Coronavirus has produced some strange responses from folks in order to get back to normal. For instance, when one Washington town ran out of dollar bills, they decided to start producing wooden money instead! Read on to discover how this financial hack has helped everyone stay safe and sane in these troubling times…
Back To Basics
Mayor Wayne Fournier of Tenino, Washington, about two hours south of Seattle, was searching for ways to help his town during the coronavirus. Not only does money carry germs, but the town found it harder to have cash flowing in the city with so many out sick. For days, the mayor searched for an answer. Then, he remembered an old piece of Tenino history about wooden money. “It’s been part of the town lore for the past hundred years,” Fournier said. “It was not necessarily a new idea. It was an old idea that was taken off the shelf, dusted off, and made anew.”
Believe it or not, back in the Great Depression, wooden money brought hope to the town of Tenino. Then, citizens recieved $300 in wooden dollars every month, free of charge, to spend on what they need. Now, almost a century later, town representatives have dusted off the old printing press and started making wooden currency – $10,000 to start! Meanwhile, just like in the Great Depression, there are limits to what families can use the money on: they can’t spend them on tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets, or marijuana.
True To The Story
There’s one other rule as well, one that probably seems pretty obvious: the wooden money can only be used in Tenino. But there’s an economic reason for that as well as a health one! “Most of the hundreds of community currencies that have been issued over the past three decades in various places around the world have had the avowed purpose of keeping money circulating locally instead of ‘leaking out’ to the wider world,” stated Thomas Greco, a community economist and expert on local currencies. “The idea is that if money can be kept circulating within the community, it will enable a greater number of local business transactions leading to greater community prosperity.”
At the city hall, businesses can exchange wooden bills for dollar bills. The mayor says it’s been working great so far – every business is accepting the bills, including the local Subway restaurant and NAPA Auto Parts store. “We’ve been asked, ‘Well, why aren’t you doing cryptocurrency? Why aren’t you doing debit cards? Why aren’t you just handing out cash?’” added Fournier. “We want to stay true to our own story.”
Plus, wooden bills are nearly impossible to copy! “There’s not likely to be anyone else that is able to fire up an 1870s printing press and use strips of wood to be able to print money,” said Fournier.
The Downsides
Mayor Wayne Fournier has been clear: they do intend to stop using wooden bills as soon as they see regular bill circulation increases, as there are some problems with the system. “Community currencies do not have those same advantages so they must stand on their own feet as credible credit instruments,” Greco said. “What makes such a currency credible, sound, and acceptable in trade is its redeemability either in conventional money or in goods and/or services that are generally desired and needed.”
However, in the meantime, the mayor feels happy that his citizens are getting by, however they choose to use it. “If the city disburses $300 to John Doe, and John Doe uses it buy $300 in groceries, then John Doe’s been helped,” Fournier said. “But if John Doe sells that $300 in wooden script to a money collector in Texas for $900, John Doe has still been helped.”