During a recent visit to
Ithaca, NY,
which apparently is an island of political
liberalism surrounded by conservative
up-state New York, I learned about
Ithaca HOURS, an
alternative,
socially conscious currency. Intrigued,
I learned more at
www.ithacahours.org
www.lightlink.com/hours/ithacahours
An Ithaca HOUR is a unit of currency equivalent
to $10.00, since that was the hourly wage of a
Tompkins County worker in 1991 when the HOUR was
created. There are bills issued in denominations
of one, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 HOUR. The basic idea behind
having a local currency rather than relying only on
US money is to encourage people and businesses to
invest in the local economy. Paul Glover,
the founder, says,
While dollars make us increasingly dependent on transnational
corporations and bankers, HOURS reinforce community trading
and expand commerce which is
more accountable to our concerns for ecology and social
justice.
Many local businesses
accept some portion of purchases to be paid in HOURS
instead of dollars. It is up to the businesses what percentage
to accept, since the idea won't work if the businesses can't
spend their HOURS soon after receiving them.
HOURS are legal tender and are taxable when accepted for goods or services. See also local exchange trade
system.