Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
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Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#2I'm curious if anyone has opinions about the legality of this? Why can a town do this but cryptocurrencies have to be so cautious about the way they present themselves to the market?
Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#3I'm curious if anyone has opinions about the legality of this? Why can a town do this but cryptocurrencies have to be so cautious about the way they present themselves to the market?
I think the reason is that there is no interfacing between federal money and their currency, it's the equivalent of bartering only with the agileness of currency notes instead of cows, lamb and sheep. To your question, if cryptocurrencies stayed in cryptocurrencies with no interfacing to fiat, it would be the same with no government having any ability to govern it aside form outright banning by force.
Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#4Extract from the article
"But why print the money on wood? Why not just give residents $300 worth of federal dollars?
The answer is simple: By creating its own local currency, Tenino keeps the money in the community. As Fournier puts it, “Amazon will not be accepting wooden dollars.”
“The money stays in the city. It doesn’t go out to Walmart and Costco and all those places,” says Joyce Worrell, who has run the antique shop Iron Works Boutiques for the past decade.
Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#5Very sparse on details.
What gives these wooden dollars any value? Why would I, as a local business owner, accept them?
How do I pay for supplies and stock I get from outside the community, if all I have are these wooden dollars and no federal dollars?
Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#6Very sparse on details. What gives these wooden dollars any value? Why would I, as a local business owner, accept them? How do I pay for supplies and stock I get from outside the community, if all I have are these wooden dollars and no federal dollars?
The article has this information.
> The spending comes with a few restrictions: Residents can’t use the money to buy cigarettes, lottery tickets, or alcohol. The currency is designed for the essentials, including food, gas, and daycare. Almost every business in town accepts the wooden notes, and twice a month, they can submit redemption requests to the city to turn the notes into cash.
Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#7Extract from the article "But why print the money on wood? Why not just give residents $300 worth of federal dollars? The answer is simple: By creating its own local currency, Tenino keeps the money in the community. As Fournier puts it, “Amazon will not be accepting wooden dollars.” “The money stays in the city. It doesn’t go out to Walmart and Costco and all those places,” says Joyce Worrell, who has run the antiqu…
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Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#8I'm curious if anyone has opinions about the legality of this? Why can a town do this but cryptocurrencies have to be so cautious about the way they present themselves to the market?
I think the reason is that there is no interfacing between federal money and their currency, it's the equivalent of bartering only with the agileness of currency notes instead of cows, lamb and sheep. To your question, if cryptocurrencies stayed in cryptocurrencies with no interfacing to fiat, it would be the same with no government having any ability to govern it aside form outright banning by force.
That makes sense, except that I don't understand this: doesn't all currency eventually "leak" via exchange into federal currency? Won't someone accepting a wooden note eventually need to give a wooden note plus $1 for the milk they need? Isn't it all going to get mixed together at some point?
Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#9Extract from the article "But why print the money on wood? Why not just give residents $300 worth of federal dollars? The answer is simple: By creating its own local currency, Tenino keeps the money in the community. As Fournier puts it, “Amazon will not be accepting wooden dollars.” “The money stays in the city. It doesn’t go out to Walmart and Costco and all those places,” says Joyce Worrell, who has run the antiqu…
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The article explains this. The business can convert the local notes to cash on a regular basis. The point is to give those in need a cash substitute that enables purchasing essentials locally. Seems like a great idea to me!
Re: Why a small town in Washington is printing its own currency during the pandemic
#10Extract from the article "But why print the money on wood? Why not just give residents $300 worth of federal dollars? The answer is simple: By creating its own local currency, Tenino keeps the money in the community. As Fournier puts it, “Amazon will not be accepting wooden dollars.” “The money stays in the city. It doesn’t go out to Walmart and Costco and all those places,” says Joyce Worrell, who has run the antiqu…
[deleted in shame]
The article is very clear about this. The store can take the currency to the town government and redeem it for USD. They can then use that USD for restocking.
The goal isn't some circulating currency: it's just a stimulus that has to be spent locally.