LIVELIHOOD — The Parallel Economy

A plan for a small, voluntary, neighbourhood-scale economy that would run alongside Toronto's existing economy, never replacing it or requiring participants to give up a job, benefit, or housing.

It has three parts atop a simple foundation: a “dignity floor” of rent help, delivered groceries, and open community meals with no means-testing; a “contribution layer” recognizing unpaid work like caregiving, still undecided among options such as time credits, mutual credit, a gift system, or no formal measurement at all; and an enterprise layer of worker-owned businesses and shared main-street services people could eventually join or own a share of. The underlying systems start as simple as paper sign-up sheets and a shared spreadsheet.

This program has not been ratified. Nothing here is a promise, and no real neighbourhood or household has been contacted about any part of it.