5. A flood of small promissory notes

Abstract

A promissory note is a form of debt incurred in lieu of payment for a good or service. It is a signed commitment by the issuer to pay the provider of the good or service a specified sum on demand or by a certain date. The payment may include interest. Promissory notes may be sold at a discount to a third party. Promissory notes have become a second currency among Jews in the depressed, cash-poor, and unstable Polish economy, where even the slightest economic perturbation prevents the redemption of notes and creates repeated economic crises, including credit freezes and bankruptcies. The situation is exacerbated by the state offering much less credit to businesses run by Jews than to businesses run by non-Jews and regulating trade in a way that harms Jews in particular. Many solid old Jewish businesses have gone under in recent years and been replaced in part by high-risk businesses run by former salesclerks.