Your Own Currency

 

1. What does the centre of your town/city look like? Does its shops/cafes/restaurants resemble those found in other towns and cities? (Every UK town/city has the same chains, making it difficult to distinguish between different places) If it looks the same as every other town/city in your country, why do you think this is?

2. Do you prefer to give your patronage to local businesses, or do you appreciate the uniformity of service/product quality provided by national chain stores?

3. What form does your patronage take? Do you always lunch at a certain eatery, or recommend a certain tradesperson?

4. Have you always used your national currency when buying a product/service locally? What financial alternatives do people have available when money weakens as an exchange mechanism? Gold? Silver? Are these viable alternatives?

5. Read article here: Own Currency Reading

6. Would the idea of a local currency appeal to you? Why/why not? The Brixton (London) Pound has the image of David Bowie on its notes - who would you choose for your local currency?

7. According to you, what would be the minimum number of participating businesses needed to make a local currency worthwhile? How difficult would it be to get businesses in your area to adopt a local currency, do you think? What means would you use to promote it?

8. Bristol's Pound is app-based which allows for digital transfers to be made - given the travails of various cryptocurrencies, does a digital currency reassure or worry you?

9. How did people in your country feel about banks pre/post-2008? Would having local currencies address any of the lack of trust surrounding large banks? How important is it to know the bank manager at your local branch? How often do they change? Do you think it's a good policy to change the manager regularly?

10. Do you think that local currencies (if sufficient in number) might support the national currency in times of high inflation/economic downturn? Or might they undermine it?

11. Do you have/use loyalty cards? Where do you use them? Is your wallet/purse stuffed with them? Do you, like me, find them bothersome, and prefer to use straight cash instead? Does their usage clash with digital transactions as well?

12. Do you think schools should teach basic financial concepts? Would people be more careful of their financial situation if they knew more about how financial institutions work? Would that benefit the world economy? The economy of your country?

..........

Situation

You are currency expert Edgar Kampers. You are appearing on a radio show to promote awareness and the use of local currencies. Put forward your ideas and answer the host's questions.

..........

Discuss quotes

"The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency."

--- Vladimir Lenin

“Our greatest currency is our time and we cannot save it. Spend it wisely and never waste another's or your own.”

― Kyle Barger

“The world can run without money and currencies but not without business and trade.”

― Amit Kalantri

“Treat others with respect and you will always be wealthy, because your community is your real currency.”

― Bryant McGill

“Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy”

― Groucho Marx

Student Handout here: Own Currency

Photo: Cottonbro Studio

Career Advice

 

1. What was the best piece of career advice you were given? Did you follow it? Have you yourself given career advice to someone else? What was it?

2. Have recent economic events caused you to find ways of saving money/diversify your income? What areas of expenditure would you like to reduce?

3. Would you be tempted by a change of career if your new career provided for a lot of the non-fiscal things that you currently need?

..........

Read article here: Career Advice Reading

4. What is your reaction? Does the author's suggestion of joining the military seem far-fetched? Would it have been considered just as far-fetched if he had written the piece 100 years ago?

5. How attractive would having accommodation, a profession, and disposable income be to a young person today (assuming they could avoid front-line action)?

6. Is your country subject to the same pressures that might make joining the military seem a reasonable idea i.e. a shortage of affordable homes, a mountain of student debt, and personal debt?

7. Do you think that the military's "solutions" to these problems could be replicated in a non-military setting e.g. car pooling/sharing, apprenticeships instead of going to university, more house building? How would people in your country view the above strategies?

8. Are there any other institutions that provide for your immediate/future needs in a similar way to joining the military? Can labour shortages be addressed by offering good global packages to potential employees? Do you know of any examples?

9. If you could modify your current job with only one of the following elements, which would you choose?

a) The use of nearby accommodation

b) Increased non-specialisation training 

c) Subsidised public transport/use of company car

d) A less intense working regime that allowed personal projects

10. Daniel Younan's text contains one or two errors that make certain idioms appear non-idiomatic - can you spot them?

..........

Situation

You are a careers advice officer for a local college. Give your counterintuitive advice to a student (your teacher) who has yet to decide on his/her future career.

..........

Discuss quotes

“If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.”

 – Latin Proverb

“Desperation works in job search as well as it does in dating. ”

– Darrell Gurney

“You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. ”

– Confucius

“Where military service begins, logic ends.”

― Turkish Proverb

"A man who pays his bills on time is soon forgotten."

- Oscar Wilde

"If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments."

- Earl Wilson

Student Handout PDF : Career Advice