"UsuryFree Living" is the Alternative to "Living With Usury"

By Tom J. Kennedy

There was "Life Without Usury" and there will be 'Life Without Usury" again - in the not-too-distant future.

Debtors are beginning to realize that when they sign their name on the promissory note shoved across the desk of the creditor (banker) they are risking their assets and surrendering their power.
With a little research and re-education about modern money creation, more and debtors are awakening to the fact that the creditor (banker) is risking nothing because brand new money equivalent to the principal of any loan or mortgage is created by the click of a mouse after the promissory note is signed by the debtor.

Debtors are becoming aware that the creditor (banker) never creates the usury (interest) portion of any loan or mortgage. Adding a little common sense, debtors are quickly realizing that they are being conned by the creditor (banker) to sign an impossible contract when they request loans and/or mortgages.

Our orthodox, economic system of usury-based, debt money has been faltering and failing at a rapid rate as we progress into this 21st century. Awakened debtors know that the curent economic chaos is more by design than by accident.

Astute debtors often ask: "How can we change the paradigm when the banking cartel has their JUSTUS court system to protect their selfish and greedy interests?" Usuryfree creatives from all over the world are answering that question by implementing creative economic strategies that are facilitating the re-birth and regeneration of local communities.

While the usurers and their ilk laud return on investment as the ultimate goal, usuryfree prosperity is trumping their usury greed by promoting the concept of "shopping locally" and using a usuryfree community currency as a complement to their diminishing amounts of federal cash.

Indeed, the shift towards usuryfree living is well underway. While the legitimacy of the orthodox, economic system of usury-based, debt money is crumbling, the launch of usuryfree community currencies is happening in countless communities and all who choose to participate are benefitting. In countries all over the world, debtors are doubling as active, usuryfree creatives, rising up and embracing the usuryfree community currency movement as the last, best hope to save ourselves from forever becoming economic slaves to the banking cartel's vision of their New World Order, cashless society - where an electronic, usury-based currency rules supreme and tracks every transaction of every consumer on planet earth.

The birthing process of this n ew era or peace, prosperity and abundance for everyone on planet earth has not been easy. However, the Occupy Movement that commenced in the fall of 2011, has accelerated the awareness of debtors to the real possibility of experiencing usuryfree living in this incarnation.

It was during the deep recession of the early 1980's that these modern models of usuryfree bartering/trading emerged. Michael Linton was the visionary who created the usuryfree LETS (Local Employment Trading System) software in the darkest days of that 1980's recession. Michael Linton lived in the Comox Valley, in the Courtenay area of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. John "The Engineer" Turmel then financed the development and distribution of the usuryfree LETS software.

When the usuryfree, LETS software was fully operational, people (debtors) living in the local community of Comox Valley, were invited to share their contact details complete with a listing of "offers" and "requests." A database was created and participants were invited to negotiate trades using a concept of barter currency referred to as "greendollars." Participants phoned in their trades to a local office and a (sysop) system operator transcribed the trades from the answering machine to the usuryfree LETS software.

Every month the participants were mailed a complete statement of their "sales" and 'purchases" and a final balance. This statement resembled a typical bank statement of "credits" and "debits" and the only difference being that there was no usury (interest) exacted on negative balances and there was no usury (interest) paid on positive balances. Each month, the local office debited the account of each participant a small fee in "greendollars" to pay a fair wage to the sysop and to cover any office expenses.

Over the past 30 years the original model of the usuryfree LETS software has morphed so that there are now various hybrid models functioning in local communities all over the world. Evidence suggests that the most popular model of usuryfree banking software is the usuryfree, time currency model. Our pick of the longest running and most effective trading model of usuryfree banking is Ithaca Hours which was launched in Ithaca, New York in 1991 by the visionary, Paul Glover.

More recently, Wayne Walton has been the pioneering activist responsible for launching Mountain Hours in Summit County, Colorado while motivating other small communities to do likewise. Wayne Walton offers an abundance of helpful video clips and other resources for any usuryfree creatives who are motivated to launch a usuryfree time currency in their respective local communities.

Over the years, various small communities have launched usuryfree, time currencies, but it seems that until the present time, there was not sufficient economic pain being experienced by debtors to motivate them to change their shopping habits. For example, in 2004, Tamworth Hours were birthed in rural, eastern Ontario, but after four years the project was shelved because local consumers preferred to drive to urban centres (Kingston, Napanee, Belleville, Ontario) thinking they would save a few pennies by spending their money with the giant, trans-national, retail corporations - rather then being committed to supporting local entrepreneurs who were willing to negotiate trades/exchanges and acccept a percentage of Tamworth Hours with a percentage of federal dollars for the purchase of products and/or services.

Now in 2012, the economic models are transforming and since more debtors are awakening and experiencing higher degrees of economic pain, they seem more motivated to become locavores and support localization and the re-building of local community.

Re-building community is becoming part of the revised, economic DNA and this is especially evident in Greece where the usuryfree community currency movement has been blossoming and thriving after their orthodox, economic model of usury-based, debt money collapsed in 2011. Readers are invited to read and re-read these recently published articles that reveal how Greek communities are surviving within the usuryfree community currency movement.

(a) Modern Greeks Return To Ancient System Of Barter: http://usuryfree.blogspot.ca/2012/03/modern-greeks-return-to-ancient-system.html
(b) Greeks Adopt Alternative Currencies as Economy Implodes: http://usuryfree.blogspot.ca/2012/03/greeks-adopt-alternative-currencies-as.html
(c) Greece develops cashless, Euro-free currency in tight economy: http://usuryfree.blogspot.ca/2012/03/greece-develops-cashless-euro-free.html

Indeed, there is an alternative to competitive, monopoly capitalism and that alternative is co-operative, usuryfree living where everyone who chooses to participate experiences peace, prosperity and abundance.

Early in 2012, UsuryFree Radio surfaced to foster and promote the usuryfree resolution which simply stated is to live usuryfree. Wayne Walton was instrumental in launching weekly, UsuryFree Radio with George Whitehurst from 11:00 AM until 12:00 NOON every Wednesday.

Indeed, it is more empowering for debtors to foster and promote the usuryfree resolution rather than fighting a nousury revolution. The ultimate goal is to invite the greatest numbers of local consumers and the best manner of doing this is to invite municipalities to implement The Innovative Proposal. Such action would immediately resonate with every homeowner and business owner in any municipality, who is compelled to pay property taxes to his/her local municipal government.

The key question is: "Which municipality (Canada, USA or elsewhere) will lead the way and take immediate action to implement a usuryfree, time currency?" I daresay that the municipality that leads the way will quickly alter the local, economic DNA and every local homeowner and business owner will reap the benefits. Then other municipalities will beat a path to their door asking: "What are you doing and how are you doing it?" In fact, there is quite likely a business opportunity here for a municipality to market the concept to other municipalities for fair financial gain.

The pioneering, usuryfree creatives are an unstoppable force and they extend an open invitation to debtors (individuals, families, businesses, all levels of government and countries) to familiarize themselves with the usuryfree, community currency movement as it has the power and potential to usher in a new age of usuryfree living so that every debtor will have the opportunity to experience 'peace and plenty' by 2020 - a Buckminster Fuller prophecised in the mid-20th Century.

Readers are invited to review the history of UsuryFree Day and Week from November 13th to 19th every year since 2005 by searching for "UsuryFree Day and/or WeeK" at any search engine. Likewise, usuryfree creatives everywhere are invited to plan local events to celebrate the forthcoming Eighth Annual UsuryFree Week from November 13th to 19th, 2012.