This lady lives without money!

[Gail]

Would YOU try this? (I think I should)

[Liz]

I'm not quite sure I understand. How does she get food? Where does she live? Does she rely on the kindness of strangers?

I think I would sort of understand if she had a home that was paid off, and grew her own food, but I don't see her doing that. Maybe I'm missing something, or being cynical, but people can't just decide they no longer care about money, give everything they own away, and then expect their neighbor to support them.

Sorry for the downer, I guess I wish the trailer was longer, maybe it would have explained things better.

[Gail]

Her website tells how years ago she formed a network for swapping things. That was a start. I didn't get a chance to go through her site but it looks interesting!

[John317]

I had the same thoughts.

It seems to me like she's what some people call a "free-loader." I hope not but she talks about people inviting her to their home and sending her a ticket to get there. Does she work for them to pay for her ticket and the food?

There was a news article about a year ago concerning a man in the USA that was living without money. But he lived by himself out in a cave in the desert or in the mountains. He had been doing it for about 20 years.

[Outta Here]

When I hear the term, "free-loader", I think of someone who does nothing at all for the gifts they've been given. Looking briefly at her website, I see that this woman worked as a teacher for almost 20 years, then became a psychotherapist. She founded a bartering network (as Gail mentioned), then wanted to see how differently it would be to live without money--an experiment to see it if was at all possible.

Turns out, for her, it is. I only hope that she stays healthy because bartering for medical expenses seems an impossibility (to me, anyway). Who knows though? Maybe in her experiences, she's found a way to make that possible too.

She sure seems happy in her pictures. And happiness is almost everything!

[John317]

Thanks for that. I was wondering about it. It isn't for everyone but if she's happy doing it and is at the same time helping others, more power to her.

[ClubV12]

My house is paid for but still I have at a minimum, taxes and water, not optional.

I could turn off electricity, phone, internet, garbage collection, etc. But water is required by law where I live.

If lived in the country, I could do without everything BUT taxes, that your going to pay no matter what.

Where ever she lives must be some kind of State/National subsidised water, sewer, electric, taxes thing that doesn't require cash.

Here State/city requires cash for basic services, no barter options.

[GoLions]

As taxes go up, or more people loose their jobs, the bartering will go up. The government will loose the taxes that they would normally collect. That is if you paint my house and I fix your car in payment. No tax dollars are given. The government will now have to find a way to recoup those dollars. I think that is where the power of the beast will be made evident. How can you keep the saints from buying and selling, if they are using the barter system? There must be a way, and it probably wont be pretty.

[John317]

Yes, that's an idea-- we could all get along without money if everyone was willing to work without being paid money for their labor. Sounds like pure communism.

[Neil D]

Yes, that's an idea-- we could all get along without money if everyone was willing to work without being paid money for their labor. Sounds like pure communism.

Communism, to my understanding, is where the Goverment dictates what you can recieve and everything you produce goes to the Goverment...Bartering, OTOH, is pure capitalism, it seems to me...

....just my thoughts..

[GreatLakesGramma]

The US government already includes bartering in the income tax laws. You have to claim the monetary value of whatever you received for your work.

[Outta Here]

What about the monetary value of things you've exchanged--for example, a dozen eggs for a loaf of bread? If there is not profit, will the United States government still tax the exchange?

Luckily for the woman in the video, she lives outside the United States.

[Gail]

Originally Posted By: John317

Yes, that's an idea-- we could all get along without money if everyone was willing to work without being paid money for their labor. Sounds like pure communism.

Communism, to my understanding, is where the Goverment dictates what you can recieve and everything you produce goes to the Goverment...Bartering, OTOH, is pure capitalism, it seems to me...

....just my thoughts..

Bartering is as old as civilization and probably even older.

If you depend entirely on the monetary system you are making yourself dependent on the government more than you know. Don't let the government make you believe that you cannot survive without it nor use your creativity to make it work.

[John317]

Yes, that's an idea-- we could all get along without money if everyone was willing to work without being paid money for their labor. Sounds like pure communism.

Originally Posted By: hamilton-beach

Communism, to my understanding, is where the Goverment dictates what you can recieve and everything you produce goes to the Goverment...Bartering, OTOH, is pure capitalism, it seems to me...

....just my thoughts..

You're describing state socialism-- a planned economy.

Pure communism has never existed before. It is the end-game of Marxism, as described in Das Kapital. It is where the state withers away. It's a classless society, so there's no more need for the state and no more need of money.