> When you list your offers in the bi-monthly Kootenay Barter Bulletin, you are given four HOURS worth $40. This is the way we slowly get our money into circulation. It is not money backed by gold or debt. It is backed by our own production.
But isn't that exactly debt? They give out currency which may or may not be backed by any available work at the time of redeeming.
I think an MMT framing works well here. They give you $40. You're not explicitly required to list in the bulletin, but presumably for practical purposes you do need to be in the bulletin to participate in this economy. So you're effectively taxed $6 per six months to continue participating in this economy.
So it is a kind of debt obligation but one that's voluntary, like a tax you can choose to forgo.
It reminds me a lot of Warren Mosler's Buckaroo experiment; they give you the money, then tax you, and your need to pay the tax causes you to sell labor denominated in that currency. (I'm having trouble finding a text source for this, but they described it in an interview here https://youtube.com/watch?v=LCUPBpSiISU)
But isn't that exactly debt? They give out currency which may or may not be backed by any available work at the time of redeeming.