UNBELIEVABLE!
06/07/08 10:24 Filed in: Personal
UNBELIEVABLE! Just watched the pseudo religious / eco show Sunday Life on BBC One.
They had an article about people growing their own food near Bristol. Which I think is great, I grew up on home grown vegetables as a child and quite frankly the taste is superior to anything you are likely to find in anything except the most local of farm shops. But that's my opinion.
Then they linked into a group of individuals who are living mostly without using cash. OK, I think that's possible, they grew their own food etc etc. But he did odd jobs to make cash for goods.
But then they went onto a scheme/society where they have 'totally eradicated money' because it made them a better community. Instead, what they do is sell goods or services and in exchange for paper cheques called LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems) which can in turn be traded for goods or services.
IN WHAT WAY IS THIS NOT MONEY!!!!!
Just because it come from the Bank of England doesn't mean they aren't simply replacing one currency for another. They even 'trade' with local businesses (including the Co-Op), which is the principle of an exchange rate mechanism!
When asked by Colin (Jackson) if it was 'like' money a spokeswoman said "No, because this is just paper."
WHAT?!?!!
I found myself doing a combination of trying to mouth off at the TV and being totally speechless.
I applaud the ideals of trying to increase community relations - I'm with that.
But don't try and fool yourself into thinking you've beaten capitalism when you've merely exchanged one currency for another.
At some point somebody is going to start collecting LETS and then lending them with interest. Then they'll allow people to hand over their LETS to be lent out for a small commission. Then they'll start lending out more then they actually have in the vault and hey presto LETS fractional reserve banking. Oh, too late. Already done. Give me a break!
They had an article about people growing their own food near Bristol. Which I think is great, I grew up on home grown vegetables as a child and quite frankly the taste is superior to anything you are likely to find in anything except the most local of farm shops. But that's my opinion.
Then they linked into a group of individuals who are living mostly without using cash. OK, I think that's possible, they grew their own food etc etc. But he did odd jobs to make cash for goods.
But then they went onto a scheme/society where they have 'totally eradicated money' because it made them a better community. Instead, what they do is sell goods or services and in exchange for paper cheques called LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems) which can in turn be traded for goods or services.
IN WHAT WAY IS THIS NOT MONEY!!!!!
Just because it come from the Bank of England doesn't mean they aren't simply replacing one currency for another. They even 'trade' with local businesses (including the Co-Op), which is the principle of an exchange rate mechanism!
When asked by Colin (Jackson) if it was 'like' money a spokeswoman said "No, because this is just paper."
WHAT?!?!!
I found myself doing a combination of trying to mouth off at the TV and being totally speechless.
I applaud the ideals of trying to increase community relations - I'm with that.
But don't try and fool yourself into thinking you've beaten capitalism when you've merely exchanged one currency for another.
At some point somebody is going to start collecting LETS and then lending them with interest. Then they'll allow people to hand over their LETS to be lent out for a small commission. Then they'll start lending out more then they actually have in the vault and hey presto LETS fractional reserve banking. Oh, too late. Already done. Give me a break!