Long predicted the financial system as we know it, is in for major change. The result of the Greek vote, a resounding `No’ to the conditions imposed by the IMF, spells the end of the financial system as we know it. After all currency is only a symbol, a piece of paper that is not backed by gold is only a piece of paper. The real wealth is in the value of the people and their ability to trade. We don’t need the banks for that. Alternative systems are in place and will develop now, so stay calm and stand back and observe.

Some info from Community Exchange systems on banking and why we need to develop alternatives. This is a power point presentation.

Click to access ReinventingMoney.pdf

Q. What is the CES?

The CES is essentially an exchange system. It allows us to exchange our narrow specialisations for the narrow specialisations of others. The regular money system, of which we are so familiar, is another exchange system. Throughout history there have been many different exchange systems. All of them assist us to overcome the inconveniences of direct barter. While the monetary exchange system uses a value representation to mediate exchanges, the CES has no such medium. Instead it uses information as the organising principle. Value is transferred from sellers to buyers and a record is kept of it. These records ensure that buyers ‘pay’ for what they have received by doing or selling something for/to someone else. This works just as well as money but sets up a completely different relationship between people. In the monetary exchange system production is geared towards maximising the amount of the exchange medium that can be obtained, whereas in the CES production is geared towards the satisfaction of needs. This imparts a completely different logic in our relationships with each other.

This link is on the different systems of alternaive trading already in place. I was surprised how long this list is. I have written about Bitcoin and Ripple before, its another system of exchange. geared to business needs.

https://www.communityexchange.net.au/info/links.html

Q. How can I begin trading without any money in my account?

A. The CES does not require that you have anything in your account to begin trading. As ‘money’ in this system is just a book entry or ‘point scoring’, there is no need for a supply of it. You begin either by going into debit (not debt). This means your account has a negative balance but unlike with conventional money you do not have to pay interest on it and there is no stigma attached to it (unless it gets large and is never reduced). Your debit simply means that you owe the community goods and services to the value of the debit.

Although the CES is internet-based it also works for those who do not have computers. Each user gets an account number and a password, and this gives them access to their account on the CES web site. The site works like a true on-line banking service. Participants can view their current balances and obtain statements of account. They can also keep track of the trading position of others.

Goods and services are advertised on the web site through an ‘Offerings List’. Participants look through this list, or do a search, and if they find anything they want they contact the seller who then provides the goods or service. Payment is effected through a Trading Slip which serves both as a means of payment and a receipt for the goods or service. The information on the Trading Slip is entered by the seller into a transacation form on the web site. This credits the account of the seller and debits that of the buyer. Accounts record these debits and credits, giving a balance after each transaction.

Those without computers can interface with the system through ‘branches’ where everything is done manually and information is available on paper.

This link is to the Community Exchanges in Australia.
https://www.communityexchange.net.au/

This link explains why you should pay off your debts before the Financial System reset. Basically because the new system will put you into further debt.

Imagine, for a moment, that Greece had never adopted the euro, that it had merely fixed the value of the drachma in terms of euros. What would basic economic analysis say it should do now? The answer, overwhelmingly, would be that it should devalue — let the drachma’s value drop, both to encourage exports and to break out of the cycle of deflation.

Of course, Greece no longer has its own currency, and many analysts used to claim that adopting the euro was an irreversible move — after all, any hint of euro exit would set off devastating bank runs and a financial crisis. But at this point that financial crisis has already happened, so that the biggest costs of euro exit have been paid. Why, then, not go for the benefits?

Would Greek exit from the euro work as well as Iceland’s highly successful devaluation in 2008-09, or Argentina’s abandonment of its one-peso-one-dollar policy in 2001-02? Maybe not — but consider the alternatives. Unless Greece receives really major debt relief, and possibly even then, leaving the euro offers the only plausible escape route from its endless economic nightmare.

And let’s be clear: if Greece ends up leaving the euro, it won’t mean that the Greeks are bad Europeans. Greece’s debt problem reflected irresponsible lending as well as irresponsible borrowing, and in any case the Greeks have paid for their government’s sins many times over. If they can’t make a go of Europe’s common currency, it’s because that common currency offers no respite for countries in trouble. The important thing now is to do whatever it takes to end the bleeding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/opinion/paul-krugman-ending-greeces-bleeding.html?smid=fb-share

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