Ithaca, hidden in its secluded (and deluded) little corner of New York, is a world of idealism run amuck. This is a town in which a million dollars were spent to make up “Ithaca Hours”—a communist’s dream—a currency in which one hour of one’s labour (no matter what the labour was) is equal to one Ithaca Buck. This funny money is actually being used in legal transactions.This criticism of the Ithaca Hours system is entirely unfounded, and is based on ignorance. If you pay a dentist for a half hour of work, you might give him three or four "hour" certificates.
It's a way to keep money circulating in the local community among local businesses, instead of being siphoned out by the truckload through Big Box stores.