Those who grasp that fact, yet still distrust central bank-issued currencies, are turning to local and online options, barter exchanges, and the crypto-currency Bitcoin.
Members of barter clubs receive Local Alternative Units, or TEMs for their Greek acronym, in return for some product or service rendered to another member of the closed community.
Unlike local governments, which could often do a fair job of managing barter to their advantange, the federal government needed cash at a national level.