How the Unemployment Problem Can Be Reversed
Almost Instantly
There is a very simple and fast approach to end
the unemployment problem for ever. No special
government programs, bailouts or official
currency is needed. Sounds farfetched? It
probably does, unless you read this article in
its entirety.
The U.S., not to
mention most other countries, has an increasing
unemployment problem which, if not stopped and
reversed, will probably sink this country and
others into an economic depression bigger than
the historical Great Depression.
Different ideas
have been implemented or proposed in order to
reverse this situation and have failed due to
bureaucracy, politics or greedy interests.
However a simple alternative to the monetary
system we have in place could turn this problem
around completely without having to wait for
present laws to turn in favor of a growing
employment force, not just here in the United
States but worldwide as well. In order to do
this it is necessary to think outside the box.
The following
idea may seem radical/new however it has been
done before in different times/locations and is
still been done today in isolated ways and in
different forms, but in small scales. That’s why
it’s not been noticed before or thought about as
a way to create employment almost from thin air.
In a much larger scale and in its most common
form we know it as bartering or exchange of
goods/services, however this is totally brand
new approach to bartering since its purpose is
to create new jobs and help to keep other
existing jobs, not just a simple exchange goods
and services – Look up “alternative currency” in
Wikipedia. The next paragraph will explain in
details what it is and how it could be
implemented in a practical way.
If, for example,
a grocery store or supermarket needs more
cashiers in order to shorten lines, it will
eventually increase the amount of patrons
because of the better service. However they may
not be able to afford paying new cashiers with
cash but they could probably pay them the same
amount they pay other cashiers with food and
other items that are been sold in the store.
Even when they still have to pay cash for these
items from the wholesaler or manufacturer, they
are purchasing them at a fraction of what they
would be exchanging them for, making a safe and
sound profit. If by employing people that are
willing to accept products instead of cash these
companies can see a greater profit thru more
sales because of their better service, they more
than happy would give this idea the go ahead and
start it right away, putting people back to
work. – Look up “Cincinnati Time Store” in
Wikipedia for an example of this.
Although this
idea may seem practical for some business like a
supermarket or grocery store it may not seem
like it could work for other businesses, but
this too has a remedy where all types of
businesses could benefit if they cooperate with
each other. In fact, if this system is widely
accepted and used, instead of an unemployment
problem we may, on the long term, see a scarcity
of employees and this in itself will help slip
back this alternative system into a complete
monetary system again instead of an exchange of
products/services. The following paragraph will
explain in detail what this system involves and
how it could be implemented in all types of
business in a practical and doable way.
If for example,
an employee working in a legal office is paid
with legal services, or an employee working in a
hardware store is paid with tools, it is obvious
that this alone would not serve the purpose of
this new system. Even a person working at a
supermarket wouldn’t want to be paid with
groceries all the time and would like to be able
to acquire goods and services from other types
of companies.
By incorporating
a central system – here is where a company with
the necessary infrastructure and recourses could
make huge profits by charging a small percentage
or fee per transaction for the use of an
alternative cash card – where all the employees
working for all these companies could obtain
other goods and services, even from competing
companies. This would serve the entire purpose
and still keep competition up. A live example of
this system is a company called Nate Barter.
In order for a
central system to work, even at a small scale,
is would need to be able to work as a sort of a
bank where the companies associated to it most
of the time would show a surplus or deficit.
Those showing a deficit would have to make out
of pocket payments to other companies or they
may even be able to pay with goods/services if
accepted. Regardless of the way they handle
these credits or debits, their workload and
profitability should steadily increase due to
the increased “spending” power of the people who
are now employed. Purchases made thru this
system could be easily made with a card similar
to a check card where purchases could be debited
and job earnings will be credited.
One of the
drawbacks that I see with this system is that
some employers could try to abuse it by changing
entirely from a monetary system to an exchange
system since this obviously would be a lot more
profitable for them. However this could be
easily avoided by implementing laws that place
limits on the percentage of employees a company
can have using this system, depending on
circumstances, with the possibility of no
limitations at all for newly formed companies.
Another problem is that employers could imagine
this system to be a fiscal nightmare due to the
taxes that will have to be deducted from
employees. However this problem could be easily
resolved by the employer paying these taxes with
official currency while deducting the employees
with the alternative currency. Even when they
will still have to pay these taxes with money,
it will still be much less than paying the
employee with currency also. Obviously,
company’s attorneys will need to be consulted
before the first steps are taken. Nevertheless,
interested companies will probably wait and see
if other employers do it first and see how this
works out for them before they are willing to
implement it. However if all these companies get
into this wait and see attitude, no one will
take the first step and no one will ever benefit
from this and we all stand to lose the
opportunity this alternative currency system
could bring, specially now when the entire
financial system is in the brink of collapse.
Since more jobs
and money would be available throughout
competing companies, employees will tend to
migrate to companies that offer a more liquid
incentive: money. Regardless of what happens,
everyone involved will benefit from this new
system: more jobs, more productivity, more sales
and more profits for these companies.
Rental companies,
loan companies, gasoline stations, utility and
insurance companies could also get involved in
this system because the system will have a cash
value anyway but they will probably be the last
ones to get incorporated in this system. After
the first few companies get involved and they
start showing an increased margin of profit,
more and more companies will get join in and
like a chain reaction the more companies that
get involved the quicker others will follow
thru.
There is another
crucial benefit this alternative way of
producing jobs can bring to the US economy or to
any other country that is willing to use this
system: The activation of people who otherwise
will stay inactive and because of the
opportunity to be and feel productive. These
added jobs will provide the prospect of selling
more/new products/services abroad which
otherwise could not have been possible.
Above all,
drastic situations require drastic measures and
I think that it is about time that “We the
People” should do something ourselves to help
this nation and not wait any longer for someone
else to do it for us.
By F. H.
Comments about this article? Sent them to me
here.
( grocerystoresupermarket@yahoo.com )
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