By: Jay Feldman
Creative Currency Octaves (CCO) is an enhanced economic system designed to provide financial stability, reduce extreme wealth imbalance, and incentivize innovation through a unique approach to Universal Basic Income (UBI) – proposed by Duke Johnson, author of the book “Better To Best: Novel Ideas to Improve Governments, Economies, and Societies.”
The CCO framework introduces a dual-currency system where a “basic unit” is pegged 1:1 to the primary currency, and is distributed universally as a form of (opt-in) basic income. These basic units expire, and are restricted to foundational expenditures such as housing, food, and utilities—ensuring basic notes directly contribute to alleviating poverty, as opposed to non-essential or potentially harmful purchases.
Primary currency would still be both earned and spent the same as now, however expired basic units either revert back to their source, the treasury, or get converted into primary notes by UBI recipients who join a Creator Collective.
Creator Collectives are communities of innovators (and participants) who 1.) create something productive and 2.) share it in a positive way. Collective members may save and trade expired basic units with other members, convert expired basics into primary notes, earn elevated personal-conversion rates, and step up their octave level.
Octave Levels determine how many expired basic units one may convert into primary notes in proportion to UBI received per distribution cycle. With each octave level up, the amount doubles; therefore, if UBI recipients receive 1,000 basic units per month, then members of the second-octave level may convert 2,000 expired basics each month into primary units. Although there’s no highest limit on the octave scale, members must transparently earn ascension level-ups based upon project scope, market forces such as supply and demand, cost savings compared to current or alternative options, and other criteria such as what’s considered essential and/or deemed worthy.
Personal Conversion Rates are based upon factors including productivity, efficiency, creativity, and quality. For proposed specifics, a reference is linked at the bottom of this article, however an example is where an endeavor is deemed ‘exquisite and beautiful’ by enough members to earn a conversion rate of 14x, or 14+ primary notes for each expired basic unit.
Harmonizing Economics this way would create both a supply of, and demand for, social-balancing basic-unit currency—designed to dramatically reduce crime, stress, strife, and extreme wealth imbalance. While the primary currency is traded both domestically and abroad, basic units are intended for domestic use only—though both are sourced by the treasury.
Traditional UBI systems (without CCO) introduce more of the same (primary) currency, which economists warn could cause hyper-inflation and currency devaluation. UBI without CCO provides no additional motivation to innovate, and would likely reduce work incentives—which could lead to negative social predicaments.
Conversely, when introducing UBI with CCO, this supplemental currency model complements existing financial systems and would likely strengthen the primary currency via increased usage, as well as mitigate inflation when compared to UBI without CCO. Also, the culture becomes enhanced when successful individuals progress upward in conversion rates and octave levels—via enrichment akin to contributions towards a collective endowment of community chests.
Successful Collective Members then become more likely to develop other participants in ways that further contribute to cultural growth—as opposed to the current extractive financial practices where the profit motive comes with a ‘toll-too-high‘ on both nature, and the culture. For those who already possess wealth, unused and expired basics would likely be paid forward, further enabling the ambitious.
“Better than Socialism, better than Capitalism, and far better than Communism is this CCO system coined Compassionism, for three main reasons: Freedom, Incentive, and Peace. The choice to quit, or refuse participation to peacefully go one’s own way, is critical. The social maturity to prevent fellow humans from unnecessary suffering by providing what’s already abundant, is feasible. And in a modern technological era, the wherewithal to incentivize participation for further collective prosperity—without the threat of impoverishment, or the burden of undue financial stress and strife—is easily attainable.” -Author Duke Johnson
Basic UBI Cash could be as simple as receipt paper with barcodes, and ATM exchanges can be placed at strategic locations including markets and post offices. Local and industry-specific creator collectives could be established like credit unions, and UBI cards with online accounts would work similar to debit cards and online banking.
Monetary Systems are typically backed by either precious metals or the ‘full faith and credit‘ of a specific government—which carries potential for terrible, systemic corruption—however, author Duke Johnson posits that “Basic units with CCO could be the first currency in history backed by publicly-endowed art and creation.”
Instead of a centralized Federal Reserve Bank mandated to ‘maximize employment and stabilize prices by moderating long-term interest rates and the money supply,’ imagine a benevolent nation’s treasury mandated to ‘enhance both the public, and culture, with an effective and sustainable monetary system that ensures human wellness via fair foundational guarantees, appropriate incentives for essential work, and equitable rewards for beneficial creation.’ Duke Johnson asserts, “CCO could achieve these goals, and much more, using existing technology that could be implemented in-theory overnight, yet realistically within sixty days.”
Personal Income Tax wouldn’t be necessary on basic units, and this system could dramatically reduce a nation’s general tax requirements while simultaneously improving how public funds are expended.
This CCO system, once implemented, would benefit by 1.) continuous perpetual improvement—depending on future accumulated data, public consensus, and smart policy making, and 2.) properly applied maintenance—intended to appropriately balance the economy in such a way that encourages citizens to aspire, and enables them to achieve.
Duke boldly proclaims that “CCO is the fairest proposed solution to extreme wealth imbalance, the safest way to implement UBI, and the best monetary system possible.”
“With a fresh and fair money supply, plus a transparent Creative Currency Octave system, everyone gains, yet none lose” propounds Duke Johnson, who further postulates “CCO could usher in a glorious golden-age of collective human prosperity.”
Reference article: BetterToBest.wixsite.com/book/cco.
Published By: Aize Perez
