This happened in Argentina in 2001 also, as a way of being able to survive, as JAI says. And it's going to be more and more common. Hey, swap-meet, flea market, garage sale... when this becomes chronic, you get street vending... and bartering "credits" which replace official state currency. Of course, some misguided souls think that it's a "solution". But hyperinflation, also accompanying critical periods, smash bartering "credits". See a great article on the limitations of bartering in this regard (Spanish): http://archivo.po.org.ar/po/po781/el.htm Two more: http://archivo.po.org.ar/po/po749/trueque.htm
Saludos! Victor Kane On Sun, Feb 24, 2013 at 2:43 PM, John A Imani <[email protected]> wrote: > (JAI: As dying senile capitalism spits more and more workers out so do > we continue to try and find ways to continue our existence until the > coming socialist revolution that will provide living wage jobs for all who > want work and humane sustenance for those unable to.) > > The pain in Spain brings barter gains > > http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx > Unemployed trade their way through recession > > It is possible to live without a job, and that doesnt mean living > without working. Banker Julio Gisbert, author of the book and blog Living > Without a Job > > BARCELONA With two small children and no income for the past two years, > Antonio Delgado, 44, says things were so bad he had considered taking his > life. > *PHOTOS BY XAVIER SUL *Books, toys, movies and video games are for sale > at a bartering market in Barcelona. Many Spaniards are turning to trading > goods and services so they can put food on the table. > > Then a few months ago, Delgado found out about a group that rents small > parcels of farmland cheap near his town of La Rinconada in southern Spain. > Now hes bringing home boxes of tomatoes, onions, peppers, lettuce, > zucchinis and pumpkins. But he is not selling them. > > Delgado and others are bartering, or trading, their way through a > recession that has lasted years and left more than a quarter of the > workforce unemployed. Tens of thousands of households have no wage earners, > but they have skills and time on their hands to do work that can be traded > for things they need but have no money to buy. > > I had no clue about agriculture, Delgado said. But this has changed my > life. > > Banker Julio Gisbert, author of the book and blog Living Without a Job, > says Spaniards are doing what makes sense in these tough times. > > It is possible to live without a job, and that doesnt mean living > without working, Gisbert says. > > Trading produce for other services and merchandise is one of the many > unconventional ways the Spanish are making ends meet in what has been > described as the new sharing economy that has developed here since the > economic crisis hit more than four years ago. > > According to the Spanish government, more than half a million families > have no income. The unemployment rate has climbed to 26%, but among young > workers it is as astonishing 55%. > > The deepest economic crisis in Spains modern history is rooted in a > housing boom financed by cheap loans to builders and home buyers who went > bust. Homes were not worth what was borrowed to buy or build them. > > Spain borrowed to lend the banks money to survive, but that put the > national government in a budget deficit. Regional governments that spent > budget surpluses in boom years were forced to end public spending and cut > benefits and jobs, hobbling economic growth. The economy, which grew 3.7% a > year on average from 1999 to 2007, has since contracted at an annual rate > of 1% since. > > With few jobs and no disposable income, bartering and other ways of > exchanging goods and services are increasingly seen as good alternatives. > > Some Spaniards are using socalled time banks to deposit time, knowledge > and skills and trade them for things they need. All services have the same > value, whether it is one hour of teaching a foreign language or one hour of > cleaning house. > > PEOPLE HELPING EACH OTHER > > Teresa Sanchez, 55, is part of the Time Bank in Valladolid in western > Spain. She has deposited offers of Japanese language classes, massage and > company for the elderly. In return, she has received English lessons, > appliance repairs and haircuts for her son. > > I first joined because I like the idea of people helping each other as it > used to be long ago, but it is true that it is nice economic help, said > Sanchez. The world would work better without money. > > The number of time banks in Spain has doubled to 318 in the past three > years, according to the Association of Time Banks. SocialCar.com allows > people to rent their private cars to other individuals while JoinUp Taxi > makes it easy for people to share taxis to the same destination. > Nolotiro.org (I Wont Throw It Out) allows people to give away things > they dont need anymore, such as clothing or tools. > > Mi Huerto Compartido (My Shared Garden) allows land owners to lend > ground in exchange for part of the harvest. And Truequebook.es users barter > school books and other goods for children. > > Delgado got his plot of farmland from My Harvest Ecological Gardens, which > rents 540-square-foot parcels of land for $40 a month. He works the land 20 > hours a week and exchanges produce with other small farmers so he can get > the wide variety of food his family needs. > > Besides the cybermarket places, nearly 100 bartering markets have appeared > in Catalonia alone, according to Intercanvis.net, a site that tracks the > bartering economy in this northeastern region of Spain. > > The main reason why people start using these sites is economic, whether > it is to save money, make money or get goods or services without money, > said Albert Canigueral, editor of ConsumoColaborativo.com, Spains biggest > site on the sharing economy. However, once people have tried them out a > couple of times, their mentality changes and they start looking at > alternatives to traditional shopping as their only option. > > Unlike other European countries, where thrift shops thrive, or in the > United States, where garage sales are common, Spaniards have always been > reluctant to buy used goods. In fact, just a few years ago, it would have > been unimaginable to hear Spaniards boast over their newest second-hand > acquisition. > > In Spain, those who buy things that have been used carry the stigma of > not being able to buy brand new stuff, explained Joana Conill, a > researcher of alternative economic cultures at Universitat Oberta de > Catalunya. > > CHANGING HABITS > > The crisis and social media are changing peoples habits and perceptions > so the attachment of people to objects is diminishing, said Jordi Griera, > president of the Institute for Management and Human Values in Barcelona. He > and others says that the economic crisis has also brought Spanish society > closer together in a positive way. > > The sharing economy is the gate to a cultural change in which people > rediscover the power of getting connected with other fellow citizens not > only to consume, but also to produce for each other, educate each other, > finance each other, said Canigueral. > > BarcelonActua is a case in point. More than 7,000 people participate in > this local favor bank where people help others without necessarily > expecting anything in return. There is no control over who gets or gives > what everything is based on good faith. > > Anna Daura, 49, of Barcelona, posted on the organizations website > requesting someone to help her clean out an apartment she owned that had > been nearly destroyed by the previous tenant. She had lost her job a few > weeks before and had little money to pay for the job. Minutes after posting > her ad numerous people responded that they would help for no money. > > A few days later, a dozen people went to her apartment with incredible > energy and left it spotless, she said. Nothing like this had ever > happened to me, Daura said. Grateful for the help, she is now counseling > other members of the network on how to start a business, her particular > expertise. > > Laia Serrano, the economist who founded BarcelonActua a year ago, says > that it will be people power that fixes Spain, not the government. > > I am convinced that the solution to this crisis will be from the bottom > up, she said. It is necessary, though, that people realize it. > > > - > > > -- > JAI > RAC-LA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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