OWS Currency
We're deploying an alternative currency system for participants at Occupy Wall Street. This page is to discuss logistics and design.
The design competition is on OWS currency competition
Introduction
Our monetary system is extremely proprietary. Not only are the technologies used to create, utilize and manage money extremely restricted through patents, copyrights, trade secrets and licensing, but the Federal Government has granted a single private bank a monopoly on the production of legal tender. No wonder there's a lack of capital in the markets!
Our mission is to produce free/libre/opensource technologies that help people create their own alternatives to the Federal Reserve Note and the system upon which it derives it's strength. Achieving this doesn't require us to document how the current system works, although that would be extremely useful. It simply requires us to construct an alternative system that does a superior job meeting people's needs. Occupy Wall Street and subsequent occupations prove that the people are eager for a new system. Let's help them build it.
PermaBank
PermaBank.cc is a Drupal-based exchange platform built in support of Occupy Wall Street by members of the FLO Solutions Working Group of the NYCGA and others. The premise of PermaBank is to develop and deploy a set of technologies that align 'financial services' with the principles of permaculture.
Features
Gifts/Wishes
PermaBank.cc will launch with the ability for individuals and groups to post their wish/requests and gifts/offers and indicate whether they've been completed. The primary impetus behind this feature is to enhance the efficiency of the gifting culture that currently exists within Liberty Plaza.
Mutual Credits
People create their own IOUs with each other and record them in the system. Each person is asked to maintain an average balance around 0 to achieve maximum system stability. Different types of credit can be used to expand this functionality into time banking.
i-WAT is a cryptographic circular/multi-party barter software licensed under the GPL and uses PGP encryption. Tickets/IOUS are defined by users with their own value units of exchange. It does not rely on membership to a currency circle, in the sense that it does not require everyone to exchange numerical amounts of coins/cash units, but the labeled items/objects/subjects of the barter transaction. http://www.media-art-online.org/iwat/ http://www.media-art-online.org/wija/download.html Instruction Manual: Neo_in_Wonderland
Other software (circular barter exchange): https://www.multiswap.net/about/
Asset-Backed Notes
The General Assembly can issue 'notes' to reward people who perform tasks. These notes can be redeemed through a general store (online), affiliated stores (online/offline) and through media (offline.) Ideally we'd use a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin for these transactions.
- Loyalty Points >> Rewards
We're organizing with a credit union to issue a credit card that gives people reserve notes as a reward for transacting with specific vendors. Similar to BernalBucks.