ABSTRACT
Scarcity of money was behind the demands of farmers for free silver in the late 19th century to expand the money supply. The chiemgauer is one of the most successful demurrage-bearing currencies. Advocates of the chiemgauer estimate that, as a demurrage currency, it circulates 2.5 times faster than the euro, thus promoting economic activity, as well as boosting local spending. Time-backed currencies offer a solution to the problems of unused labor and the need for more time spent in community work. The Chicago Plan attempts to protect the United States from the kind of banking crisis that precipitated the Great Depression. Implementation of the Chicago Plan would require the government to issue currency for the purpose of paying all debts, both public and private. Banks would become what most people think they are, simple intermediaries, accepting savings and lending out what they collect.
