Public Money for Public Access: Monetary Solutions for Water Finance Gwendolyn Hallsmith Global Community Initiatives Vermonters for a New Economy Vermont, USA

Global Community Initiatives Founded in 2002 International Board of Directors North/South Mission for Cities and Communities Sustainability Planning Development and Demonstration Projects Training and Technical Assistance Youth Engagement Empowerment and Capacity Building Emerging Economic Crisis Vermonters for a New Economy Public Banking Initiative www.global-community.org

Legacy Project Action Plan https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/Sustainability/Legacy-Action-Plan

New Planning Methodology inventory community assets create shared vision understand city systems set goals and indicators develop action plan https://www.newsociety.com/Books/K/The-Key-to-Sustainable-Cities

EarthCAT Workbook https://earthcharter.org/virtual-library2/images/uploads/EarthCAT_Workbook.pdf

Sustainable Master Planning Project The City of Newburgh Sustainable Master Planning Project http://www.cityofnewburgh-ny.gov/sites/newburghny/files/u97/masterplan-final.pdf

http://www.imaginecalgary.ca/what-imaginecalgary/plan

Planning and Implementing a Sustainable City http://www.montpelier-vt.org/480/Adopted-2010-Master-Plan

Montpelier Implementation $22M District Heat project to serve downtown with biomass heat Bike Summit and festival to make a bicycle friendly capital Time Bank complementary currency Local Food – a garden in every school Capital City Challenge

Local Action for Sustainable Economic Renewal (LASER) Economic Development planning workbook Identify Assets and Capital Take Action https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzcTZcFuN64RdjNURzhETEdSZVE/view

The Role of Money Analysis of monetary roots of unsustainable economics Complementary Currencies that work around the world https://www.newsociety.com/Books/C/Creating-Wealth

Community Currencies Step by Step Guide for Community Leaders Translated into Twelve Languages http://www.lyttelton.net.nz/images/timebank/community_currency.pdf

South Africa Bike Project

Main Street Economics Local Investment Options Examples of Successful Local Economic Actions http://www.postcarbon.org/publications/vermont-dollars-vermont-sense/

Envisioning a New Economy State Bank Initiative Study of Economic Impacts of a public bank New Economy Week New Economy Camp www.vermonteconomy.org

The Challenge: Water & Money Billions of people lack access to basic water and sanitation Trillions of dollars are needed to solve the problem The world has reached its debt and investment limits Income inequality makes higher taxes and fees impossible, unenforceable, and increasingly unjust Fixing the problem requires new thinking about old solutions In Africa, in order to provide safe drinking water to the 40 percent of the population still lacking access, investments would need to be raised from USD$7.6 billion/ year to USD$14 billion annually. Seventy-five percent of the countries in Asia are under water stress and USD$59 billion is needed annually in water supply investments.

What is Public Money? Sovereign Money QE for the people – Positive Money UK Deficit spending without debt – Minsky Understanding public money requires a particular view of money itself. Is it a commodity, credit, or fiat?

Historical Public Money British Tally Sticks (1100-1826) British “Bradbury Notes” WWI Ways and Means Advance in Britain (until 2000) United States (1917-1981) Bank of Canada (1944-1975) Bank of New Zealand (1935-1939) Japan (1932-1935)

What about inflation??? In all of the cases just described, careful management of public money did not lead to runaway inflation. When money is spent into existence for goods and services, the problem of too much money chasing too few goods and services does not exist.

What causes runaway inflation? Zimbabwe – economic collapse that came with land reform Weimar Republic – privatized central bank issuing too much money, combined with reparations Central and Eastern Europe/NIS – economic collapse and balance of trade issues NOT PUBLIC MONEY

Paradigm Change “Never, ever think outside the box…”

Public Legitimacy & Commons Neoliberal era has delegitimated public sector. Peak debt and investment drives privatization. Debt and taxes limit government thinking. Private banks and investors dominate finance. Sovereign debt has reached crisis point. Money is a social institution, it can change. Water is our birthright, water is life.

How do paradigms change? The old system doesn’t work anymore. Anomalies drive additional research/strategies Early adopters find new ways of doing things. Experiments in one location succeed and spread. Non-violent direct action campaigns reduce public support for old institutions. The “better mousetrap” is widely adopted and used.

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