At the risk of really oversimplifying things, money is nothing more than a placeholder for goods and services. I work a certain amount of hours contributing to this website, and in turn I'm paid enough to buy a Skube, or a PEO, or whatever it is that you've made and are selling. The economy is essentially one long string of IOU's ... right?

Timebanking cuts the currency and let's you trade goods and services for goods and services. For example, Benjamin Lyon-Ross is a graduate theater director who couldn't afford a regular practice space for his upcoming production. He used the Timebanking UK website to log several hours a week helping the elderly. In exchange for that, he received time at a rehearsal space.

In the site's own words, "Timebanking is a means of exchange used to organise people and organisations around a purpose, where time is the principal currency. For every hour participants ‘deposit’ in a timebank, perhaps by giving practical help and support to others, they are able to ‘withdraw’ equivalent support in time when they themselves are in need." You can visit their site for a more detailed breakdown of how the system works.

We're happy to see Lyon-Ross' production, Airport, is able to open next week at the Broadway, and it warms our heart to know that the elderly were helped in the process. Maybe timebanking will help us see the economy as a collection of people with goals and needs, and not just a swarm of products and services.