Ithaca HOURs Online

Welcome to the on-line home of the founder of Ithaca HOURS. This web site contains a wealth of information about Ithaca HOURS' development and history, media coverage over the years, archives, (etc etc.) The Ithaca HOURS System is now managed by an elected Board of Directors. For information about current System activities and operations, how to obtain loans or grants, etc., visit the Ithaca HOURS web page at www.ithacahours.org

HOUR Resources

We have gathered together many resources here to make getting information on Ithaca HOURS as convenient as possible.

HOUR Highlights

Local Currency Health Financing

HOUR founder Paul Glover has started Ithaca's nonprofit, member-owned health security system, the Ithaca Health Alliance --in order to take control of health prices. Anyone in New York may join: payments are made for the services of any credentialed health provider anywhere. 2.5 Ithaca HOURS and $5.00 of local currency from other cities is welcome as part of the $100 annual membership fee. And tax-deductible donations are welcome, too. The Canadian national health plan began with a local program.

Glover is now starting a Philadelphia Health Co-op based on Ithaca's success, intending to start a national Health Democracy movement. He is a consultant on community economic development. paul5glover@yahoo.com (607) 342-2881 Glover's resume

HOURs Go Global!

Ithaca HOURS were visited by a top official of China's central bank, sent from Beijing by the President of the People's Bank of China (their Alan Greenspan) to talk about adopting HOURS as money in China. Wen Tiejun will report directly to the bank's president, who will deliver the report directly to China's Premier.

According to Wen, China is profoundly concerned that the world economy has become dependent on U.S. dollars, which he says (as we've said) is backed by market speculation (98% of daily trade) and military control of foreign oil, rather than by real goods. So China's looking for a new and stable form of money, backed directly by labor, before the dollar bubble breaks.

Your willingness to accept HOURS has brought us to this level of influence.

HOURs the Subject of PBS Special

The longest TV show about Ithaca HOURS yet, a full half hour PBS program entitled "How to Spend an HOUR" was broadcast nationwide.

Largest HOUR Loan in History

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.[Click here to continue.]

Other HOURS News

The Tompkins County Board of Representatives has approved a grant of $2,400 for Ithaca Hours, Inc. to produce a tourist brochure and other outreach materials.

The HOUR Board has made a grant of 30 HOURS ($300) to the Youth Horticultural Project of the Ithaca Children's Garden, to supplement wages. These teenagers are planting the Commons, the creeks, and other prominent public locations. HOUR grants totalling over $10,000 have been made to 60 community groups.

Help Wanted: The Ithaca HOURS, Inc. board and its committees (Circulation, Finances, Newspaper/Directory, and Outreach) are looking for people willing to work to make local currency an even more successful part of our local economy. Contact Volunteer Coordinator Steve Burke.

Interest from Japan

We've had a lot of visitors from Japan, whose economy is in recession. There are currently about 20 local paper money systems in Japan. HOUR board member Kevin Cuddback (of Gimme Coffee!) was hosted in Hiroshima for ten days, explaining how to start local currency.

Sponsored by: Online Casino

The director of Japan's Ministry of International Trade & Industry's (MITI) Service Division, Toshiriharyu Kato, has written a paper titled "Eco-Money: Its Significance and Possibilities in the 21st Century."

He endorses HOURS, saying, "People can use standard money in parallel with eco-money and make efficient use of one or the other to create the most appropriate life-style... The ultimate objective in implementing eco-money is to nurture trust among people, so that a sense of community can be cultivated."

A History of Ithaca HOURs (Paul Glover)

HOURS were created by our community's need and pioneer spirit. During the 1991 recession I designed prototype HOURS and began asking people to sign up to accept them. The first 30 people agreed. [Click here to continue.]

HOUR Links

Want to help spread the word about the power of local currency? Link to Ithaca HOURs Online using this address: http://www.ithacahours.com.

If you have a site containing resources related to local currency programs, we'd love to create a reciprocal link to your site. Write to Paul Glover for details.

Thanks to Lightlink for donating web space.