http://www.timebucks.org/manifesto.asp
My Soapbox
You'd think that the output of all our work and technology should've improved the quality of our lives more than it has. Why do we pursue ever-increasing amounts of wealth even after our basic needs have been met rather than simply enjoying the money that we have? How is it possible that each laborer is more productive in the history of the world, yet two parents can work full time and still not have enough money to pay for their children’s day care and rent? Why are we becoming ever more isolated from our communities? Why do we have less free time instead ofmore? Shouldn’t the opposite be happening as we continue to become more efficient and produce more? Something is wrong.
The answer lies in the nature of money itself. Not the physical money that we touch, but the monetary system. Our money system, including the way money is issued and removed from our economy, is a stronger force than even religon in the way that it influences our behavior. Think about it. How many people do you know act more in align with their moral convictions than with the culture that surrounding the way we earn and spend money? Money must be a powerful influence to compete with notions of eternal life or ecstatic bliss. Money drives us to act the way we do towards each other and how we interact with the world around us. It even defines the nature of our interactions with each other and shapes our attitudes. It defines who we are and provides us with a measure of success relative to our neighbors.
Problems with Money
Sadly, our monetary system is poorly designed to bring about the type of world that most of us want. It has evolved to meet the needs of another time and just isn't designed to create the highest quality of life for those who use it. We haven’t figured out what we want from our monetary system. We haven’t analyzed the nature of our transactions and the consequences that they bring. We’ve accepted repercussions of our own invention as if it were a fundamental law of nature. We haven’t stopped to think if there could be a better way. We’ve enslaved ourselves with our own system.
One of the major problems with our monetary system is that it creates an artificially scarce money supply. Money is created when we get a loan from a bank. By the very nature of money, there isn’t enough money in circulation to cover the debt that created it. IF you wonder why we don't have enough--it's because we made it that way!
More at the site:
http://www.timebucks.org/manifesto.asp