An Interim Solution - Print Local Currencies

As the US dollar spirals its way into oblivion, we watch and wonder - what the heck can we do?

For some background reading on local currencies, gander at these two links:
http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/local_currencies/currency_groups.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency

Now, if I were governor of say California, I would do two things in this economic crisis:
1. create a new state-based currency and call it something like Cali-Dollars or California Reserve Notes. 2. disburse funds to needy homeowners in order to make mortgage payments. We must admit - people are having trouble keeping their homes. What's the first thing we did in our American economic crisis? Bail out the banks - so we obviously care about them. Only later did we make token efforts toward the consumer/producer. This would 'kill two birds' with one stone: we would be helping the banks by getting their mortgage payments to them - and - we would be helping the consumer/producer by providing a much needed assistance.

Free money? Communism? Americans do what we need to do to get the job done.

I admit, this cannot go on forever (making house payments for the needy), but what else can we do in this dark hour? Repo the home? Kick people into the street? That solves nothing.

I suggest we try it for six months. If things don't improve after that, we can consider doing it again or something else .. Californians are somewhat proud like Texans. They have a state that rivals other countries. They can afford this experiment. They need this experiment. Let's try it. What's the worst that could happen? The state economy spirals faster into oblivion? An unlikely consequence of steps one and two above.

I don't write unless I'm inspired. Last night I had a dream where I was a minor official in California of an affluent but economic stressed community (pick a city). We had a town-hall meeting. I'm not much of a public speaker but there I was - putting it to the people. They decided on a local currency and disbursement to the needy. It was a wonderful feeling - being a part of positive change.

I have written before about possibly being 'indicator man' (my life mirroring the world situation). And are we in deep if my life is any indication. Unemployed and unqualified to receive any kind of assistance, cast out by family, blacklisted by a previous major employer, belittled by wife,.. I'm screwed and if that's any indication, we're all screwed.

But we dug the hole (with greed and debt) and so the only way out is with their opposites. Let's start - there's plenty of shovels to go around..