Communities Printing Their own Money

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.' "