Preparing the Middle Class For Life in Uncertain Times

In this article Preparing the Middle Class For Life in Uncertain TimesPenny Carothers and Greenbelt speaker and all-round helpful futurist, Tom Sine reiterate a point that I've been on the edge of making in an earlier posting on oil prices: "People in Britain and Australia are beginning to feel the impact of American economic troubles too. It is essential that middle-class Christians realize that following Jesus in uncertain times requires that we both reduce our vulnerability and increase our capability for compassionate response."
There follows a brief but helpful outline of why, economically, we find ourselves in this position. The response is not, as the saying goes, rocket science: "We can reduce our vulnerability by 1) getting out of debt as rapidly as possible, 2) seriously reducing our consumer spending, and 3) perhaps moving to a less expensive dwelling and selling vehicles or items that we may not need. If we can significantly reduce both our levels of debt and how much we spend on our own lives, then we have the opportunity to free more money or time to help economically empower our most vulnerable neighbors, both in our own communities and in other parts of the world"
We are then treated to some encouraging stories of people doing just those things.
One thing that doesn't get a mention is the possibility of starting up a local currency based not on interest (which is what our national currencies are founded on, and so are part of the problem) but on local trust and resources. Bernard Lietaer's book The Future of Money is a good 'primer' for this stuff (though currently it's a bit pricey but I've been working on that, as the link will reveal). I have been wondering whether to moot the idea at college as a practical primer in community development.