We will now accept Island Hours as partial payment, up to 50%. This is a new, local currency for Long Island based on each Hour being worth one hour of unskilled labor, currently about $10. So why use Island Hours instead of FRNs (Federal Reserve Notes/greenbacks)?
- Free advertising – your business will be added to the directory and people who have Hours to spend will be more likely to do business with you.
- Hours stay local, because big box retailers who send most of their value to shareholders out of state won’t join in. This is money that recirculates over and over again in the local economy, which helps small businesses. Ithaca, NY has been doing this for decades.
- The intrinsic value of a person’s time doesn’t go down, though an inflated dollar might. If inflation on the dollar gets to high, the exchange rate to Hours can be adjusted.
Eventually, it will be possible to get a loan from Island Hours at 0% interest. This will require all the same planning and creditworthyness of a bank loan, because it does need to be repaid. So for example you are a vendor and looking to build an extension on your home to grow the business, if you can find a local construction company that will take Hours, you could get a 0% interest loan to help pay the contractor, then when people come to your business and pay in Hours you can use that to pay back the loan at 0% interest. We need them to get a lot more popular before that can become viable.
The easiest way to get Island Hours is, if you are on Long Island and have a business providing goods or services, by signing up online and promising to accept Hours as at least partial payment, you will be issued some (currently 20 hours, a $200 value). This amount will likely go down in the future, to give incentive to get in early. Then once people start buying things from you in Hours, you get them from customers.
You can also find someone who has lots of Hours and is willing to trade them to you for FRNs, or if your employer participates you can ask for part of your paycheck to be issued in Hours. If you do sign up as a vendor, please tell them Harry from Lightbringer Designs sent you. There is a referral program so once you are in you can earn more hours by getting others to join.
As more vendors accept Island Hours, their practical value increases as you can buy more things with them.
