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LETS stands for Local Exchange Trading System. It is a system that sets itself up on a local level to provide an alternative to cash. LETS does not need people to make actual swaps. Each task has a LETS value and this value is exchanged for something else assuming that participant has sufficient ‘Exchange Value” in their account to render payment for the other service. For instance somebody could accept LETS for babysitting and use that credit to pay another member for car repairs. The transactions are recorded and all members are free to see the exchanges that have taken place and at what value.

How it works: LETS in its present form is designed to serve a local community. These people get together to set up a club in order to trade amongst themselves. Goods and services are accorded value in LETS. The LETS value is calculated in equivalence to the local currency. LETS has never been designed to replace conventional money but to work alongside it as an adjunct.

  1. The offers are recorded in a local directory. Participants list their services and the LETS price they expect to receive for the service. Others may post requests for goods and services that they are seeking and offer a price in LETS to anybody prepared to meet their needs.
  2. Contact. The buyer and seller contact one another and the goods are exchanged or the service is performed. The buyer pays the seller by writing a LETS check or issuing an IOU.
  3. The seller takes the check to the bookkeeper who records the transaction in the LETS record. The seller’s account is credited and the buyer’s is debited.

The LETS system is one based on integrity and adheres to five precepts.

  • The cost of the service is from to community to the community.
  • Consent. There is no coercion; you participate if you want to.
  • Disclosure: All balances are free for all to see. There is no dishonesty or hidden agendas.
  • Equivalence. LETS are calculated to have equivalence with the local currency.
  • No Interest. There is no interest in the LETS system. What you see is what you get.

Michael Linton’s original LETS scheme in British Columbia is no longer in operation, but he has thought the scheme through very thoroughly and gives very complete Internet advice on how to set up a LETS scheme. This can be seen at: http://www.gmlets.u-net.com

There has been resistance to such notions, particularly in the United States. This is odd, as America is traditionally more community oriented than places such as the UK. There is an image that those you espouse such schemes are long haired hippies with scant grasp of reality. It is true that LETS have been particularly successful in areas where there is a preponderance of welfare recipients. It makes sense that a scheme like this will give a person on a limited income greater opportunity to acquire goods and services particularly if he has a skill to exchange. Today more and more Americans are finding themselves with less cash to spend. Money might be tight but they still have skills they can share with others and goods to exchange that are in turn required by others. Instead of sitting dormant all these positive attributes can be channeled for the good of all. Don’t be so quick as to dismiss ideas like LETS as impractical. This is what others would like us to think, but really look at what is going on. We do have to make some serious changes and here is one of them!

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