> Introduction

> Natural money was the result of the discovery of the most efficient
> monetary system. The natural money monetary system will create an
> economy with constant economic growth at maximum potential that will
> destroy all other monetary systems in competition. Therefore the
> natural money monetary system will become the dominant monetary system
> in the world at some point in the future. Natural money has the
> following features:
> - a hoarding tax, which amounts to 0.5% to 1.0% a month;
> - a complete ban on usury, which is charging interest on money;
> - a money supply that is constant which only can be changed by a
> democratic vote;
> - a complete ban on credit, which is creating money out of nothing.

> History

> Joseph in Egypt
> Money with a hoarding tax was already introduced by Joseph when he was
> viceroy of Egypt. When the pharaoh had dreams about seven fat cows
> being eaten by seven lean cows and seven full ears of corn being
> devoured by seven thin and blasted ears of corn, Joseph explained the
> dreams to the pharaoh. He told the pharao that seven good years would
> come and after that seven bad years would follow. Joseph advised the
> Egyptians to store food on a large scale. They followed his advise and
> built storehouses for food. In this way Egypt survived the seven years
> of scarcity.

> What is less known, because it is not recorded in The Bible, is that
> the storing of food resulted in a financial system. The historian
> Friedrich Preisigke discovered that the Egyptians used corn receipts
> for money. Farmers bringing in the food, got receipts for corn. Bakers
> who wanted to make bread, brought in the receipts, which could be
> exchanged for corn. It did not take long before the receipts where
> generally accepted as money. Because of the degradation of the corn
> and mice eating it, the value of the receipts was steadily decreasing.
> This enticed people to spend the money fast.

> The corn receipt system lasted for many centuries. It made sense to
> store food to provide for hard times. This currency remained in
> function in Egypt until it was replaced by the Roman currency during
> the late Ptolemaic period. The introduction of natural money may have
> enabled Egypt to remain a stable civilisation for another 1,500 years.
> The Egyptian civilisation lasted for more than 2,000 years, far longer
> than any civilisation ever.

> The miracle of Wörgl
> There are a number of successful examples of the introduction of money
> with a hoarding tax. Wörgl is the best known example. During the Great
> Depression, the Austrian town of Wörgl made economic history by
> introducing a complimentary currency. The mayor Michael
> Unterguggenberger had a long list of projects he wanted to accomplish,
> but there was hardly any money with which to carry them out. Rather
> than spending the 40,000 Austrian schillings in the town’s coffers to
> start these projects off, he deposited them in a local savings bank as
> a guarantee to back the issue of a type of complimentary currency
> known as 'stamp scrip'. The Wörgl currency required a monthly stamp to
> be stuck on all the circulating notes for them to remain valid,
> amounting 1% of the each note’s value.

> Because nobody wanted to pay what was effectively a hoarding fee,
> everyone receiving the notes would spend them as fast as possible. The
> 40,000 schilling deposit allowed anyone to exchange scrip for 98 per
> cent of its value in schillings. This offer was rarely taken up
> though. Over the 13-month period the project ran, the council not only
> carried out all the intended works projects, but also built new
> houses, a reservoir, a ski jump, and a bridge.

> The key to its success was the fast circulation of scrip within the
> local economy, 14 times higher than the Schilling. This in turn
> increased trade, creating extra employment. At the time of the
> project, Wörgl was the only Austrian town to achieve full employment.
> Six neighbouring villages copied the system successfully. In January
> 1933, the project was replicated in the neighbouring city of
> Kirchbuhl, and in June 1933, two hundred Austrian townships were
> interested in adopting the idea. At this point the central bank
> panicked and decided to assert its monopoly rights by banning
> complimentary currencies. The people unsuccessfully sued the bank and
> later lost in the Austrian Supreme Court. It then became a criminal
> offence to issue 'emergency currency'.

> 12 steps to freedom and wealth

> The natural money system brings freedom and wealth in 12 steps:
> 1. Interest on money should be banned. Return on capital is a good
> thing, and should not be abolished.
> 2. Raise a tax on money. This is not a tax on wealth, so shares, real
> estate and money lent, are not taxed.
> 3. Do not create more money, so there will be no monetary inflation.
> 4. Because there is a tax on money, people will soon use the money to
> invest, to consume or to lend without interest.
> 5. Because on money lent, no interest may be charged:
> - money will only be lent to reliable people and companies.
> - less money will lent and more money will be directly invested in
> equities and real estate.
> 6. Therefore there will never be an economic crisis, because money is
> spent directly and there are no bad loans.
> 7. Because all money is directly used for investment or consumption,
> the economy grows steadily at maximum potential and there is full
> employment.
> 8. The financial sector is largely superfluous. That is a good thing,
> because this sector produces nothing and destabilises the economy.
> 9. Governments also need much less to interfere with the economy.
> 10. As the economy grows constantly at maximum speed, and because no
> more money is created, prices will fall. Therefore loans with zero
> percent interest will have a return that is probably higher than the
> interest rate you will get at the bank now. The money lent will be
> worth more when the loan matures.
> 11. If one country chooses to apply this system, it will attract
> capital from other countries since the return of loans with zero
> percent interest rate is higher than the yield on interest in other
> countries. Therefore, all other countries will need to do this, if one
> country has changed its money system in this way.
> 12. Now everyone is free. There is no fear in the economy. There will
> always be work for employees and there will always be customers for
> viable businesses. Nobody is deeply in debt.

> Effects

> Using natural money all kinds of problems we face now can be solved
> easily. Natural money will have the following effects:
> - Natural money will save the earth and nature by promoting
> sustainable investment and recycling;
> - Natural money will free people and countries from debt slavery;
> - Natural money will end unemployment without government intervention;
> - Natural money will create a stable economy without crisis which does
> not need government or central bank intervention;
> - Natural money will end senseless economic activities in the money
> system which destroy the economy;
> - Natural money will result in a dramatic rise in government income
> which makes it easy to lower taxes and address all social problems in
> society;
> - Natural money economies will perform better than all other kinds of
> economies. This will attract investment capital, which forces all
> other economies to adapt the natural money system.

> Quotes

> Natural money is the most efficient type of free money. Silvio Gesell
> outlined the theory of free money in the Natural Economic Order. Many
> famous economists and scientists saw the enormous potential of free
> money:
> - "I thoroughly enjoyed Silvio Gesell's brilliant style. The creation
> of money that cannot be hoarded will lead to a different and more real
> kind of property."
> Professor Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize Winner
> - "Gesell's name will be a leading name in history once it has been
> disentangled."
> H.G. Wells
> - "The application of Gesell's principle of circulation of money will
> lead the nation out of the depression within two to three weeks. I am
> a humble student of this German-Argentine businessman."
> Professor Irving Fisher, Yale University, America's greatest economist
> - "I believe that the future will learn more from the spirit of Gesell
> than from that of Marx."
> John Maynard Keynes
> - "Gesell's work will initiate a new epoch in the history of mankind."
> Prof. Dr. B. Uhlemayr
> - "Gesell's discoveries and proposals are of the greatest importance
> for centuries to come."
> Dr. Theophil Christen, eminent mathematician and physicist, Berne

> More information

> The following information can be found on the Naturalmoney.org
> website:
> - More information about the current state of the US economy can be
> found here:http://www.naturalmoney.org/howbad.html
> - The natural money theory in detail can be found here:http://www.naturalmoney.org/full-theory.html
> - A realistic conversion plan to the natural money economy can be
> found here:http://www.naturalmoney.org/conversionplan.html
> - A plan for the future with natural money can be found here:http://www.naturalmoney.org/buildfuture.html