Bernard Lietaer - The Future of Money - Full Book

The goods and services exchanged are only the tip of the iceberg. A comparative survey was made of retirement homes: those using the Time Dollar approach compared with those that didn't. In the retirement homes using the Time Dollar approach, they found that using this money knits the group together. People say hello to each other. When someone has birthday, there is a big party for the entire home. People look out for each other. There is an informal dinner once a week. They start a communal garden. In short, community has been created.

This simple device has changed the way people relate to each other.

People feel that their contributions are rewarded. They feel valued.

One totally unexpected side effect appeared. Participants got healthier! In Brooklyn, New York, a health insurance company called Elderplan has decided to accept 25% of the premiums for its senior health programmes in Time Dollars. Elderplan has even created its own 'Care Bank' where participants log an average of over a thousand hours per month. It started as a home repair service by which potential problems are fixed before they cause accidents. The Care Bank has as motto: A broken towel rail is a broken hip waiting to happen.236 For the insurance company, this is clever marketing.

But Elderplan also took these unusual initiatives because it had noticed that pensioners participating in Time Dollar systems were experiencing fewer health problems. The bottom line was that their health care is less expensive for the insurance company. The Elderplan system is expanding during the year 2000 to include various boroughs of New York. A special new programme focusing on diabetics and which includes a major component of self-help is being launched by the same time bank. The time credits are now also redeemable against cinema and theatre tickets, transport vouchers, healthcare products, supermarket and luncheon vouchers throughout Brooklyn.