Brattleboro Time Trade: www.brattleborotimetrade.org
Exchanging services, creating connections, strengthening communities, one hour at a time. 
See below for more exciting Upcoming Events and learn what Time Trade can do for you!
How Time Trade Works: You do something for someone and earn time credits for your “bank,” which you can then put towards someone else doing something for you! It’s that simple – and amazing!
This week’s fabulous listings, brought to you from a jet lagged brain:
OFFERS (i.e. things people could do for you):
Home Energy Assessment
Buddy Assistance with Members
Free Antique Piano~Upright, Needs Tuning & Missing 1Pedal, but Works!
Gabriel Organics Seaweed Bath & Shower Gel
Goat Care Guidance
Life Coach
Reiki and Flower Essence Consultations
Survival Skills
Dog Sitting in Our Home
REQUESTS (i.e. things you may be able to help someone with):
Garden Planning
Writing Support
Working Co-Op Hours
Ride Needed to the Windham County Humane Society Vaccine
Clinic April 28 from 10-12 pm
Fix Fence Posts
Teach Me About my Trees & Brush – and Pruning!
Looking for a House Sitting or Home Share Situation in
Brattleboro
Looking for Childcare
Woman’s Haircut Needed
Biotin Needed
Can You Give me a Referral to a Part-time Home Childcare
Provider?
Need Help Painting
Got Succulents/Cacti/Desk-Plants to Give Away?
Digging Help Needed!
Oil Burner Stopped
Local Fruits and Veggies Wanted
Help Needed at May Potluck’s Swap
Yard Work, Wood Stacking, Painting
Cooking… Lessons?
Write Thank-You Notes
Eggs – (Chicken, duck, quail, etc.)
Re-Cementing an Old Wood Cookstove
Moving In Help
June 6th Strolling of the Heifers Tabling
May 1 Tabling at Gallery Walk
Couch Moving
Zipper Replacment
Looking for a Trailer to Rent or Buy
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Potluck Socials: You need not be a member to attend and check one out!
May 17 from 5:30-7:70 at The Root Social Justice Center
June 11 from 5:30-7:70 at The Root Social Justice Center
BTT OFFICE HOURS for the Time Trade at our 15 Grove St. location (behind the Stone Church):
Monday 12:00 noon – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday 12:00 noon – 6:00 p.m.
Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
or by appointment
PHONE: (802) 246-1199
The PUBLIC WEBPAGE for the Brattleboro Time Trade: http://www.brattleborotimetrade.org/
TO JOIN BTT, see the full listings, or get more information: http://www.brattleborotimetrade.org/become-a-member/
There
are periodic member orientations, potluck gatherings and a ‘buddy’ system to help new members get acquainted with the system.
Equivalence of Time
My question about the Time Trade system is this: is one person’s time really equal to another’s? Or, put another way, is time spent doing project X really the same as time spent doing service Y? What if X is brain surgery and y is shoveling snow? What if X is babysitting and Y is highly specialized computer technical support? What if X is loaning out your canoe and Y is Emergency Medical Services?
The subject of one person's
The subject of one person’s service being equal to another person’s service has been discussed many times on this site. The whole point of Brattleboro Time Trade or any time trade is that when you stop factoring in a monetary value everyone’s time IS worth the same. Generally you don’t see services or skills being offered that one would be earning huge hourly wages for in their “real”life. It’s more often everyday services that people don’t have time to do or, for some reason, are unable to do. Like snow shoveling or painting a bathroom or moving a couch. In all likelihood you aren’t going to find a surgeon or a five star chef or an airline pilot offering services via a time trade.
But, if you were a brain surgeon on your way to an emergency and you found yourself stranded on a deserted road with a flat tire that you didn’t know how to change( because, you’re a brain surgeon) and you don’t have any service on your phone- I’m guessing the time of the person who comes along who CAN change your tire is going to seem pretty valuable to you. It’s all relative.
Value of time
I think Will Stomp asks a relevant question and I would like to share my thoughts.
Because the system is set up as a time bank in which we can earn time-hours which are credited to our account, and then spend these time-hours: It is only natural to view time-hours as currency, equivalent to dollars. Like monetary exchanges, the exchange of time hours is a catalyst, motivating people to serve one another. But there are significant differences.
One difference is that if I have enough money, I can buy anything that is offered for sale. But I cannot compel another timetrade member to weed my garden. Money buys commodities, in a market, at the market price. Help from one neighbor to another is not a commodity which can be demanded by whomever can pay: It is voluntary service which is freely given, and can be withheld. In fact, the IRS has ruled that time-credit is not subject to income tax, because time credits are used to motivate members and that no contractual rights arise when one earns a credit or owes a credit.
http://timebanks.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/What-about-taxes_-Edgar-Cahn.pdf
For years i would invite neighbors who do not have a car not to hesitate to ask me when the need a ride. People felt embarrassed to ask, as though they would be freeloaders. And I never would have had the nerve to ask a neighbor to use their snow blower to clear my driveway. Since joining Brattleboro Time Trade, I have been able to give rides, because no one needs to feel awkward when the ride recipient can pay with time credit. And I have received services, including snow clearing. (Typically, the ride giver or snow blower owner is given gas money.)
This past winter, I had a medical crisis which left me unable to do physical work. A new time trade member did my roof raking. Thus I got “paid back” for a number of medical rides and other rides I had given time traders, but I was “paid back” by someone for whom I had done nothing, but who was glad to have an opportunity to add time credit to his new account.
Generally, I do not expect professional-level services for time-trade. We did get our washing machine hooked up in a totally professional manner, but much of what is done through time trade are truly helpful, but not necessarily equivalent to what a professional would do. It is not reasonable, for example, to rely on time trade for ongoing professional services. So if I need one-time computer help, time trade might be the answer, but I would be foolish to think that anyone is going to agree to update my website twice a week on time trade.
I think it is very natural for neighbors to want to help one another, but it is not always easy to unleash that impulse. Time trade facilitates a network of neighbors helping neighbors. If someone comes to help me with yard work, perhaps the work will be less efficient that if I call a landscaper; but it will be a lot more affordable, and we are likely to strike up a friendship. Brattleboro Time Trade has monthly potlucks, where we meet one another in a friendly setting. When you shared a meal with someone and gotten to know them, it is a lot easier to call them with a request, or to respond to their request.
A woman whom we met through Brattleboro Time Trade told my wife that she had recently moved to Brattleboro and had felt very isolated until joining Brattleboro Time Trade. She said that in the month that she had been a member, she had met quite a number of people, and the quality of her life has improved as a result.
Time trade is not for everyone. It is possible that, from a purely rational perspective, the arrangement may not make sense the way a monetary system does. In my experience, being involved with people who share the values which bring us together as time traders has enriched my life, and it feels good. I cannot measure that on a balance sheet, but it is of great value to me 🙂
The Time of Goods
Ok, so here’s another question. I’ve noticed that often in the Time Trade listings on iBratt people offer goods, whether they are bamboo chainsaw parts or the ‘renting’ of an under water kayak. How does one affix a ‘time’ on such goods or rentals? And what does the IRS say about such things?
Time Trade and goods
I cannot see why the IRS’ logic regarding goods would not be the same as for services.
Brattleboro Time Trade members have discussed exchange of goods and the consensus was that we do not want to be bound to legalistic, rigid rules, but that for good and for other “non-conforming” trades, the participants should be free to decide by mutual consent what they both agree is fair.
Time vs. Goods
The IRS might consider these different because the IRS considers barter a taxable transaction. Trading time for time is one thing, trading a commodity for a commodity is quite another. Trading time for a commodity — who knows?
“Decide by mutual consent.” Hmmm, may the best negotiator win.
Not a bartering system
Time Trades are not a bartering system. When you barter one persons offers one service or commodity to another person who offers something back to that person. That’s not how a time trade works. One person can offer an item for use and the person who takes them up on that offer doesn’t necessarily give something directly back to that person. I could offer the use of a horse trailer and “Bob” could want to use that horse trailer but he doesn’t have the services I’m looking for. So, I get the 6 hours he used the trailer in time credits and then, 3 months down the road I can use those 6 accrued hours to get someone to move some furniture for me. No direct barter is involved. It’s really a pretty simple thing with some negotiations occasionally done when tangible items are concerned. People usually can figure out the worth of what they’re offering without too much difficulty.
Not a bartering system?
KAlden —
In this post the following goods/products are offered (40% of the week’s offerings):
• Free Antique Piano~Upright, Needs Tuning & Missing 1 Pedal, but Works!
• Gabriel Organics Seaweed Bath & Shower Gel
Suppose these two people ‘traded’ their products. Would that not be a barter, albeit in the form of a Time Trade exchange? What if you ‘bought’ the shower gel for Time Trade hours, and then come September ‘sold’ a couple of bushels of apples you’d grown for Time Trade hours. Can you guarantee me that the IRS would not come down on you for not paying taxes on this transaction as a barter? If you can that would be quite splendid indeed, and might in fact lead to an economic revolution.
I can't guarantee you
I can’t guarantee you anything. I can only speak of my own experiences as both a long time member and former coordinator of this particular time trade. I suppose that the person with the piano and the one with the shower gel could do a direct trade -although the chances of them asking the same amount of hours for these products is quite slim. I think that the majority of trades are specifically for hours – not for items. Time Trade organizations are relatively new and there are definitely many “gray” areas in terms of how they work and what IRS regulations are. As previously mentioned using this system is based on mutual respect, fairness, generosity and common sense. I admit to being quite curious as to why you seem so intent on the IRS aspect of time trades and not the idea that these organizations help people access some of the services that they would ordinarily have to pay for. It’s a relatively simple idea – one that more often than not works quite well. It’s really not as complicated as you appear to want to make it.
Curious
KAlden, you say you’re curious about my questions, though the statement seems more like a judgment that a question. You have a lot of experience with this system and trust it to a good degree. That’s great, and a testimonial to the project. New people, however, who do not have the familiarity with such a system and may well be wary of hidden dangers whether it is Time Trade, Bitcoin or Ithaca Hours type systems. IRS fees and penalties is one such area, and I’m sure there are many others. My research tells me that the Time Trade transactions are not taxable, but instead treated by the IRS as volunteerism. That’s fantastic, but the points I have raised do seem to lean towards a grey area.
Time Trade is a fantastic cultural meme that has the potential to be transformational. Many thanks to you and all of the other organizers who labor to bring it to fruition. I do not mean my questions to be disrespectful.
You're right that there are
You’re right that there are still many gray areas. But time trades across the country have spent much time looking into and trying to find answers for questions like the ones you asked. The answers that such organizations can give are based on what the IRS has decided as of now. Who knows if they will change their minds sometime down the road. New situations -and questions come up all the time and sometimes it takes a bit of thinking and conversation between ‘traders’ to reach a fair decision. Last summer I was getting deliveries from a TT member of wonderful organic produce from her gardens. She wanted to share her bounty and so her decision was to have people give what hey felt they could in terms of hours. I was incredibly grateful for the huge boxes and variety of produce she brought me and also knew that a lot of hard work went into growing these vegetables and flowers. So, I decided, since I had a lot of hours accrued and because it was such a wonderful treat for me- to be as generous as I could with the hours I gave to her. We were both quite happy with the arrangement and it was a great trade. I’m sure other people perhaps didn’t have as many hours built up to spend so they gave her fewer. In the end it didn’t matter because everyone involved felt that they were getting a good, fair deal. My comment about being curious was not a judgement. Time Trades aren’t for everyone and it seemed from your comments that perhaps you weren’t seeing the value in a system that can, on occasion, do away with traditional currency and try something new.
Bartering system?
It should be clear from the text of KAlden’s comment that she was saying that time trade is not direct bartering.
I am not sure what Will Stomp’s concern is. There are no guarantees in life, there can always be a surprise. Of all the risks one takes, the risk of unexpectedly having the value of two bushels of apples unexpectedly being calculated as part of your income, does not seem to me to be worth worrying about. My suggestion to Will Stomp would be to stick to conventional, cash transactions. It sounds like becoming a member of time trade, for Will Stomp, would probably not be a good idea.
Interesting
indeed. Don’t think I’ll respond to this one.
Thank you, Will Stomp...
for asking provocative questions. Challenging questions force us to clarify our thinking — in our own minds, and also for other people who may be thinking of those same questions, but have not asked.
We do our best
No system is perfect, and there is always a risk that mutual consent could degenerate into, “may the shrewdest prevail.”
I have found that in actual practice, time traders tend to be fair, considerate, generous, and sincere.