Summary
The Elastic Republic Ballot Standard proposes a new public monetary base in which each person is issued one Ballot unit, and total supply is pegged to population rather than to debt expansion or central bank balance sheets. Ballot units are both a standard money unit and a unit of civic representation, designed to complement the existing United States Dollar and support more stable, transparent public finance.
The Problem
Under the current system, most new money enters circulation through private credit creation and public debt issuance. This links national liquidity to:
- Market appetite for Treasury securities and bank lending,
- Leverage cycles and speculative finance, and
- Long-term interest obligations that constrain fiscal policy.
These dynamics make public budgets more vulnerable to financial market cycles, contribute to structural inequality, and leave democratic institutions reacting to monetary realities they do not directly control.
The Proposal
The Ballot Standard Monetary Act (full legislative draft) establishes a population-pegged monetary base denominated in Ballot Standard Money Units and administered by an independent Public Credit Authority. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
At a high level, the proposal:
- Issues one Ballot unit per eligible person, maintaining total supply equal to population.
- Uses a cryptographic ledger with deterministic reconciliation to ensure that the sum of all balances always equals the number of enrolled persons.
- Applies a modest, predictable demurrage to idle balances, recycling value back into public flows and per-capita distributions.
- Treats Ballot balances as instruments of representation in advisory and budgeting processes, without replacing constitutional voting rights.
Population-Pegged Supply
Total Ballot supply equals the number of verified persons. Supply adjusts automatically as people are born, die, naturalize, or change eligibility status.
Independent Public Credit Authority
A new federal entity administers issuance, identity integration, demurrage, and reconciliation, operating in parallel with the Federal Reserve, not as a replacement.
How the Ballot Works in Practice
1. Issuance and Accounts
Each eligible person is assigned one Ballot unit, represented as a high-precision account balance on a national ledger. Accounts are managed directly by the Authority, with no requirement to interact through commercial banks.
2. Block-by-Block Reconciliation
The system advances in discrete ticks (block cycles, no longer than 24 hours). At each block, the ledger:
- Applies valid transfers and delegations.
- Applies demurrage to idle balances.
- Distributes demurrage proceeds on a per-capita basis.
- Reconciles all balances so that their precise sum equals the number of eligible persons.
Deterministic reconciliation rules are specified in statute and regulation, including transparent tie-breaking to eliminate floating-point drift and ambiguity.
3. Demurrage Instead of Inflation
Instead of relying on generalized inflation to redistribute value, the Ballot standard uses a small, uniform demurrage rate on idle balances. Proceeds are routed into:
- Per-capita distributions (a form of monetary dividend),
- Public infrastructure and social programs, and
- Liquidity support mechanisms defined in law.
This design encourages circulation and broad participation while reducing the incentive for passive hoarding of monetary power.
Policy Objectives
The Ballot Standard is designed to complement, not abolish, existing monetary institutions. Key objectives include:
- Stabilize public finance by decoupling the monetary base from debt issuance and interest-rate dynamics.
- Strengthen democratic representation by tying monetary units to persons rather than accumulated capital.
- Reduce structural inequality by continuously recycling idle balances into shared public goods and universal flows.
- Enhance transparency by making supply, flows, and rules auditable in real time.
Implementation Path
Phase 1: Pilot Programs
The Act authorizes pilot deployments to test identity integration, reconciliation performance, demurrage behavior, and governance features at limited scale before full national rollout. Participation is voluntary and may include cities, states, tribes, agencies, and individuals.
Phase 2: Parallel Circulation
Ballot units are introduced as lawful money of the United States for taxes, benefits, contracts, and intergovernmental transfers, circulating alongside the United States Dollar as a parallel sovereign monetary base.
Phase 3: Ongoing Integration and Governance
Over time, federal and state programs may choose to denominate some portion of transfers, benefits, or participatory budgeting processes in Ballot units, while the Authority maintains strict supply rules tied to population.
Who Should Read This Brief
- Legislators and staff exploring new options for monetary and fiscal stability.
- Central bank and Treasury officials interested in parallel monetary bases and complementary settlement units.
- Researchers and academics studying inequality, macroeconomic stability, monetary design, and democratic governance.
- Civic organizations and advocacy groups focused on economic justice and institutional reform.
Next Steps and Contact
A full legislative draft of the Ballot Standard Monetary Act is available as a companion document, providing section-by-section statutory language and technical requirements for implementation.
For collaboration, comments, or jurisdiction-specific adaptations, please contact:
Email:
mike@elasticrepublic.com
Website:
https://elasticrepublic.com