In February, local organizers from the New Earth Exchange hope to launch a new currency in Santa Cruz—something they say could be a boon to the county’s economy and help shield Santa Cruz from big economic crises. The as-yet-unnamed money—we’ll call it Cruz Cash for now—will exist on three levels: as physical, hard-to-counterfeit cash; as electronic funds transferable on the Internet and as a plastic card readable at participating businesses. Supporters claim it could add as much as $1 million to the local economy.
