The Untaxable Dollar

One of the biggest pitfalls of modern socieities is the areas of the society which are forgotten. Sadly, there are many: the elderly, youth, poor, homeless.... our famliy units, neighborhoods and communities have been destroyed, all in the name of "progress". Where just a few years ago it was natural to ask your neighbor for a cup of sugar or to watch your children while you run a quick errand, many neighborhoods of today are no longer the same safe havens they once were. How many of us do not even know our neighbors: their names, kids names, what they do for a living, their hobbies, interests, or favorite food? How many times do we pass a nursing home, barely noticing the lonely residents who have no family or friends with whom to share their lives? We barely notice the single mother who is struggling to raise her children while she tries to find work, or the youth who desire an alternative other than the street gangs and drugs that control the streets. Where is the village that we so desperately need to raise our children, care for our sick and help those who need it? The village has disappeared, leaving each individual virtually alone, struggling through life with very few people, if anyone, to depend on.

Some communities have been working to solve these problems and others by using a program called Time Dollars. Time Dollars is a community-based service program that utilizes the timeless concept of bartering, but without the bargaining. "I joined Time Dollars because it reminded me of how things used to be, neighbors helping each other. I like that," Therese Blais, a 67 year old retired nun of Maine, said of the program. The program is simple: one hour of work or service equals one Time Dollar, which can, in turn, be exchanged for one hour of work or service.

Time Dollars are not only a way of exchanging services. They also help rebuild community and encourage volunteering, as anyone can participate in the program. Unlike traditional money or bartering, Time Dollars are not taxable. They can be saved, donated, given away, and used by those who earn them.

At Pleasant View Gardens (a low-rise public housing project) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, a Time Dollars program allows members to earn Time Dollars by doing yard work, hairstyling, after-school tutoring, cooking, companionship and transport. Spending their Time Dollars on things like Bingo games, goods donated by local businesses such as shoes and bread, and other services, residents of the housing project are developing a caring community amongst a typically crime-ridden residence.

Inmates in Portland, Maine, who have less than one year left of their sentence, have the opportunity to earn Time Dollars by offering their services in the community. "They' ve been very isolated, and now itÕs time for them to come out, and they need that support," said Auta Main, the director of the Maine Time Dollar program. "A lot of them are single mothers that were desperate because they had no money and they did shoplifting and similar things. These were not career criminals, they were people who felt they had nowhere to go. "ÊInmates not only earn Time Dollars that they can spend on the services of other members and go to events such as Portland Concert Association performances when they are released, but they also have the opportunity to get into the communities, network, make friends and begin the process of adjustment, something that is neglected much too often and leaves the inmates feeling alone and without hope. The program has been a success, and the inmates are anxious to be productive parts in the outside community. Everyone gains.

Abriendo Puertas, a program providing mental health services for children in the Little Havana area of Miami, Florida, USA (who are mostly very poor immigrants), has also adopted the Time Dollar program. Families can volunteer their services to Abriendo Puertas, other agencies, and each other to earn Time Dollars, which they exchange for transportation, immigration services, computer classes and food (1 Time Dollar buys 10 pounds of food).

In Chicago, Illinois, USA, about 1200 children at 25 Chicago schools earn Time Dollars forÊ tutoring or being tutored.Ê Parents are also required to participate: they must complete 8 hours of service to the school or neighborhood police programs. The tradeoff: 100 hours earns a refurbished computer.ÊKids in the program, who are typically behind in their studies, average one full years advancement in English and Math during the years they participate, and bullying decreases.

The Japanese village of Sekizens population is almost 46% elderly, and the young people move to Tokyo or Osaka looking for work, leaving the population in need. The DanDan project allows residents of Sekizen, which covers three islands in the Seto Inland Sea, to earn and spend Time Dollars helping each other. "DanDan" means "thank you very much for your kindness" and is a neighbor-helping-neighbor program. New members receive 20 "chips", each worth 30 minutes of service, to get them started. The program has helped many seniors in the village.

Today, the elderly in China represent about 10 percent of population. But in 30 years - just one generation - that number will double to more than 275 million, which is more than the entire population of the United States. ChinaÕs newest elderly care program, "Time Bank", is working to help solve this impending problem. Time Bank works like a savings account: able-bodied pensioners volunteer their time to care for other elderly people in need, and the hours they work are recorded. When they grow older, they will be entitled to receive the same hours of care from another volunteer. This creates a community of caring while ensuring that ChinaÕs elders of today and tomorrow will be cared for.

In too many neighborhoods, vital activities that involve caring for others are no longer routinely provided. Community suffers as a result. Support networks become increasingly fragile. Time Dollar programs reverse these trends. They give value to seemingly mundane tasks. As Time Dollar members earn Time Dollars by doing these seemingly ordinary activities, they are rebuilding community, restructuring the ties that bind neighbor to neighbor. They are doing the crucial work of re-establishing networks of support. Because we have been brainwashed into dismissing this kind of work, it rarely even counts as work at all. Time Dollars solves these issues. For more information on programs near you, or if you would like to begin a Time Dollar program in your area, visit the Time Dollar Institute at www.timedollar.org.