Kim proposes a new public payments
system to add value to ‘unvalued’ work
From left to right: Scott Morris (Qoin Foundation), Assemblyman Ron Kim, Senator Julia Salazar, Professor Robert Hockett, and Chris
Hewitt (Hudson Valley Current). Photo credit: Scott Morris/Qoin Foundation
Braunstein to host
holiday gift drive
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Queens lawmaker will
once again spread holiday
cheer to the local community
through his annual gift drive.
For the ninth year, Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein
is sponsoring the gift and toy
drive for hospitalized veterans
and needy and hospitalized
children. Last year, Braunstein’s
office received thousands
of generous donations
from District 26 schools, civic
and senior organizations and
residents.
“My office will collect donations
of new items such as candy
(sugar-free preferred), pajamas,
robes, slippers, socks,
sweaters, shaving cream,
toothbrushes, toothpaste,
playing cards, and puzzles to
support our troops and bring
cheer to hospitalized veterans.
These donations help show
our veterans how much we
appreciate the sacrifices they
made for our country. All gifts
will be distributed to the men
and women at the St. Albans
VA Community Living Center,
and the New York State Veterans’
Home at St. Albans,” said
Braunstein.
Those interested in donating
gifts and toys can do so
until Tuesday, Dec. 17. Donors
can drop off wrapped presents
to the assemblyman’s office at
213-33 39th Ave, Suite 238, to
the offices of Dr. William M.
Duke at 35-01 202nd Street and
Community Board 11 at 46-21
Little Neck Pkwy.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Imagine a society where
“unvalued” and undervalued
work is equitably compensable
and is part of a public payment
system that is circulated within
the community. This is the
ambitious proposal from a pair
of lawmakers, including one
from Queens, and a Cornell
professor known as an “Inclusive
Value Ledger.”
On Oct. 13, Assemblyman
Ron Kim, Senator Julia Salazar
and Professor Robert Hockett
unveiled the bill known as
the Empire State Inclusive Value
Ledger (IVL) Establishment
and Administration Act, which
would allow for the creation of
a public savings and payments
platform for New Yorkers.
Using a “universally trusted”
digital debit-credit ledger
system, the IVL would also
allow residents to receive tax
and remittance credits and
government benefits totaling
an estimated $55.7 billion in
New York State.
According to the legislators,
the IVL would transform
and directly impact “soft”
work including mentoring,
tutoring, environmental preservation
efforts, caring for the
elderly and ill and community
service. Often, these types of
jobs are uncompensated or under
compensated and are performed
by women, adolescents,
retirees, family members and
neighbors.
The IVL would liquidate
$55.7 billion in public benefits
and tax credits onto a free
public platform in the form of
digitized tokens available to
all New Yorkers. These tokens
could then be accessed on a single
platform, either through an
app or an e-card for necessities
like groceries, child and adult
care and public transit.
Kim and Salazar emphasized
that the system, often
described as a peer-to-peer
system, would cut out thirdparty
financial institutions
and accompanying fees and
extractive payments. Instead,
New Yorkers would be able to
directly transfer currency between
each other.
“I believe that our proposal,
the Inclusive Value Ledger,
has the potential to be truly
revolutionary. The creation of
a free public savings and payment
platform that all New
Yorkers can use, not only to
pay for goods and services but
also to transfer money directly
to each other through, could
fundamentally reshape New
York into a fairer, healthier,
wealthier, and more inclusive
place for all,” said Kim.
IVL partners and supporters
who joined the lawmakers
at Wednesday’s bill unveiling
included the Qoin Foundation,
Hudson Valley Current and
the Chinese-American Planning
Council.
In addition to the local economic
impact, supporters emphasized
the wider impact as
a result of IVL. They asserted
that the IVL could “dramatically
accelerate” value creation
and commerce as the system
steadily grew the wealth
and health of residents, businesses
and the community at
large. It would also boost commerce,
productive activity and
wealth-generation throughout
New York State. Hockett and
the lawmakers added that the
IVL would also help to execute
the Green New Deal.
Established by the Green
New Deal Task Force, the
Green New Deal is legislation
that aims to address climate
change as well as economic inequality.
“The Green New Deal challenges
us to design greener
money – a payments system
that lets literally everyone
earn, store, and spend value.
Our Inclusive Value Ledger
is just that – a public payment
platform and system of digital
wallets for every New Yorker
and every New York business,”
said Hockett. “All valuable
work and all valuable products
and services, including presently
unpaid care work and environmental
cleanup, will be
instantly compensable; and all
that is earned will be instantly
savable and spendable. The
boost to the state’s growth and
environment will be massive,
precisely because now both its
money and payments systems
will be just.”
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.
com or by phone at (718) 260-
2583.
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