Local alternative currencies reward one hour of work with one hour of community credit
Evidence
A slightly more organized way of supporting bartering relationships in local economies, “time banks” are popping up all over the world: “For every hour you spend doing something for someone in your community, you earn one Time Dollar. Then you have a Time Dollar to spend on having someone do something for you” (www.timebanks.org). Alternative currencies (also referred to as “slow money”) are similar. While there are variations for how it works, Ithaca Hours is typical. Founded in 1991 in Ithaca, New York, this community-organized system is the oldest sustained local currency in operation. Here’s how it works: Participants sign up to become members. Once members they can exchange goods and services by using the currency instead of Federal currency. Laboring for one hour in participating businesses, members earn one Ithaca Hour, a note that is worth $10, which they can use to buy food, services, and other goods in other participating businesses and individual members. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1809
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines time banks and alternative/slow money currencies through the concrete Ithaca Hours example.
- XREF: connects to: Finance commons challenge private capital accumulation through community banks and local currencies. — Laura Albareda and Alejo Jose G. Sison, Commons Organizing: Embedding Common…, 178; Simultaneous exchange enables trading with strangers of unknown reputation. — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 112
Broader Connections
- Finance commons challenge private capital accumulation through community banks and local currencies.
#expands(0.82) — Laura Albareda and Alejo Jose G. Sison, Commons Organizing, 178 - Simultaneous exchange enables trading with strangers of unknown reputation.
#expands(0.75) — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 112