Time is On My Side

All that economics and business and commerce and life is all about is time.

When you exchange $10,000 for a car, that's not $10,000, that's $10,000 of your time.

And I often have half heartedly toyed around with the idea of how one would set up a complete economy based on a currency that was only time. No currency, no credits, just time. "You have deposited 3 hours of time at the time bank." Of course a currency of some sort would have to exist as it's the only way to tell whose time is more valuable than others. Without currency and just my half-baked time idea, doctors would be on par with window washers (which I have done in my past), plus a barter system is basically the most simple form of a currencyless economy. I've been half tempted to offer dance classes in exchange for home cooked meals (another cunning plan).

In any case, I like this chart as it shows you how much time you need to buy a Big Mac in different towns. Bogata it takes 91 minutes, LA it only takes 11 minutes. Playing off the Big Mac Index, this not only show you how much a Big Mac costs, but rather how many minutes one must work to afford a Big Mac.

The true measure of purchasing power parity;