Ithaca Hours: Not legal tender...its local tender

"In the summer of 1991 Paul Glover heard a radio interview with Schumacher Society staff about the Deli Dollars and Berkshire Farm Preserve Notes. The story inspired him to issue Ithaca Hours in his hometown of Ithaca, New York, as a way to create more local jobs and more security for Ithacans who are underemployed. Ithaca Hours has grown from its small grass-roots beginning to include over a thousand individuals and stores. The scrip can buy food items, construction work, professional services, health care, and handicrafts." * www.smallisbeautiful.org

The successful ´Ithaca HOURS´ program has become a model for many other local currency programs around the country and world.

The city of Ithaca is located in Tompkins County, New York State. When Ithaca Hours first began, the average hourly wage in Tompkins County was right at $10 so the HOURS program recognizes that one HOUR would represent $10. A half HOUR would equal $5 and so on. The actual notes have six denominations between one HOUR and a tenth.

Additionally, the name "HOURS" should remind users that not only is money designed to be a medium of exchange, but currency also represents labor, skills, plus the time it takes to perform a service. A user´s time and effort is exchanged for HOURS. However, the fact that one hour holds the value of $10 does not mean you can´t sell your time for more than $10 per hour. Some skilled tasks require more than the usual wage of $10 per hour, so as in any large community, expect to often encounter a varied price for different work. Both goods and services are exchanged for this local money.

Ithaca HOURS is real currency that anyone can use locally in and around Ithaca, New York. As their web explains, since no national money system in the world today has actual commodity backing, the Ithaca notes are just like fiat money. The HOURS are simply declared as money and recognized by their users to have value. They are plenty legal to use and widely accepted.

This currency unlike BerkShares or the Toronto Dollar does not have any medium of exchange for the conversion of HOURS back and forth between national dollars. The community has accepted these notes as only having value with other users. As a merchant, should you take in more HOURS than you can likely re-spend your move would be to adjust or slow your daily acceptance of them. One component of the Ithaca HOURS´ success stands with the community´s ability to continually circulate them.

"Ithaca Hours is a local currency system that promotes local economic strength and community self-reliance in ways which will support economic and social justice, ecology, community participation and human aspirations in and around Ithaca, New York." * www.ithacahours.org

Like all other complementary currencies which are restricted to a geographic region, the real strength behind this program is in the continued circulation of their receipts. The merchants should not accept any more HOURS than they can easily spend back into the local economy. No value is gained from saving them. Value is created by constant use.

"...when you spend an HOUR you know it is going to stay in our community, keep circulating, supporting our economy and maybe even end up right back in your pocket. And also unlike dollars this is your system. You can get to know the people who run the system (HOURS Board of Directors) as well as those business people that accept HOURS, and you can even help make the decisions which make the system run (by attending the Annual Meeting, electing and talking with members of the Board, or even running for a seat on the Board yourself." * www.ithacahours.org

Around Ithaca there are several hundred business merchants which will gladly accept the local money. Even the local Alternatives Federal Credit Union allows tellers to keep HOURS in the drawer and customer use them to pay bank fees. The local food cooperative will accept them but they limit the amount to just $5 per transaction so they don´t take in more than they can spend. The HOURS program gives local businesses a leg up in competition with large retailers. Keep in mind that this program was created in the early nineties and is still operating successfully today.

The paper notes feature pictures of local waterfalls, a steamboat, children and animals. Crooks wanting to forge HOURS will have a hard time as they have special faint graphics and serial numbers. Furthermore, if caught trying to counterfeit them, you would be looking at a felony charge!

Any person or business may transact with HOURS. Local merchants which are listed in the Directory make a commitment and are actually required to accept at least a portion of a sale in HOURS and not national currency (USD).

´Ithaca Hours is local currency that works.´

If you are just getting started with Ithaca HOURS, you may begin by offering products or services through their directory. With your membership and new ad listing you will receive 2 HOURS and can begin accepting HOURS as a medium of exchange. The directory is an annual issue so each time you renew your listing, you will also receive another 2 HOURS. You can even opt to receive partial local wages in HOURS. Please see their web site for more details because you can only receive a specific portion of your pay in the local money. If you would like to simply buy some HOURS, you can exchange your national dollars for local currency in the local Autumn Leaves Bookstore.

Loans and Grants

One of the greatest feature of community currency, including Ithaca HOURS, is the organization´s option to make NO interest business loans. Unlike a bank or credit company loan, applications are not only judged on credit worthiness but also, the applicants "... ability to spend the HOURS in diverse ways within the community; and the extent to which the proposed activity will support or stimulate entrepreneurship and opportunity within the community". As a member, both Individuals and businesses are eligible to apply for loans.

The Ithaca community shows great pride and a personal connection to the HOURS program. There have been many great local relationships built over HOURS transactions. The government sees them as taxable income so everyone is aware when using them to keep track of expenses and income. Unfortunately, local users cannot pay their income tax with HOURS yet, but I´m sure if any community ever gets that feature Ithaca will be the first.

The world´s largest local currency loan to date has been made by the Ithaca HOUR system, in Ithaca, New York. Alternatives Federal Credit Union/CUSO received $30,000 in the form of 3,000 Ithaca HOURS. The HOURS were spent to pay 5% of contract work for building the credit union´s new headquarters at State and Fulton Streets.

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