Schemes in America, Canada, Australia have begun to mirror the mainstream economy with central computes monitoring transactions. The LETS in Nova Scotia has even experienced inflation participants began to demand a bigger percentage of each transaction in dollars as Maritime Hours became too common. In this country, by charming coincidence, there are two significant monetary meetings due to take place on Jan 15. As Chancellor Kenneth Clarke meets the Governor of the Bank of England to debate the macroeconomy and wangle over base rates, the Manchester LETS will be examining the future of the Bobbin. Manchester LETS is one of the biggest in the UK, with 700 members who span age and class distinctions.
All transactions are worth six Bobbins an hour.
Although this raises questions about the Bobbin's similarity to traditional money, which yields information on supply and demand, the members appear to value this minimum and maximum wage. The credit union will offer loans to help establish micro-businesses which will pay interest in Bobbins. The administrators, too, will be paid in the LETS currency. But according to the LETS coordinator, Sally Moxon, it will be run along conventional sterling lines rather than using their currency, the Talent. LETS aim to help the growing number of households without access to sufficient conventional money, but also to embrace other people who are on the margins of the mainstream economy.