Not today though.
From CNBC:
QE Goes Local: Towns Coin Their Own Currencies
German Chancellor Angela Merkel maybe be trying her utmost to keep Greece in the euro, but a high school teacher from Bavaria may have found a better solution and is pitching the idea to Greek politicians.
Economics teacher, Christian Gelleri, started a local currency in 2003 with his students in the small town of Prien am Chiemsee, around 50 miles south of Munich. The currency has performed so well that on Wednesday he was invited to travel to the Greek region of Macedonia to show local politicians how it could keep them from leaving the euro.
“We see complementary local currencies as an answer to balance differences between regions within a currency zone,” he told CNBC.com. “We have very big differences in the euro zone when you compare a region like Munich with Thessaloniki [in Greece].”
His idea doesn’t stop at Greece and he believes it could prevent the euro zone break up in the long run.
The idea is called “express money” that would be issued by governments. It would have fast circulation with a 2 percent levy for hoarding notes with a 10 percent charge for conversion into euros. A supporting document co-written by Gelleri reminds readers that doubling monetary velocity, doubles gross national product.
He recommends a complementary currency on a national level in Greece and even if they did break from the euro, he believes that local currencies could be used alongside the drachma to strengthen poorer areas.
And Gelleri has plenty of experience, the currency he created — the Chiemgauer — will celebrate its 10-year jubilee next year.
“With a turnover of 6 million euros last year and a growth rate of 20 percent we see a continuous and very positive development,” he said.
The amount of local currencies across Europe has now reached 104, all of which are listed on complementarycurrency.org. Last week Bristol, a city in southwest England, launched the latest of these — the Bristol Pound....MORE
