Time Banking

andLocal

Economies

by Jake Hanson

Question:“Tell me, what is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?”

― Mary Oliver

What is your calling? How would you really love to impact the world?

…and what’s stopping you?

Well???

What’s Stopping You?

Why is it…?…we don’t do the meaningful, creative, and

beautiful work our hearts desire to?

“Because you can’t make any money doing that”

So instead we let “the economy” determine what is possible for how we spend our lives.

“The Economy”

Debt-based money

+ Charging Interest (Usury)

= Pyramid scheme

By design, this creates a system wheretoo few dollars are always chasing

too much debt

“The Economy”• By design, this creates a system where

too few dollars are always chasing

too much debt

“The Economy”• Scarcity is built in

• Inequality can only increase

• The system requires exponential growth... or else it breaks down

“Trickle Down Economics”

Looking down, only shitheadsLooking up, only assholes

CEO

Results like this are built in… Not unfortunate accidents, but entirely predictable.

• Bankruptcies

• Bubbles

• Ever-widening wealth disparity

“The Economy”

Clearly… This Isn’t Working

“The availability of money can't be permitted to define the range of the possible.”

Clearly… This Isn’t Working

What, then, should we do?

• Abandon money and go live in a cave?

• “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em?”

• Or… create a better alternative?

It’s Okay, Though• The global economy hasn’t really brought

genuine fulfillment or happiness, anyway. …and it’s destroying the natural world.

• So as it dismantles, we have opportunities to build something better.

• It’s time to turn toward each other, work together, share, be creative & get busy!

A New EconomyLocal economies based in meaningful work, deeper connections with those around us,

more autonomy and calls for creativity.

•Do what we love,

•while supporting ourselves,

•and each other, •and co-creating a better world.

And it’s already started…

Time Banking• Here in Montrose!

• Like an alternative local currency, backed by real work, not by debt

• Direct exchange of items & services, accounted in hours, not in $$$

• It’s a peer-to-peer network of exchange, facilitated through a website.

.com

How to TimeBank• Sign Up! <TimeBankoftheRockies.com>

• List your offers: skills, talents, items… anything someone else might find useful

And Exchange:

• I help Joe fix his computer, he credits 1 hr to my account

• I spend 1 hr getting a massage from Lucy

• Lucy spends 1 hr for garden veggies from Joe…. Etc. etc. etc.

.com

Here in Montrose1 year, 113 Members, 1800 hrs exchanged

Popular Exchanges:

• Garden / Yard

• Computer Help

• Home Repair

• Transportation

• Fitness & Outdoors

• Child Care

• Classes

• Bodywork

• Wellness Support

• Food, Cooking

• Art, Crafts

• Elder Care

.com

Community• Access a valuable directory of local skills,

goods, people, and contact info.

• Develop relationships by giving and receiving help

• Realize your talents are valued

• Meet your needs without always using $$$

.com

Financial FreedomWhat if you didn’t need $ for housing & food?

Beyond Transaction• Rather than using monetary transactions,

we can meet our basic needs through mutually-beneficial relationships.

We Can Do It• “We have what we need

if we use what we have” - Edgar Cahn

In SummaryThe monetary system is a pyramid scheme of ever-expanding debt.

What if money were no object?

What would you do to improve your community if you could?

What’s stopping you?

Time’s Up!Jake HansonCo-Creator at Transition Lab, Montrose801-448-6246 | jake@resilientjake.info

@resilientjake (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Quick bio:

2009: Graduated from University of Utah in wake of financial collapse. Disillusionment. Lost faith in the system.

2009-2012: Activist in SLC, fighting The Man. Burnout.

2013: Decided creating alternatives was more effective than resisting. Joined Transition Lab. Feel much better!