PROJECT GREG
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| PROOOF OF CONCEPT 5 GREG NOTE |
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| PROOF OF CONCEPT 10 GREG NOTE |
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| PROOF OF CONCEPT 1 GREG NOTE |
GREG notes are an experimental currency in development that will introduce a stable market of exchange in which values are established in real goods, products and measurable achievements in the profusion of local natural resources. GREG will be printed only when something of established value is metered or brought to the local exchange, where it will be put in storage or made available for immediate sale. The producer will be paid for his products in GREG notes, and the consumer will use either U.S.Dollars or GREG notes to buy the goods. The local exchange will essentially be a bank of material goods, a co-op, and a secure center for GREG issue. The measurable result of this establishment will be a rapid increase in local jobs, rapid commercial and industrial development, increased social exchange, and an immediate retooling of the local economy geared toward resource improvement; particularly the replanting of forests for their variously useful products (paper, wood, mushrooms, barks, and the many animals that are useful for their meat, ecological stability and eco-tourism). Another resource that would be ripe for profit and amenable to tourism are networks of canals. These are important as habitat for fish (for meat and as mosquito/fly control). Canals are important for their beneficial socio-cultural effects; as places to sit near, in front of small restaurants or bars for relaxation, and for romantic occasions, or for boating recreation. They are also wonderful urban air conditioners, as they provide evaporative cooling and can be shaded for greater effect. People who own property would be encouraged to grow vegetables for sale and they would be paid fair market value for the produce. The growth of urban produce would decrease reliance on produce from farms hundreds or thousands of miles away, as we have become accustomed to. One other area ripe for investment is energy production. Any person generating power, either from fuel/biomass powered generators, solar, or wind, could connect their system to the grid and receive payment for it. The point here is that GREG would be issued to the developers of natural products and resources for their products, and once issued those GREG notes could be spent in the local economy for other goods and services.
The initial printing of GREG notes will issue for sale as a fundraiser of U.S. Dollars to be used for the purchase of rights and capital goods in a suitable township in which to operate. Some aspects of a suitable market would be presently high local underemployment, local interest in revisiting appropriate zoning laws and land use ordinances, a good location for an exchange/storehouse and for investing in the creation of local markets. A campaign of education may be necessary for garnering local support.
Project GREG seeks to establish a money pool from which to draw on for urban reinvestment work as described above. The focus will be development of special zones within a city that promote community reawakening through increased social interaction; education initiatives; public markets; greater land use flexibility for the individual property owner; greater production of locally grown foods and locally produced goods; and increasing business activity that utilizes GREG notes. The sale of GREG will provide U.S. Dollars which will be used to purchase sites suitable for increased activity as outlined above.
The funds and talents made available through sales of GREG note, merchandise, and by coordinated promotion would be allocated for projects of economic, ecological, social, and regional viability. Funds raised would also provide a means of converting GREG back into U.S. currency when one wishes to travel outside the participating zones of exchange. Projects funded by GREG would be vetted according to their proposed means of generating revenue, real products, services, and technologies for economic growth within a proposed town, city, or region. Project viability would not only be measured in dollar cost or in potential revenue generation, but also in ability to engage the spirit of local activism
To ensure security and an easy to identify currency, GREG notes will have individual serial numbers, micro print, shadow images, subtle tone shifts and watermarks, and graphics intended to make malicious reproduction more difficult. We seek to raise the appeal of GREG notes through their reliable and visible method of valuation
The practical basis for a specialized local currency rests in the ever decreasing purchasing power of U.S.D. as can be observed in the rising price of goods across the board from food to fuel to building material. A currency that is specific to its market can attach its rate of exchange to real goods produced locally. The labor cost of producing those goods can be valued according to the needs of the local population, and the rate of exchange for U.S. Dollars and other currencies can be set according to their equivalent purchasing power against common goods and commodities such as electric power, milk, eggs, fuel, wood, steel, plastic, glass and aluminum. A localized form of currency, having value tied to actual production of local goods and commodities, allows the local population and region to expand industries according to their means of production and aspirations for economic growth. Furthermore, such a currency having value tied to real production will not be printed without the backing of real products for market. Essentially, the economic means for runaway inflation and speculation are removed from the system. Think of it, a system of money that values real production and does not deal in speculation. This system gives holders of its notes a firm acknowledgment that their note will retain purchasing power within its own market, and its exchange rate will vary only according to the price of commodities and real goods in the external markets. And where have those prices been going for decades?
GREG is not functional as of yet. It is a work in progress to be launched as soon as possible.
