Community Created Humboldt/Jan 23 10/Economic Self-Sufficiency

The following are proceedings from a breakout group at the Community Created Humboldt event on January 23rd, 2010.

• economic resilience; increasing energy prices
• how to develop enterprises that provide higher wages and standard of living
• how to improve standard of living without higher wages
• community supported ag—promote
• need parkland; foodscapes
• land bank: state sets up bank and loans and runs on interest
• mortgage foreclosures: promote counseling
• promote credit unions
• financial education in schools
• consumer credit association free workshops
• local credit cards/credit exchange;
• Ithaca dollar is labor-based
• gift economy; community functions as extended family; generalized reciprocity

Given the current economic crisis and deflating dollar, how to protect ourselves as a community and as individuals from current and anticipated financial/economic problems.

• Deflating dollar
• Rising foreclosures
• Job loss and government funding cutbacks
• Declining credit availability to small business and individuals

• Promote banking with local credit unions to keep capital local
• Investigate extent of community foreclosure problem and how to alleviate locally
• Set up/promote local credit exchange or currency that is silver-backed.
• Promote neighborhood/community investment groups to provide private capital via personal (non-bank) loans
• Set up programs to teach students the basics of managing money, checkbooks, investing, etc.
• Investigate setting up local credit cards to keep capital local
• Set up neighborhood groups to plan for providing basic needs in case of local disaster (e.g., earthquake, tsunami)
• Promote investment in hard/tangible assets (food, emergency medical kits, precious metals, equipment, etc.) that will inflate in value over time
• Investigate “gifting” programs as way of helping neighbors and changing community ethic (e.g. where community members contribute their expertise freely to others in need, such as the old house-raising concept)………extended volunteering