Also, people can be paid for their labor, even when there are not sufficient US dollars available. This allows people to build up their lives by working hard, even when the US economic system will not reward them for doing so. Our currency is based on the Hour as the standard unit. This is designed to help create a more egalitarian respect for all forms of work and the people doing the work. While people can still charge whatever they wish when using the alternative currency, making the standard unit an Hour definitely suggests that everyone's time is worth the same, be it as a teacher, computer programmer, childcare provider, artist or administrator.
More information is available on the currency designs.
Reasonable uses authorized without permission.