There’s some “new money” in one Iowa town this weekend. The followers of the Maharishi who settled in and around Fairfield in the last couple decades have never been too bothered what other folks think of them. The tidy suburban community of Vedic City, however, is banking on being different. Tomorrow they roll out a new currency, the raam. The gold coins are made in Holland, and one will be equivalent to ten U-S dollars. Nobody’s going to turn down good old American cash anytime soon, and the founders of Vedic City say both official money and the new coin will be used. Backers say the name “raam” carries a heavy load of symbolism, for world peace and agricultural development to help developing nations free themselves from debt. The city council voted this week that the raam will go into use in Vedic City Sunday.
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