TBAR: Texas, China, & a New Currency, Part 2

I mentioned earlier that Texas is weak in banking and we should build up our banking industry. More recently I mentioned the Chinese desire to have a synthetic currency to replace the dollar in international trade could benefit Texas.

I think the Chinese plan could benefit Plano. A synthetic currency for international trade could be an account containing a mixture of several currencies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) created something called "special drawing rights," or SDRs, so there is a precedent.

We are talking about nothing more than special ledgers. It is just a way of counting money. It will be electronic and can be done anywhere in the world.

Plano, Texas, could be the world's custodian for this new synthetic currency. Remember, it is just bookkeeping. The advantage for the international community to select Plano for this banking service is that it would place it in the United States, but away from the clutches of the New York banks. Besides breaking with the dollar, you can bet they no longer trust New York bankers nor Washington politicians. America has the rule of law. We have a good computer infrastructure. Texas is centrally placed in the USA, with DFW a major hub.

I do not believe we need heavy weight economists to run the banking service for a new synthetic currency. I think a major selling point would be to provide the best computer hardware, software, and security in the world. We could do that right here in Plano.

This could lead to Plano becoming a world center for banking. Our children need jobs to have a future. Engineering jobs are being sent offshore by Texas Instruments. Money is the future. People used to believe Americans understood finance and economics. Now that New York bankers are discredited we can step forward and say there are Americans in Plano, Texas who know how to manage money.

One businessman told me there are probably laws on the books that would make this difficult to accomplish this international banking operation. I reminded him how Senator Phil Gramm eliminated the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 by passing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. If it is possible to remove good laws from the books, it is possible to remove laws that stand in our way.

Phil Dyer, a banker, is running for Mayor of Plano. I will forward this idea to him.

We need forward thinking. We need big ideas to give our children a leg up in this competitive world, and I believe Plano can establish a world class banking service with a new synthetic currency.

Plano ought to send a delegation to China soon to begin discussions.

Robert Canright