatives, none of them set to take on the juggernaut.
So I think something is missing: a universal standard for soft money that allows us to all work together seemlessly, regardless of distance, regardless of what we are putting our efforts into in our quest to bring about that new world, and that new economy. 
More than $87,000 worth of the virtual currency known as Bitcoin was stolen after online bandits penetrated servers belonging to Bitcoinica, prompting its operators to temporarily shutter the trading platform to contain the damage....
Via Elle D'Coda 12-year old Victoria Grant explains why her homeland, Canada, and most of the world, is in debt. April 27, 2012 at the Public Banking in America Conference, Philadelphia, PA. This video is a one-hour edit (Director's cut) of the original two hour video documentary which is available here: http://tinyurl.com/bq5nf8e ;
"Simple questions often get overlooked - questions like: where does money come from? Who creates it? Who decides how it gets used? And what does that mean for the millions of ordinary people who suffer when money and finance breaks down?"
"97% Owned reveals how money is at the root of our current social and economic crisis.
"It exposes the privatised, debt-based monetary system that gives banks the power to create money, shape the economy, cause crises and push house prices out of reach."
"The banking sector itself grew from (1980) 2,5 trillion dollars to 40 trillion dollars, by asset. In 1980 bank assets were worth 20 times the then global economy. By 2006 they were worth 75 times, according to the UN," says Sargon Nissan, former equity trader and economics researcher.
We all want and need money. However, for many services, paying actual dollars is inefficient. The transaction costs are too high.
So we need a system whereas perfect strangers can make deals at a very small transaction cost. For this purpose, people use punk money:
-- You publicly promise a favor in exchange for a service, you may stipulate the terms.
97% Owned investigates behind the scenes of the ever changing financial system, to uncover how the monetary system provides the foundations for international dominance and national control. Fresh thinking, new ideas and answers to simple questions are squeezed into this 2hr 10minute expose.
"Due for release May 1st it features frank interviews and comments from Positive Money, The New Economics Foundation, PRIME, Paul Moore HBOS Whistle Blower, Simon Dixon of Bank to the Future and Nick Dearden from Jubliee Debt Campaign." 
Our governments give a trillion dollars in public handouts to the fossil fuel industry each year. A group of climate champions has emerged to end polluter payments at a vital UN summit this June.
"a group of visionary countries, led by New Zealand, Mexico, and Switzerland, are drawing a line in the sand against this madness."
"World leaders could make history by agreeing to cut the 1 trillion dollars they hand out in fossil fuel subsidies every year when they gather at a crucial environmental conference in Rio this June." 
Question: "Do you look at Greece and wonder if they should be learning from the Icelandic model?"
"But I think it is our obligation in Iceland to give an open and honest description of our own experience, of the lessons we have leaned, and other people can draw their own conclusions. I have already mentioned that if you want to deal with this economic crisis, you must treat it not only as an economic challenge but also as a fundamental social, political, and even a judicial challenge."
"On the judicial side, we appointed a special commission headed by a Supreme Court judge that issued a report in 9 volumes, we appointed the office of special prosecutors, we have enacted various legislation and laws that relate to the judicial and legal system."
![Volos, Greece taps barter for a shareable city [with video] | Money news | Scoop.it](http://img.scoop.it/NShXcR5KEoNWmflJ_VymTTl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ)
Actually, more than barter is it a local - city-wide - alternative currency they use, rather than direct exchange barter...
From the article:
"As Greece continues to search for solutions to its national economic crisis, the port town of Volos has adopted an old-school barter system to help its citizens muddle through."
"Five years into their recession with 21 percent unemployment, some Volos residents who were short on Euros but long on other resources created a local currency (called TEMs in Greek) that is traded based on non-monetary contributions into the online system."
"People sign up for a TEMs network account, see what services they might offer to other folks in their area who are in need, and start amassing credits that can be cashed in for things they themselves need. TEMs can be used for everything from bakers to babysitters, teachers to technicians." 
Debt-free money may well be the solution to restoring a sane monetary system.
"Today, money creation has become a largely private affair. Not only is government money created through debt, but most money in circulation is also created through the leveraging of banks. Most of the money is lent into existence and thus essentially created by private banks in a system of generalised compound interest."
"Credit has become one of the primary means of reverse wealth distribution, a tax on the 99 per cent by the 1 per cent..." 
"By their design, community currencies force people to spend locally, and usually quickly. They often stand as pillars of community-led attempts to rejuvenate depressed economies, such as Totnes and Brixton Pounds in the UK’s Transition Towns, and Argentina’s wide adoption of the Crédito during its 1999 economic crisis.
Most [of those currencies] are managed by nonprofit organizations, who sell them in exchange for legal tender (one Canadian dollar buys one Calgary Dollar, for instance).
The managing NPOs frequently have a surplus of funds (often from business participation fees or expired non-redeemed notes) that are funnelled into community projects or customer discounts. For example, 10 percent of all spent Toronto Dollars is donated to local charities, while the German chiemgauer, which started as a school project, has raised €100,000 for charities." 
Stock would be issued at a discount – eg a Unit of £1.00 of Stock sold for 90p – and the rate of return depends on the period over which the Stock is returned to the Treasury in payment of taxes. The very word return alludes to this long forgotten practice of returning Stock to the issuer.
Stock revolutionises long term investment by transforming the risk. There is no longer a risk that debt and interest will not be paid. The stockholder may redeem Units against taxation, or may sell Units to other taxpayers/investors. Even if pure investors will not buy Stock, taxpayers will always buy Stock when the price is below £1.00.
The rate of return depends literally upon the date of return of the Stock to the Treasury or the date of sale: the former depends on the rate and basis of taxation, while the latter depends on liquidity – the ability to sell stock.
"Qualitative Easing will give a short/medium term breathing space for the transition of the UK economy to a sustainable long term fiscal basis." 
Banco Palmas is an initiative of local currency and microcredit which has been practiced since 1998 at the Palmeira neighborhood in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Other poor districts of Brazil have been receiving training in order to start similar projects in their own communities. This evolved to the constitution of the already mentioned Brazilian Network of Community Banks. The banks register with the network and after a rigorous training process, they receive certification.
As of 2009, 47 similar local currency initiatives are found in Brazil, and there are some interests to implement similar systems in Argentina, Venezuela and France too. |
What will banks of the 21st century look like? Well not like you think! According to Jem Bendell Rebuild21 speaker we need to rethink the concept of banks and currencies for a more sustainable 21st century.
Jem Bendell is a professor and the owner-director of Lifeworth Consulting, providing solutions for systemic change towards sustainable development. Via Ferananda The Bilderberg 2012 meeting will be near our studios in Chantilly, Virginia this year.
Our investigative team went down the road to give you a look at the site before security closed it down.
This message is for the Bilderberg members explaining why their solution is ultimately doomed to failure. 
No to EU Fiscal Compact Treaty...
Farmers in Ireland are campaigning to hold the banks responsible for failures - not the citizens of the country.
Irish home owners are asked to pay a special tax to help overcome the crisis, but some 85 % of them are refusing to so so.
Is Ireland going to be the country that says No to the banks?
There are two videos linked in the article, Max Keiser discussing the Irish situation, and Webster Tarpley explaining how soverveign states are being attacked by financial jackals using sophisticated financial instruments... 
"What can be done to encourage local people to spend their money locally? This is the question the founders of the Brixton Pound (B£) were seeking to answer when they launched a new local currency in September 2009....
The B£ originated from the work of a number of local volunteers inspired by the Transition Town movement and interested in the ‘local multiplier effect’ described by the New Economics Foundation. Their research suggested that spending money in a local independent shop has a greater economic value for the local area than spend in a multinational store such as a supermarket.
A local trader will go on to spend a higher proportion of his or her profits in the area in which they live, generating additional value for the local economy. Besides encouraging people to spend their money locally, the B£ project aimed to promote discussion about the meaning of currency and the ways in which we use it...."
Via Elle D'Coda 
In the first official venture capital raise for a direct investment in bitcoin, CoinLab secured $500,000 today from seed stage Silicon Valley firm Draper Associates and others, including Seattle angel investor Geoff Entress, former assistant...
"Based in Seattle, CoinLab is an emerging umbrella group for cultivating and launching innovative bitcoin projects. Until now, they have been relatively quiet regarding their initiatives but they are credited with releasing a comprehensive Bitcoin Primer in January 2012. The founders are startup entrepreneurs Peter Vessenes, Mike Koss, and Tihan Seale, each with a strong passion for the broad advancements enabled by a decentralized currency." Via Elle D'Coda 
"Once written off by western capitalists as “voodoo economics”, Islamic finance is now in a state of rapid growth and has become a trillion (US) dollar industry, which is attracting the attention of many American and European investors."
"Yet it is also still widely questioned by western economists who remain doubtful that Islamic finance can really work on a global scale, alongside more conventional approaches to banking and finance."
(My comment:) In Islam, just like in Christianity, interest is not allowed. But while the Christian Churches have relaxed the rules over the centuries, Islamic banking is still on the no-interest track set by the religion's founder... 
NANTES – This city in western French is getting ready to launch its own local currency as a complement to the euro.
Though Nantes is following the example of the WIR cooperative bank in Basel, Switzerland, where 60,000 small and medium-sized enterprises are already using a cashless payment system, this will be the first time a large-scale European city is willing to try the experiment with both businesses and individuals.
The BRICS summit has wrapped up in India. Creating an alternative global lender and stepping away from the dollar as a reserve currency were among their main objectives...
my comment:
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - the emerging economic powers of a new multipolar world are talking about leaving both the US dollar and the IMF/World bank by the wayside as irrelevant to the future... Via ddrrnt 
The CEO’s of the country’s three largest banks are among 200 who are facing criminal charges, and a special prosecutor expects up to 90 more indictments. The contrast with the United States could not be more obvious.
“The moral of the story is that a different approach to dealing with the banks is necessary, both to restore the U.S. economy but to prosecute financiers who broke the law. As it stands, bankers have gotten off scot-free while the country’s economic growth has been largely anemic... 
"Canada's finance ministry announced the country would soon no longer be distributing the country's one-cent piece, effectively killing the penny. Now, in yet another sign that money is transitioning away from physical currency, the Royal Canadian Mint, the government-owned corporation that produces Canada's coinage, is set to launch MintChip, a digital form of currency that enables value transactions in the cloud."
"In other words, Canada has essentially just launched its own version of BitCoin. "MintChip brings all the benefits of cash into the digital age," according to MintChip's website. "Instant, private and secure, MintChip value can be stored and moved quickly and easily over email, software applications, or by physically tapping devices together." 
The system is trying to come to grips with Bitcoin:
"Bitcoin poses a puzzle for regulators. It does not fit the UK Financial Services Authority's definition of e-money as it is not issued on the receipt of funds. A spokeswoman for the German Bundesbank told Reuters it was not classifying Bitcoins as e-currency. A French court was unable to determine whether Bitcoin is a virtual currency under French law and has referred the question to another court."
"Unlike conventional fiat money and other digital currencies, Bitcoin runs through a peer-to-peer network, independent of central control. Bitcoins are currently worth $4.88 (3.05 pounds) each on online currency exchanges, where they can be bought and sold for about 15 world currencies."
"Its popularity with financial professionals highlights an irony at the heart of the Bitcoin usership; suspicion of the banking system is written into the program's DNA."
"It was released in January 2009 by a developer using the probable pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Embedded in the code of its first block of transaction history are the words ‘The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks'. This was a way of time-stamping the first Bitcoin transaction, but also a clue to the developer's motivation." Via Elle D'Coda 
Tems has been up and running for barely 18 months, said Maria Choupis, one of its founder members. Prompted by ever more swingeing salary cuts and tax increases, she reckons there are now around 15 such networks active around Greece, and more planned. “They are as much social structures as economic ones,” she said. “They foster intimacy and mutual support.”
What rules the system has are designed to ensure the tems continue “to circulate, and work hard as a currency”, said Christos Pappionannou, a mechanical engineer who runs the network’s website using open-source software.
No one may hold more than 1,200 tems in the account “so people don’t start hoarding; once you reach the top limit you have to start using them.”
And no one may owe more than 300, so people “can’t get into debt, and have to start offering something”.
Businesses that are part of the network are allowed to do transactions partly in tems, and partly in euros; most offer a 50/50 part-exchange. Derivatives Market Bubble: Key news articles and top financial experts claim the $700 trillion derivatives market bubble is a time bomb.
According to many top financial analysts and the revealing news articles below, the $700 trillion financial derivatives market may be a time bomb waiting to explode with catastrophic consequences. $700 trillion is more than 10 times the GDP of the entire world and equivalent to $100,000 for each of the 7 billion inhabitants of our planet. These financial instruments have a legitimate place in hedging risk, yet the recent explosion of growth in the global derivatives market has created a huge potential for massive instability.
(My comment:) Some news on what the big banks are up to and how the economy is being sucked dry. Click on the headline to dig deeper. |
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