"poverty" blog action day '08 topic

today's global blog theme assignment appears to be "Poverty."

Poverty is caused by either genuine scarcity, or by inequitable distribution of wealth.

The tipjar company plans to mitigate poverty by providing alternate wealth means. Much as the "Ithaca hours" project or the use of bus tokens in Sao Paulo as money provide greater liquidity in tough times and for the disadvantaged, the tipjar concept of book-entry currencies for all comers allows, much like micro-lending, enterprising individuals (and groups!) to offer promises instead of gold as a medium of exchange, without victimization by predatory lending institutions and without cultural barriers.

The remaining barriers are to be lowered with educational material; the character of said enterprising individuals and groups cannot be guaranteed, but can be presented with metrics much as Fair Isaac presents credit scores, if needed.

Gold, itself, is a fiat currency, as it has little intrinsic utility in today's world. That is, the "perceived value as a hordable store of value" is backed by its physical characteristics that do make it suitable for such purpose, but as King Midas discovered, you cannot eat it and you wouldn't want your children to become statues made of it.

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