What happens if someone with a large negative account leaves town?
First, a negative balance is a commitment, not a debt. Members in the negative have not borrowed money or taken it out of circulation; they have actually issued Barter dollars by buying or selling goods or services. A negative Barter dollar balance represents a community obligation to give value for value received at some time in the future. Second, if someone with a negative balance leaves, no ONE person is left waiting to be paid as in the case of a default on a loan. Instead, the members of the system as a whole absorb the cost. If someone with a commitment leaves town, they don’t create a shortage of money. As long as the majority of BarterWorks members continue to participate in good faith, the community economy can pick up the slack for members who can’t (at the moment) or won’t fulfil their commitments. Third, BarterWorks facilitates community regulation of its own currency through social control. In a community situation where reputation and word of mouth are everything, there
