http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-04-05-scrip_N.htm
I found this article to be really very interesting. Written by Marisol Bello, I found this article to be short and concise while still being able to share the story of communities with their own currencies. I was surprised that I have never heard of this happening before because, to me at least, it's something I want to know about and learn more about. Communities, such as one mentioned in the article from Mass. with their currency, called "BerkShares," was created all the way back in 2006. I wish this topic got more coverage from other main stream media sources, because I think it shows how some communities are dealing with the economy crisis and how they keep their local businesses thriving. I had no idea anything like this was even legal, so seeing this article and how so many places around the country are doing this really opened my eyes.
I feel like if our town did this, it would really encourage people to spend their money locally and help support our community while the rest of the country is going through an economic. Overall, from this article at least, I get the impression that these new types of currency should be more widespread. There seems to be no real downside besides the restrictions the currency hold (you cannot spend the money anywhere outside of the town where they were made for). Overall however, the currency is cheap to obtain, "Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the currency," and they help both the consumers and the store owners out, " 'it reinforces the message that having more control of the economy in local hands can help you cushion yourself from the blows of the marketplace.' "
Monday, April 6, 2009
Making Ends Meet...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/garden/02depression.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc&_r=1
This article, written by Joyce Walder, was really interesting to me. Walder writes about the lives of a few random, completely average, people during the Great Depression. Each person interviewed tells of their life and there are so many small, random, interesting stories thrown in, it make’s what they’re talking about come to life. Especially with the state we are in now, people are warning of another Depression-like era for the US. These stories, of how these people and their families survived, tell of things I can’t even imagine happening in the present day. They all talk about making things themselves, recycling and reusing everything, from old towels to parts of chickens usually thrown out. Today, I can’t imagine a majority of the US’s population knitting their own socks, or leaving food on their door steps for people passing through, as one story tells of.
This article, or rather more of a collection of stories, makes me feel conflicted about our present situation. On one hand, it is reassuring to hear of people surviving a situation that sounds at least worse than where we are right now. Then again, it worries me that I can’t really see anyone I have known to be as thrifty as them, to recycle everything and accept that they have lost so much. I feel like if things do get as bad as they were back then, it will be more difficult to get things back up, because most people now are so accustomed to not having to cut corners or deny themselves, like the people in these stories had to do. These stories were really interesting and offered a great insight to what life was really like back then, everyone had their own little story to share that made them different, yet still similar, to the other’s interviewed.
This article, written by Joyce Walder, was really interesting to me. Walder writes about the lives of a few random, completely average, people during the Great Depression. Each person interviewed tells of their life and there are so many small, random, interesting stories thrown in, it make’s what they’re talking about come to life. Especially with the state we are in now, people are warning of another Depression-like era for the US. These stories, of how these people and their families survived, tell of things I can’t even imagine happening in the present day. They all talk about making things themselves, recycling and reusing everything, from old towels to parts of chickens usually thrown out. Today, I can’t imagine a majority of the US’s population knitting their own socks, or leaving food on their door steps for people passing through, as one story tells of.
This article, or rather more of a collection of stories, makes me feel conflicted about our present situation. On one hand, it is reassuring to hear of people surviving a situation that sounds at least worse than where we are right now. Then again, it worries me that I can’t really see anyone I have known to be as thrifty as them, to recycle everything and accept that they have lost so much. I feel like if things do get as bad as they were back then, it will be more difficult to get things back up, because most people now are so accustomed to not having to cut corners or deny themselves, like the people in these stories had to do. These stories were really interesting and offered a great insight to what life was really like back then, everyone had their own little story to share that made them different, yet still similar, to the other’s interviewed.
The Orphans of Ireland
http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/the-orphans-of-ireland/
In this opinion piece written by Timothy Egan he writes openly about how Ireland, a country forgotten by many, is suffering greatly in the economics department. I was immediately drawn to this article because many of my ancestors were Irish and one day I hope to visit there. Egan writes about how Ireland has been going through quite a rollercoaster ride in the recent years, going from poverty to wealth in the span of a bit over a decade. As Egan writes, “If the rush to riches was very un-Irish, this country is now back to something more familiar — a state of misery.” I have to say, I myself have excluded Ireland when thinking about how economic troubles are affecting the world. Mainly I think everyone just thinks of the US, China and perhaps England when discussing anything about world troubles. This OP-ED, however, goes to a place that we may not think of, but is hurting just the same. It was also very interesting to read about how Ireland’s people have become wealthy almost overnight, buying nice apartments and driving nice cars when a few years prior, as one comment on this article said, “A mere 15 years ago I was shocked to see children in downtown Dublin begging, “pennies, pennies,” unlike the capital cities of the rest of western Europe. More recently, I was amazed to see how wealthy Irish people suddenly seemed…”
Overall, this article really shocked me, and made me sad. Ireland has been through tough times over the past centuries, with religious troubles, famines and now this. If I had not read this OP-ED I would still be unaware of how our economic troubles are spreading to places around the world, places everyone thought could, “…never fall off those cliffs into the sea; a nation of barely 4 million people could defy gravity.”
In this opinion piece written by Timothy Egan he writes openly about how Ireland, a country forgotten by many, is suffering greatly in the economics department. I was immediately drawn to this article because many of my ancestors were Irish and one day I hope to visit there. Egan writes about how Ireland has been going through quite a rollercoaster ride in the recent years, going from poverty to wealth in the span of a bit over a decade. As Egan writes, “If the rush to riches was very un-Irish, this country is now back to something more familiar — a state of misery.” I have to say, I myself have excluded Ireland when thinking about how economic troubles are affecting the world. Mainly I think everyone just thinks of the US, China and perhaps England when discussing anything about world troubles. This OP-ED, however, goes to a place that we may not think of, but is hurting just the same. It was also very interesting to read about how Ireland’s people have become wealthy almost overnight, buying nice apartments and driving nice cars when a few years prior, as one comment on this article said, “A mere 15 years ago I was shocked to see children in downtown Dublin begging, “pennies, pennies,” unlike the capital cities of the rest of western Europe. More recently, I was amazed to see how wealthy Irish people suddenly seemed…”
Overall, this article really shocked me, and made me sad. Ireland has been through tough times over the past centuries, with religious troubles, famines and now this. If I had not read this OP-ED I would still be unaware of how our economic troubles are spreading to places around the world, places everyone thought could, “…never fall off those cliffs into the sea; a nation of barely 4 million people could defy gravity.”
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