Aging$

In follow-up to a conversation with Ryan and a sleepy Josh during Aya and my brief trip to Tokyo over the past two weeks, here are some links on the idea of an aging money system.
I would recommend first reading Momo by Michael Ende...or maybe last. Either way it is a great story and deals with the issues of money and time in a brief and beautiful tale of fantasy.
The last work of Ende, actually not his writing but an interview conducted by NHK during his final days when he lived in Japan, titled, Ende's Last Message (Ende no Yuigon) is the best place to find him directly discussing his ideas on economic theory...but I couldn't find a full translation online. There is however, this article, talking about the interview and the topics discussed therein.
A reference and predecessor to Ende's thinking is Silvio Gessel, and his work on economic theory and an aging money system can be found, in full, here.
I have yet to go through all of Gessel's work...but it's interesting stuff and worth a look at least.
j$

Make it rain!

According to this BBC story; in recent weeks more than 400 blank envelopes containing 10,000 yen bills have been left in the gents toilets of local council buildings all across Japan. Then, over the last few days, 18 residents of a Tokyo building found a total of 1.81 million yen ($15,210) stuffed into envelopes in their mailboxes. Of course, many lucky recipients promptly turned-in the cash to local police...OF COURSE!