>From Jed,
... > This sounds like money that dare not speak its name. > I am having difficulty determining the difference between > these credits and today's money in bank accounts, plus a > line of credit allowing you to run a deficit. By all means Dare to Speak its name! Please keep in mind the fact that my current Virtual Currency conjecture is a work-in-progress. I'm actively asking for Vort input to see if major flaws can be found in ways that could possibly render such a concept useless as an alternative economic system. In the meantime, I'm beginning to learn that such a Virtual Currency system (and similar systems) have actually been pondered by others long before me. This is encouraging news. In Virtual Currency's defense, it seems to me that the only way such a revised system would have a fighting chance of actually being implemented is if it allows individuals to both behave and manage their personal "credit" stash aka "money" in ways they are already familiar with. IOW, as far as I'm concerned there is no inherent problem in assuming everyone continues to perceive the accumulation of credits "credits" as the equivalent of accumulating "cash." The fact is that the accumulation of credit IS essentially being managed in the same way. Again, the difference is subtle. To recap, the Virtual Cash system no longer involves the transfer of "credits" between a seller and a customer. The transfer is actually being registered with Computer Central - CC, which is incidentally keeping track of the overall health of the entire economy. While in most cases transactions between a seller and a customer typically involves the same amount of credits going into CC as are going out from CC, a major advantage is that this does NOT always have to be the case - not in every circumstance. There can be mitigating situations. This fact is absolutely crucial in understanding the potential advantages the revised economic system might be able to offer society. Again, I bring the reader back to my original example where I cite a person with insufficient credits in his bank account with an ailing back who desperately needs the services of a chiropractor. It's not a problem under a Virtual Currency system. The customer can still get his back worked on and he will not go into credit debt. The worse that can happen is that his credit account drops to zero. I would propose that his credit account will never go negative, only virtually negative. Virtual negative credit amounts under such situations do NOT have to be paid back. That would help give the ailing worker additional incentive to get back on his feet and start working at a useful service ASAP. Meanwhile, CC has registered the chiropractic transaction between the customer and the chiropractor. The chiropractor automatically get's his customary fee, complements from the virtual coffers of CC. BTW, I don't think such a system is bad economics, or inflationary, nor do I think such a system is essentially the equivalent of generating counterfeit money. If anything, I think such a system would allow the overall economic system to remain healthier than what it would be forced to do under the current monetary system. Currently the chiropractor might not be able to perform his badly needed services because the customer doesn't have sufficient insurance and/or couldn't personally pay for the service out of his own bank account. Under the current monetary system BOTH the patient and the chiropractor are more likely to end up suffering due to loss of essential income on the chiropractor's part, and because no essential back healing services had been rendered to the ailing customer. As far as running up deficits are concerned as Jed brought up... to be honest, I'm not yet sure. Can a Virtual Currency system effectively work where debt can still be accumulated, or would the accumulation of credit debt be impossible. If credit debt is impossible would that make the implementation of a Virtual Currency system completely impractical??? Keep in mind the fact that most of us will probably continue to want to buy homes. For the vast majority of us purchasing a home involves taking out a mortgage, and that typically involves a massive amount of debt that can last 10, 15, to 30 years. Can a Virtual Currency system effectively manage such forms "debt without crashing the system???" Can such debt be virtualized as well? Indeed, it's a tricky issue. The bottom line: Virtual Currency can NOT make something out of nothing. For Virtual Currency to be effective is would HAVE to deal with the physical reality of all situations, and that would mean having to deal with the cost of purchasing all the necessary raw materials and the labor that go into building homes. Potentially, that's a lot of bubblegum! So, Jed, in response to your question, I'm still pondering the ramifications. Film at eleven! ;-) Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
