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[RFC] 'Bank of Sol' and 'Solar Credit'
[RFC] 'Bank of Sol' and 'Solar Credit'
#1
I was supposed to present the budget to the co-op this evening. We didn't have quorum, so that's happening next week instead. But I'm still focused on financial matters, and this came out...

The '''Bank of Sol''' is Fenspace's central bank, responsible for interfactional monetary policy, the issuing of currency (namely the [[Solar Credit]) and maintenance of the money supply, the oversight (but not regulation) of local financial institutions, and the safekeeping of the [[Fenspace Convention]'s reserves of financial instruments issued by Earthside governments. Its primary responsibility is to ensure the financial welfare of Fenspace.

Since most money in Fenspace is electronic, the Bank's responsibility in the issuing of currency and maintenance of the money supply is pimarily in the realm of developing and testing cryptographic systems to protect the virtual money supply. These responsibilities are handled by bonded AIs that were specially programmed and 'waved to be as incorruptible as possible.Membership in the [[Hacker Underspace] by the Bank's AIs is strongly discouraged, to avoid the perception of possible conflict of interest.

== Operations ==

Every individual who has signed the [[Articles of Convention] is considered to hold one voting share in the Bank of Sol. The Bank as a whole is not a member of any [[faction], although individual employees and directors may be members of whatever faction they choose. The nine Directors of the Bank serve for three years and are chosen by vote; three directors are elected at each [[Fenspace Convention] and begin their terms on January 1 of the year following their election.This allows for elections to be held no matter when the yearly Conventions are held while still giving Directors terms of equal lengths, barring leap years.)

The Bank of Sol is funded from its seigniorage (the difference between the interest the Bank earns on its reserves of financial instruments issued by Earthside governments – which is roughly equal in value to the total value of the currency in circulation – and the cost of issuing, distributing, and replacing the currency). This means that it is in the Bank's direct interest to keep the Solar Credit stable; if the Bank were to be forced to redeem large numbers of Solar Credits, their reserves of financial instruments would shrink and the seigniorage would shrink in proportion.

== Relations ==

The Bank of Sol is on good terms with the Reserve Bank of Australia. They also cooperate with the [[Space Patrol]'s Sections 3 and 4 to investigate cases of suspected fraud or money-laundering.

== Notes ==

{{culture}}
[[Category:Fen Culture]



And this is a companion to the above article. Do I need to hang the Stub tag on this, or is what's written here pretty much all there is to say about the topic?

The '''Solar Credit''' is the local currency of Fenspace, issued by the [[Bank of Sol]. The value of the Solar Credit has been pegged to the Australian Dollar at par since its creation. The Solar Credit's three-letter currency code is FSC, short for "Fen Solar Credit".

The currency exists mostly in electronic form, although the Bank of Sol has contracted with [[Hephaestus Mining and Metalworking, Unltd.] to produce proof and commemorative coins for the collectors' market. It does not exist in paper form.

{{culture}}
[[Category:Fen Culture]



Opinions, thoughts, brickbats, or death threats, anyone?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#2
Just a question about the AIs. While membership with the Underspace is discouraged, do they not mind getting an assist now and then?

Just something that occured to me.
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#3
The solar credit page looks pretty sufficient.

I have just one question -- how does the Solar Credit compare to the biomass standard? Is there a floating exchange rate, or is it pegged like Australian dollar?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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#4
blackaeronaut Wrote:Just a question about the AIs. While membership with the Underspace is discouraged, do they not mind getting an assist now and then?

Just something that occured to me.

Not all members of the Underspace are AIs, although the majority are. Buckaroo himself well understands the need for outside assistance, having developed the Global Frequency on just that need. Needless to say, the checks and balances of such an arrangement are fairly tight.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
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#5
Personally, I think the Solar Credit entry can be merged as another section of the Bank of Sol entry.

Being pegged to the Australian Dollar and with the nature of the Fen economy, the SolCred is worth more than the other currencies in use (roughly 3 MTP credits to 1 Solar Credits). Most factions tend to use their own currency, even if the SolCred is accepted everywhere. If we want to match SolCreds to Biomass, a rough rate of maybe 50g of viable growth mass (i.e. living potted plants or compost) to the credit probably will do (this fluxuates a bit as other resources become needed).

Also, the Solar Credit tends to induce some weird price comparisons. Some items expensive down the Well (for example electric vehicles, especially cars), tend to be much cheaper in Fenspace. While whilst things not normally considered expensive (say, mass produced snack foods) can seem extrordinarilly expensive in comparisson due to shipping costs. In general, the cost of living in Fenspace is lower than 'Daneside (mainly because more trade and barter goes on in the Black).
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#6
Quote:Personally, I think the Solar Credit entry can be merged as another section of the Bank of Sol entry.
Somebody (I suspect Mal) thought it prudent to have separate links to 'Bank of Sol' and 'Solar Credit' in the same article, so I wrote that way.

And, honestly, I'd have to agree. I think there isn't that much overlap between the two articles - they're connected, but they aren't really related (if you get what I'm trying to say). Somebody who's looking for information on one for a story probably won't care too much about the other, and that's one of the criteria I use for deciding whether concepts deserve their own articles.

Edit: They're on the FenWiki now - http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?title=Bank_of_Sol]Bank of Sol (with minor additions to the footnotes) and http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?title=Solar_Credit]Solar Credit. Have at them...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#7
I still don't understand how it interacts with the biomass standard...
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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#8
I'm thinking that a set amount of biomass is worth one Solar Credit. (How much biomass? Don't know. How much money do we want in circulation?)

That would make the Bank of Sol the guarantor of the exchange rate, exchanging biomass and 'daneside financial instruments as necessary. Which means that the Bank has a physical location, if only as someplace to put the biomass it keeps in reserve...

Once we hammer this out, I'll add it to the wiki entry.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#9
Bank of Sol has to be Planetside if only for general security. (We don't want anyone Carmen Sandiego-ing the whole thing now do we?) Whether this is Mars, Luna, or Terra (Australia or New Zealand) is open to debate.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll
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#10
Luna. Convenient to Earth but too big to steal.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Reply
 
#11
Quote:Whether this is Mars, Luna, or Terra (Australia or New Zealand) is open to debate.
Definitely not Terra. No sane country puts their central bank inside someone else's sovereign territory, and biomass would wash away in the ocean.
Quote:Luna. Convenient to Earth but too big to steal.
And not being terraformed, so there's no question about whether any given unit of biomass belongs to the Bank or the Terraforming Project.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#12
Concur with all.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-

NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children
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