Today's Apocalypse Sign: Quid Pro Quo...

Can anyone say those words anymore without immediately thinking the next word should be, "Clarice".

As a big Silence fan, I cannot.

However one of the most intriguing new community systems out there are time banks. Time banks allow members to deposit and withdraw "time". That is they deposit their time to use someone elses time. Clear? There are roughly 50+ time banks currently operating in the US. Two hundred and fifty time banks in the UK and over 26 countries have time banks. Quid pro quo at it's most useful.

In essence it is an alternate currency system. It may even be in your neighborhood without you even knowing it. It is really trading skills you have for skills you don't have. You deposit time dollars in one hour increments and use at the same rate.

For example:

You maybe an accountant. And you may volunteer at a senior center 3 hours a week. You will have deposited 3 time dollars in the time bank. Someone else in the community may own an auto mechanic shop and does volunteer work 4 hours a week. They would deposit 4 time dollars in the time bank. At this point you and the auto mechanic have skills to trade. You may need some repair done to your car and he may need a service you provide (tax return, accounting system set up, etc.). He would do 3 hours work on your car and you would do equal time on what he needs done. No cash changes hands. No bills sent. But both of you get a needed service performed.

Here is a quip from Wikipedia:
As a philosophy, time banking also known as Time Trade^[11] is founded upon five principles, known as Time Banking's Core Values:^[12]

• Everyone is an asset,
• Some work is beyond a monetary price,
• Reciprocity in helping,
• Social networks are necessary,
• A respect for all human beings.

The concept is quite intriguing and I am not a hundred percent sure what my opinion is a this time. But I think anything that provides a fundamental quid pro quo bears investigating further.

Click Your Time Bank to see what's near you. I have one in Dallas with 120 members. I think I am going to check it out a little more. SoCal seems to be loaded with them. Good Luck!

Have you heard of time banking before? Do you have a time bank anywhere near you? What do you think of the concept? Would something like this work well in impoverished areas of the country?