Currency Systems
Backed Currencies		Ithaca HOURS
LETS		National Currencies
ROCS		Time Dollars
Complementary Currencies

Ithaca HOURS

Benefits

How Issued

Benefits of the HOURS model:

Ithaca HOURS use the hour of service as unit of account and thus may be measured the same independently of place and circumstances. Ithaca HOURS have the advantage of - in case of high inflation in the national currency - to be able to revalue its unit of account to whatever the prevailing hourly pay is. The system is therefore less vulnerable to shocks if the national currency has a problem.
Paper currency feels more "real" to many people than just electronic bits or ledger inscriptions. It also provides a good support for local artwork and landmarks, enhancing Ithaca's "pride of locality", a very useful ingredient in mobilizing local community support.

How Ithaca HOURS are issued:: The bulk of the Ithaca HOURS are issued when someone advertises goods or services in the local Ithaca HOURS tabloid. Some issues are also given to projects deemed worthwhile for the community during the monthly community potluck meetings where main decisions are made.

How HOURS are measured:: The "going rate" for an Ithaca HOUR has been fixed at US$10 estimated as the value of one hour of average work. It is also a convenient decimal value so that pricing is easy for merchants.

HOURS exchanges are negotiable.

Participants may negotiate the number of HOURs to be exchanged in any particular transaction: One hour of a service requiring extensive training, skill, and experience, or expensive equipment, or posing high risk, may justifiably be worth several hours of less demanding work.

By leaving it to the negotiating parties to fix the number of "standard" HOURs of common service a particular service requires, one solves the problem of having to pre-determine the value of everyone's time, as was attempted unsuccessfully under the Soviet planning system.

Structural incentives in HOURS systems:

Given that there is no interest on HOURS, the built-in incentive to discount the future found in national currencies is reduced but not reversed.

HOURS are created by fiat, so they must be carefully managed by the issuing authority to prevent inflation.

Applications of the Ithaca HOURS model:

The Ithaca HOURS home page
Lots of places, some of which are present on the web, have adopted the HOUR model:
- Greenbacks in Brooklyn, NY
- Santa Barbara, CA HOURS
- Kingston Hours page
- Sustainable Community Roundtable's Sound Exchange

Related Resources

Also on the Transaction Net site:
- Pages devoted to other currency models (Time Dollars, backed currency, national currency, LETS, and ROCS money); as well as general descriptions of how money works and how currencies can fill complementary roles in the economy.
- reviews of all available Payment Methods
- a glossary of money-related terms and concepts
- a directory of publications relating to complementary currency systems and how the Internet can facilitate them.
a March, 1999 L.A. Times article describing an HOURs program in Mendocino County, California
The HOURs model is mentioned in an article oncountering consumerism
Ithaca HOURS described by its originator, Paul Glover
HOURS success stories.
Media Coverage of Ithaca HOURs
A comic strip depicting "Five months in the life of an Ithaca HOUR"
Virtual Ithaca presents information on HOURS and other grassroots programs in Ithaca.
"Grassroots Economics" by Paul Glover
an article on Simply Hours in Columbus, Ohio
a 21st Century Banking Alert devoted to HOURS
Punk Planet addresses Ithaca's "Funny Money"
A report on Simply Hours in central Ohio

The Transaction Net site is an independent, open forum where anyone and everyone can explore new economic media, so if you know of another site that deserves attention, please let us know. You're also invited to register and join us over in The Money Conference.

The Money Conference

Join us in The Money Conference, where we're gathering to compare insights on all kinds of money systems--old, new, high- and low-tech, real or theoretical--and to synthesize from our shared experience wiser and more efficient models of exchange media. Sign up for Motet conferencing, then come on in and introduce yourself, or jump right to our HOURS conversation.