A newsletter of simple ideas #33 -- January 2001

multiLETS--Economy Organized Naturally

In the last two RS articles, we touched on what a LETSystem was and how it operated in a community. Assuming you've gotten the hang of those two, I go on in this edition to briefly explain how the system can naturally organize around whatever groups or communities people normally congregate in. This article is somewhat of a departure from the normal Reasonably Simple article in that it isn't particularly grounded in what you can do to simplify your life. It's also a bit more abstract that most articles. However, I think it's important for people to see the "bigger picture" that's possible with this reasonably simple, yet very powerful, idea called LETS.

To start out, let me first create a few images in your mind. First, a registry in a LETSystem is like a bank. People open accounts on the registry, and it keeps track of what their current balance is and sends out statements of activity. It covers its costs by charging transaction fees and so forth (though unlike a bank, it's not a LETSystem if the registry is set up to make a profit; the registry charges fees based on the cost of the service it provides). That's the first image of the registry.

The second image is like that of the Internet. A LETSystem registry is like an Internet Service Provider (ISP). A particular ISP may have several people with accounts there. There may be multiple ISPs in any given area. The same is so with LETS. I have created the King County LETSystem Registry (kcLETS). That doesn't mean that I'm "in charge" of King County LETS. Someone else could come along and create the "Greater Seattle LETS Registry" and offer similar services. And just like picking your ISP, you could choose which registry has the best service for the lowest price (or whatever criteria you want to use to make that decision).

Also like the internet, people can have multiple accounts in multiple currencies. Thus, on kcLETS there is currently one currency: Seattle LETS Dollars (L$). Anyone who takes an account on the kcLETS registry gets a L$ account.

But let's say you live and work in Bellevue, and rarely brave the traffic-congested bridges to Seattle, so you'd like to trade with folks specifically in Bellevue. Great! You contact kcLETS (or your favorite registry), and say "I'd like to have a Bellevue-only currency." You say that you want the currency to be called "Bellevue Bucks" or "B$". A new currency is created on the registry, and you become the first account holder in the currency.

Or say you've got a group of friends that does favors for each other. For example, in college, I lived in a dorm called "Edens Hall" and for the sake of example, we'll assume that there is a group of 10 of my college buddies who live nearby and have different skills that we each use to help out the others. I could create "Garden of Edens Dollars" or "GE$". The ten of us could be the only people to use this very small currency system to keep track of who's been helping out whom. If Julann fixes my dripping faucet, I could pay her the going rate for plumbers (in GE$, of course). She could spend that paying folks to tend her garden while she's away on vacation.

But getting back to the idea of multiple accounts on multiple systems, it's like having several different email accounts. I might have a work email account, and a home email account, and a "junk mail" email account (for responding to things that I think might sign me up for spam). And in the example above, I personally would use the Seattle LETS dollars and the Garden of Edens Dollars, but would have no use for Bellevue Bucks, since I rarely get to Bellevue. Someone who works in Bellevue and lives in Seattle, but who never lived in Edens Hall, might sign up for L$ and B$ but not for GE$.

And that's what a multiLETS is: A network of different registries; each registry having one or more currencies that people can take out an account on. Each currency would be created for a specific (or general) purpose. Those who felt they could use it could sign up for it, and those who didn't wouldn't. It is a system that allows economy to organize along the same lines as individuals organize.

Just to contrast this, there are folks in Washington, D.C., who can make decisions that affect how I can and can't use my federal dollars. Large companies based in other states or overseas can drain my neighborhood of cash by advertising great sales and moving merchandise. In federal money, there's no sense of natural organization or groupings in the economy. It's a vast world-wide undifferentiated system. But what could General Motors do with Bellevue Bucks? Just about nothing (unless they needed to hire some contractors to fix up a dealership in Bellevue).

That's not to say that LETSystems can't be used on a worldwide scale, either, but that's another topic. My point is simply to show that the federal money system has no way of recognizing how people actually associate with each other. A multiLETS does nothing BUT recognize how people actually associate with each other.

And that's about enough about this. You may have found this interesting but not particularly applicable to your life. That's okay--because this article was more for those who are concerned about sustainable economics, or the larger questions about money and wealth and power and poverty. Gotta throw those folks a bone sometimes, too. (In fact, I am one of those folks, and I suspect many of my readers are concerned about those bigger-picture ideas too.) If you are one of these folks and you have questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you. See the "Editor's Notes" section for contact information. If not, stay tuned for next month's edition.

Quote of the Month

One is happy as a result of one's own efforts--once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness--simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and, above all, a clear conscience.

--George Sand

Editor's Notes

It is currently September 2001 but I'm only just posting the January 2001 Reasonably Simple. My intention is that during 2001, I will write and post a new article about every other week, so that by the end of the year, I'll be current again. I'd appreciate suggestions, guest writers, or anything else that could help me step up production this year.

You can contact me with your submissions, suggestions, or comments at:

Michael J. Coffey
PO Box 23221
Seattle, WA 98102
(206) 522-6224

michaelc@ardeacoaching.com

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