An Exeter Pound: the Positive Money campaign comes to Transition Exeter: Thurs 27th November

The basic question of 'what is money' seems to confound most economists - but a recent look at the question challenges the assumptions:
Futures Forum: An Exeter Pound: What came first: money or debt? ......... David Graeber's "Debt: The First 5000 Years"

Last month, Transition Exeter invited the Positive Money campaign to present their take on what money is all about:
Futures Forum: An Exeter Pound: "97% Owned": Positive Money campaign film: showing Tues 7th October

And this month, Positive Money will be back to propose what could be done:

Positive Money

Ben Dyson, will speak about the Positive Money campaign.

Thursday November 27th / University of Exeter Queens Building, Lecture Theatre 1 / 6:30pm

Most of our money supply at present comes from bank lending.  Ben Dyson, a great speaker, shows how money can be reformed, created for public benefit and debt free, and what profound changes this could make to our economy, including making a sustainable society possible.  For anyone who distrusts the banks' power over what money is spent on and how much, this offers an alternative vision; one for which the legislation exists and the campaign has already begun.

Organized by Series for Economic Exploration in partnership with Transition Exeter.

Transition Exeter November 2014 Newsletter

Here's a little more about the Positive Money campaign:

A campaign to fix fundamental flaws in the banking system and make money and banking stable, sustainable, productive and fair.

Money and banking is at the root of most of our social and economic problems. The global economy currently runs on a system called ‘fractional reserve banking’. This system allows banks to profit enormously from creating new money, causing huge recessions and piling incredible amounts of debt upon the ordinary people. It is the main reason why:

* The average UK adult owes £29,918 (including mortgages) – 126% of the average salary
* 15% of the average family’s income will be spent on interest on this debt
* Government debt now adds up to £32,730 for every worker in the UK, costing every household a further £1,890 in interest each year
* In 1960, a house would cost 3.6 times the average yearly wage, in 2010, a house would now cost 9.8 times the average yearly wage.

It is the main reason why the banks had to be bailed out by the taxpayer.

This system of banking is unstable, unsustainable, unproductive and unfair.

But it doesn’t have to be like this, we can fix it, and we need to fix it now. In order for us to really move society forward in the 21st Century, we need a systemic monetary reform to move away from the fractional reserve banking system that is holding the economy and society back, and move to something that works - something that is stable, sustainable, productive and fair.

Positive Money is not anti-banks, or anti-bankers. We believe that money and banking can help society and unlock our productive potential – but not if the foundations of the economy are fatally flawed. We want to make money and banking constructive, not destructive, and positive, not negative. And we need you to get involved.

Money and banking is at the root of most of our social and economic problems. The global economy currently runs on a system called ‘fractional reserve banking’. This system allows banks to profit enormously from creating new money, causing huge recessions and piling incredible amounts of debt upon the ordinary people.

Positive Money | Campaign | False Economy

As this film says: 'Not many economists can explain what money is'... and 'if everyone paid off their debts, then the whole system would collapse':



Is Money at the root of our big economic and social problems? (From Enough is Enough) - YouTube

This is the Positive Money website:
Could These 3 Simple Changes to Banking Fix the Economy?

Although, others are not so sure:
Why I disagree with Martin Wolf and Positive Money « PRIME ECONOMICS
Stumbling and Mumbling: What's wrong with positive money?
.
.
.