Li'ira explains the Trek economy

[jayphailey]

Sunshine found Li'ira in the large Green common room in the former cargo bay.

"That's right." Olivia said. "On Earth no one carries money around with them any more. Everyone gets credits. When you go into a store, you pick what you want and the amount is automatically deducted from your credit account."

"So credits are money." Larka pointed out.

"Yes. But Earth people don't like to have it pointed out to them." Li'ira said "They like to think they have moved their culture past greed as a motivation."

"You said everyone gets credits." Lussa said. "How, just for standing there breathing?"

Li'ira nodded. "Yes. Earth is so rich and society is so automated they can afford to give everyone an allowance."

The Greens stared at Olivia and Li'ira in naked shock.

"Vulcan as well. This condition holds over most of the Federation."

The Greens blinked and stared.

"I should point out that this allowance is not large." Li'ira said. "You can survive on it, but your lifestyle will be pretty basic if that's all you ever do."

"You must be kidding me!" [[List of Green Orion Women |Kamil] said. "Why does anyone ever get out of bed?"

"Some of us have better things to do then lay around all day and get fat on the dole." Li'ira said.

"Some people don't." Olivia said. "Less motivated people do lie around all day. That's up to them."

Li'ira nodded grimly. "A sizable proportion of Earth people never do much but watch video feeds and complain. I should point out though, that doing useful things increases the amount of credits you receive."

"By how much?" [[List of Green Orion Women |Lussa]] asked.

"Well, there are rich people on Earth still. There is still a lot of private property and allowing it to work for society is rewarded." Li'ira pointed out. "My own personal buying power is many, many times that of one of these couch potatoes."

"Approximately 5000 times." Olivia added.

Li'ira Looked at Olivia.

"I looked it up." Olivia said. "The Harrier mission was weighted very heavily."

Li'ira looked disturbed.

"How do they know?" Lussa asked.

"Here's something very important." Olivia pointed at Li'ira. "She's embarrassed because I went and looked at her account balance. Theoretically I shouldn't have been able to do that, but that's a secondary issue. Li'ira is shy about saying how much she has and directly comparing it to someone else's total."

Li'ira looked thoughtful "I guess I am, aren't I?"

"Polite people don't discuss such things. Polite people on Earth do not acknowledge how many credits they have. Calculations about how much you have and what you can afford to do with it are done in private, and only shared with a very few people." Olivia explained.

"So you get credits based on services you perform for society?" Lussa asked.

"That's correct." Li'ira said.

"How does anyone know what you did or how much it's worth?" Lussa asked.

Li'ira looked thoughtful. "Well, for us here on the ShiKahr, our duty logs and reports will be analyzed and who does what and its value to society will allocated according to a real time floating analysis. Earth has the best computer technology from the galaxy over and an immense bureaucracy devoted to analyzing and allocating these values."

"How about people who aren't in Starfleet?" Rill asked.

"They keep job logs, too." Li'ira said. "If you choose to work in such a way as your computer can track your comings and goings, you can set it up in such a way as to be handled automatically."

"What if I lie?" [[List of Green Orion Women |Kell]] asked. He was a Green Orion Male, in his late teenage years.

"Well, if there's reason to suspect that you're defrauding the system, an investigation will be launched." Li'ira said. "And you'll have to pay society back. They'll take a certain amount away from you each month. And if you want to be able to purchase food, or pay rent, then you'll need to find something useful to do, and not lie about it." Li'ira said. "This is how many unpleasant jobs are staffed."

"If you commit a serious crime, or steal a large amount and get caught, then you'll go to jail." Olivia pointed out. "These are labor camps where very hard work is done until you've paid off the debt to society that you've incurred."

"It's all measured and by the numbers huh?" Lussa asked. She had bright, intelligent eyes and an intense focus.

"Yes." Li'ira said.

"Captain." Sunshine said. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

[jayphailey]

The Ferengi introduced "Gold-Pressed Latinum" to the galaxy some time ago. It took off like wild fire.

Lots of people like to have money that jingles and can't be traced.

Dilithium can be traded like money

Subspace coils are made of rare earth metals molded under very careful conditions of pressure and temperature - this includes the big warp drive coils that drive starships.

The rare and exotic metals that ar used for this can also be traded like money

For people who are equipped to handle it, Anti-Matter can also be used as money

In Jay-Trek Anti-Matter is made from Distilled sunlight. Anti-Matter refineries are huge solar cells that collect solar energy and then use that energy to make anti-matter out of deuterium.

Fusion runs on Deuterium. So in some places deuterium is worth money. In civilized places they scoop deuterium out of gas giants or separate it out of normal water.

[jayphailey]

On Earth money is "Energy Credits" and they give the stuff away. It's calculated as a share of the energy the world generates. When you grab some food out of the replicator, the cost is calculated in how much energy it took to run the replicator, how much energy it took to gather the raw materials and a small added bit to cover repairs and maintenance of the replicator as well as its eventual replacement.

But even if you go wild and use up all your energy credits, they won't let you starve.

[jayphailey]

In a society with replicators and nearly free energy, it's hard to describe what pirates are stealing

So I hand wave "Space gold and space jewels"


What do trade ships carry back and forth to the planets?

Garry and I hand wave that "Trade Boxes!" Different colored ones to abstractly represent the various things different planets want

If you think about it too hard you'll only make yourself unhappy.

[Innkeeper]

Garry and I hand wave that "Trade Boxes!" Different colored ones to abstractly represent the various things different planets want

If you think about it too hard you'll only make yourself unhappy.

If you do not do this you end up trying to invent a viable interstellar economy. I personally treasure what sanity I have left.

[jayphailey]

If you do not do this you end up trying to invent a viable interstellar economy. I personally treasure what sanity I have left.

You have Sanity?

[Innkeeper]

If you do not do this you end up trying to invent a viable interstellar economy. I personally treasure what sanity I have left.

You have Sanity?

In a small pill bottle in the back of a drawer.