Tom Sherlock

Tie-in to Complementary Currency

As an owning member of the Chaordic Commons, I first became aware of complementary and community currency through another owning member, Thomas H. Greco, Jr. (see his website) by reading his most recent book,
Money: Understanding and Creating Alternatives to Legal Tender.

Since then I have read E.C. Riegel, Edward Popp? and many others, whose names i will add at a later date.

Eureka

It was Tom Greco who made me realize that a currency note was simply an I.O.U.

It was E.C. Riegel who made me realize that the act of issuing currency is an inalienable right of the individual.

Bard Conference

I attended the Local Currency Conference at Bard College, NY. Meeting other economic activists for the first time underscored my belief that communities should interact in person as well as over the internet or by telephone.
The conference was a very stimulating experience on may levels: intellectually, socially, emotionally. When i travelled to the Conference i went not only to another geographic location but also to another region of consciousness.

Commitment to the Cause

As Tom Greco says, i wd like to liberate the exchange process. I wd like to wrestle it from the hands of the banking cartels and return it to the rightful owners, i.e. the individual and the community.

Inspired by the Chaordic Concept and the emerging movement for alternative currencies, i intend to pursue an MBA in Entrepreneurial Studies so that i may develop the skills and aquire the necessary understanding to restore economic sovereignty to my state, my county, my town.

A related project is the wish to bring a local currency to my town, Rutherford or my region, South Bergen. I have the beginnings of several complementary currency proposal. But i have no contacts in town.

The other night, in a burst of inspiration, inebriated with the Muse, i transcribed a rough draft for two complementary currencies and am considering a third:

• The first is for a community of Roman Catholic laypersons rich with diverse talent and skill.
• The second is for my local community, which, i just discovered, uses a common gift certificate with the intent of keeping the wealth within the community!
• The third is for the local government, a proposal to issue tax credit certificates on small denominations as an alternative to issue an interest-bearing bond which will increase taxes in the long run.

I will post these proposal to ijccr@yahoo.com and money@chaordicinitiatives.org for questions and suggestions and perhaps here at TheTransitioner? and/or other related sites once i find the time (a most precious commodity recently).

Other Commitments

Owning Member of the Chaordic Commons.
Member of the Voice of the Faithful national and Voice of the Faithful of NJ.
Member of the Online Writing Workshop.
Father to two enchanting girls and husband to a lovely wife.
Currently seeking a away to connect the my local community.

Greatest Need

I wd like to be able to explain in a 30 minute presentation the general benefits of a community currency as well benefits specific to a taxpayer's advocate group. I wd like to be able to go beyond the "What" and dip into the "How".