These are some of the questions that people have asked us (or that we've discussed ourselves) about how the Wayne County Time Bank works:
- Is the Time Bank a bartering system?
Sort of, but you don't have to pay back the person who does you a favor. It is a "pay-it-forward" system. That's one of the reasons why people find it so much easier to do things for others in a Time Banking system: you don't have to figure out what to give back to the person who helped you. You can choose how to pay it forward doing what you want, when you want. - How does this work in terms of taxes and income reporting?
In normal bartering, you have to declare the value of the goods and services you receive to the IRS. The national Time Banks, USA organization has an IRS private letter ruling that Time Dollar exchanges are tax exempt. - Do you do background checks on members?
We currently do not perform background checks, and the Time Bank coordinators will generally leave it up to you to decide whether or not you're comfortable having another member perform a service for you. We have talked about the possibility of facilitating some sort of screening process in the future, and we hope you will let us know if this is of interest to you. In the meantime, here are some related suggestions if you are concerned about safety and security as a part of a transaction:- Schedule some time to talk with the member at a monthly meet-up. Ask questions that you would normally want answers to before having someone perform services for you.
- You could agree that both of you will share a background check (available free at the Wayne County jail) with each other
- Carefully consider the information you've received prior to making your decision
on whether to engage in an exchange - you're under no obligation and you should not do anything that's uncomfortable for you. - If you want to make it a practice to follow these screening suggestions, include on your profile that you only time bank with others who follow the above time bank screening suggestions
- Why would someone who normally makes a lot of money for their time be willing to accept the same "payment" as someone who is just pulling weeds?
If you're thinking about this question, it means you're exploring the new kind of economy we're trying to create! Remember that our core values [0] say that everyone has something to contribute, and that we are trying to redefine what kinds of work are valued in our community. Time Banking is an easy way for people of any profession (neurosurgeons, landscapers, or otherwise) who are ready to give back to do volunteering without having to go someplace else on someone else's schedule.
You can read more answers to frequent questions on the Time Banks USA website [1].
If you have other questions or clarifications that you think we should publish here, please comment below!