The budgets of local authorities are being cut while the needs of their populations remain the same. In this difficult financial environment, borrowing is rising. UK local authorities owed £81.8bn in the financial year 2011-12, costing hundreds of millions in interest on repayments.

However, borrowing on the money market is not going to do anything for the local economy. Faced with this reality, some councils are discovering that the use of local currencies offers an alternative to more cuts or debt.

Mayor Georg Moosbrugger from the Austrian village of Langenegg, which issues its own Talente currency, puts it best when he says: "Wherever the money rolls, there it has an effect. Local money doesn't roll very far and so it can get to work in my area."

The community council can decide which local taxes may be paid in local currency to subsidise the rural economy, keep purchasing power in the region and support cultural and educational organisations as well as solar energy generation. Social enterprises also accept local money in payment for local food, arts and crafts and holiday lets.

In Britain, local businesses in Brixton and Bristol can pay their rates in local pounds. The local authority uses this income to pay its employees, who then spend it with local businesses. The mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, takes 100% of his salary in Bristol Pounds (₤B) and the chief executive accepts ₤5,000 of her salary in "local". The city also earns local currency from market traders who use their ₤B earnings to pay their pitch fees.

Now 50 Lambeth council employees even receive some of their wages in Brixton Pounds through the payroll and so increase spending in the local economy. Leader of Lambeth council, Lib Peck, says the Brixton Pound "has proved to be a really good way to encourage people to think and act locally. It encourages people to shop locally, supports our local businesses and fosters an even greater sense of local pride."

The Brixton and Bristol Pounds are run by not-for-profit community interest companies, which helps ensure that the local currency is run in the public interest.

In times of austerity, cities want to attract employers and tourists, but have little cash for marketing. International media coverage of the Brixton and Bristol Pound launches was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in advertising, and promoted their vibrant and entrepreneurial communities.

The city of Nantes, France has been even more ambitious. Citizens and businesses will soon be able to earn local currency and use it to offer goods and services, pay for bus tickets, car parking and after-school activities and pay their rates.

A lot of the pioneering work has already been done. The New Economics Foundation, Tudor Trust, Doen Foundation and Qoin have supported the Brixton and Bristol Pound teams to develop the technology for both e-payments and for circulating notes with full security features.

The potential of local currencies as an innovative response to austerity and recession is even becoming recognised at European level. A European Union funded project Community Currencies in Action is now helping the public sector to understand the purpose and function of local currencies through a series of pilot projects. They have also established the legal basis for local currencies with the Financial Services Authority. Twenty other UK authorities have shown a serious interest and a number are currently developing local projects.

Professor Jem Bendell of the University of Cumbria, which offers training for local authorities and others in how to create and scale local currencies, says: "There is a need to experiment with new systems, and replicate what works."

In the Great Depression of the 1930s many local authorities created their own currencies to help put people back to work. They were eventually closed down by central banks and central governments. But could a more enlightened policy like this work today? Taking this view, local authorities could lead the economic revival of Britain, and some councils are already showing the way.

John Rogers offers consulting and training about local currencies.

No, this is a common misconception.  Only those engaged as a business in mining and then converting the BTC to fiat are money transmitters.

Okay, I've been reading through these posts and the PM, but can someone explain to me the benefit of going through the IPO versus keeping shares as they are? If we're getting paid the same either way, why switch over to the IPO arrangement?

Is the only benefit that there's no fee to sell my shares to someone else? Since I don't plan on doing that, is there another benefit worth setting up the accounts and transferring to the IPO? I'm honestly asking; no sarcasm here.

I'm not saying it can't work. 180 GHZ for 85 Bitcoins.

85/.5 =  170 shares

180/170 = 1.059 MHZ

But that's if you do what you say you will without a legal contract.

Honestly there is a good chance you could get your money back by contacting his parents.

This boy is a teen, he most likely lives with his parents. Inform them what happend, they ask him, he admits and there is a good chance they are going to pay.

Of course then comes step two. Who is going to accept the moniez? Maybe an escrow? Johnk?

And, who owns which shares?

JMHO

Mining service is back online again.

I am working on getting backup pools in the client, multiple mining servers, and some other things that will help.

Ouch when difficulty just hit 19 million. The block eruptor is now making just $0.75 a day (0.0078btc) at current prices. Forecast 1 year from today now is to just make $90 profit in total if the price remains around $100/btc.  This means in 12 months from today this usb stick will not even have mined 1 btc, despite costing 2btc+, with difficulty rises of 30% a month or more.

These are turning into a far worse deal quicker than i imagined!

M

Sorry, but you are not getting the point...

AM shares ROI is about 2.5years atm but people still go crazy buying them... ...blades @50BTC and so on.................
I repeat you are buying HARDWARE anyway... if you have time, you could re-sell it on ebay or to a collectioner in one year maybe....

regards!

Simply use backup pools and the problem doesn't exist ... it's been well known for a VERY LONG TIME ... so if software STILL doesn't have it ... use something written in the last ... 18-24 months that does ...

The pool is completly offline?!

I just want to underline that you are buying HARDWARE, then you could see @ daily income as a dividend............  2x usb miners means DAILY the weekly dividend of one AM share I think..

+10