And in an echo of the Great Depression, businesses in some Piedmont counties are even resurrecting a local paper currency. Pegged to the dollar, it's designed to keep money in the community.Because I'm in the middle of The Forgotten Man, recommended to me by Barry as an outstanding read on the Great Depression (and living up to the recommendation), this story on brokered bartering caught my eye in today's Charlotte Observer. But we're not in a depression, they keep telling us. No. Not yet.
As for the bartering:
Organizers say new sign-ups have tripled in recent months.
“When we first started out we had to explain that it can be a lifeboat in times of economic uncertainty or instability,” Donovan says. “But we don't have to explain that anymore.”
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