Non specie money in the United States has a rich and varied history
Labor Note 1897
The Labor Exchange movement began in Kansas by G. B. De Bernardi, in response to the first widespread industrial depression in America. Because there were very few social programs to help displaced people, the economic depression was hard felt. Labor Exchange proponents believed the monetary system was unfair. They established warehouses through the West, PA, and Ohio where a person could deposit the products of his labor (wheat, corn, etc.) or borrow against a land holding without the risk of forclosure. In return for the deposit, members were given Labor Exchange notes that could be redeemed for goods at the warehouse. The Spanish-American War in 1898 brought the US out of the industrial depression and the Labor Exchange movement declined.
I think that there was grange money as well??
ReplyDeleteAnd S&H green stamps.
ReplyDeleteAnd war never brings anyone out of industrial depression. That is a myth. Productivity brings you out of depression. Productivity paid for by borrowing has the opposite effect. In almost every case in human history, war brings about economic ruin for the participants on both sides. This is especially true for war in the industrial age where war production requires enormous resources that the nation doesn't have and must borrow. The exception is where the winners get to loot the losers (think Troy).