Will work for house

J. Kevin Tumlinson

Wise men say that it's never a good idea to go into business with your friends. Something will always come up that will put the friendship in jeopardy, they say. It's usually money. But I've found a way to keep money from ever becoming a problem… don't make any.

I recently figured up how much free work I do for friends and family. If I were to put a dollar amount on it, I'd be making well over six figures per year! That's a lot of favors. And maybe I'd be a little bitter about the fact that I barely make FIVE figures per year, if it weren't for all the “in-kinds.”

Somewhere along the way we forgot that money isn't the ONLY reason to do something. Sure, we need money to survive. The nice electric company doesn't usually trade electricity for car washes. And the city doesn't usually give you water in exchange for back rubs (why are we paying for the most abundant substance on earth anyway?). So money is a necessary evil. But it's not the only means to an end.

Our society is pretty focused on money. It's the motivating force for everything, it seems. If you want a car, a house, or a stick of gum, you have to be prepared to shell out the ol' coin. Why? If you need something, like a house to live in, why is it being treated in the same way as something you DON'T need, like say a Ferrari?

Here's a question I think needs to be answered – what is a society? Let's just cut through some of the rhetoric and say, “A collection of human beings with shared cultures and relationships.” That'll do for a summary, but what does it mean? No matter where I looked, I never once saw a reference to finances in any definition of “society” that I found. But in our current culture, it's almost as if you can't be a citizen if you don't have the cash. Am I only a member of society if I can afford it?

I rent. I have a pretty nice house in a decent little town. It gives me an address and a roof over my head, but it isn't “mine.” I don't own it, because I can't afford to buy it. And technically if I can't come up with the money for rent each month I'll be out on the street (not really a danger at this point, but thanks for the concern!). Now… what does that say? If I don't have money, I don't deserve a place to live?

There are programs out there that will allow lower income families to purchase a house at a reduced rate, in exchange for a little work on the part of the home-buyer. Most of the time, these projects are looked down upon by the community at large. They're seen as bringing in unsavory elements… people who didn't earn what they have and therefore won't take care of it. Is that a problem? Sure. It happens. But what if everyone could earn a home this way? What if, instead of having to deal with banks and loans and mortgages, you could go to a home builder and offer to work off your house? Put in a few hours a week and you could earn enough credit for a nice three or four bedroom home in no time. It's an “in-kind” sort of situation.

The first reaction to an idea like this is likely to be, “it'll never happen.” That's because we're so used to dealing with money that we can't imagine something working without it. But think about the fact that for thousands of years trade was the primary means of commerce. I give you these five chickens and you give me those two pigs. I paint your fence and you give me a bushel of lemons from your trees. It worked for billions of people throughout history, why wouldn't it work now?

If everyone was willing to work in trade, wouldn't that have an impact on the economy? Think about it… I'm a road worker, and you are a home builder. I put in the streets in your community in exchange for a house there. I maintain those streets in exchange for water and electricity. I earn my food by keeping the roads to market in good shape. I do my job, you do yours, and we both not only survive but thrive. And not a coin trades hands anywhere.

“In-kind” is just that… it's kind, it's communal. It's the most humane way to deal with another human being. Money is a useful symbol, but it's still only a symbol. When I hand you a dollar, I'm really giving you a symbol of the amount of time it took me to earn that dollar. So why not cut out the middle man? You need your yard mowed or your hair cut or your house painted, and I need milk and eggs and clothes and shoes. We can work something out. That's what being a society is all about.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Publisher and Editor for ViewOnline Magazine at www.viewonline.com . He is a Houston Baptist University graduate with degrees in English and Communications. You can reach him by e-mail at kevin@viewonline.com . He will work for food.