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How Will HOURS Benefit Our Community?
HOURS inserts more "buying power" into the local economy - There is now money that wasn't there before to meet the needs of people offering services and people needing services. HOURS stays within the local area - A local currency can only be spent within the community. A study done by the Institute for Local Self Reliance notes that for every dollar McDonald's takes in, 85 cents leaves the area! HOURS circulates around and around in the community - Typically federal dollars passes around a few times and then leaves the county. HOURS stay in the community, essentially increasing their value each time they are exchanged. HOURS become a value-added product. HOURS helps preserve downtown businesses who have to compete with large chain stores. HOURS helps promote local businesses and cottage industries - As well as accepting hours for one's current work, people now have a way to offer services that they might think of as hobbies and/or would never have thought of turning into a "business." HOURS fosters the concept of a $10/hour minimum wage - Helps create the idea that people deserve a living wage for the work they do. People can still choose to charge more HOURS for their time, it is all a matter of the agreement reached between the two parties. HOURS is backed by real people and real services - You can meet these people and you can see these businesses, because they are in your own community. Federal dollars are backed by nothing except a debt that continues to grow, and by capital markets over which we have no control. HOURS currency can be printed locally in accordance with the needs of the local economy - The limit to how much money is printed is based on how well the system is being used and supported by the community. If this seems like an odd criteria for printing money, consider that we have ABSOLUTELY NO control over how much federal money is printed. HOURS helps create a buffer for the ups and downs of the federal economy - HOURS isn't intended to replace federal money, but to complement it in a way that directly benefits our local economy no matter what is happening at the federal level. HOURS helps people find work because they are listed in the directory. HOURS provides a way for people in our community to meet each other. HOURS can provide money to low income people who might not otherwise have money. HOURS helps promote and/or restore connectedness within a community - It is one thing to spend money, another to use a currency that you know is directly supporting your friends and neighbors in the community. HOURS helps promote sustainable as well environmentally-conscious businesses - When you live around and know the people and businesses you transact with, you are much more likely to support environmentally-conscious businesses, or can have some impact on local businesses moving in that direction. HOURS helps promote a self-sufficient community - The more locally owned and controlled businesses there are in the area, the more self-sufficient the community becomes. HOURS helps a community take back control over its own economy. Return to Ukiah HOURS Home Page Email: Ukiah HOURS Staff
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