So to create what he hoped would be an exciting alternative to consumption, he started a bank at his house (and on a Google spreadsheet) that pays about 20 percent in annual interest. That’s enough so that when he credits it to the accounts each Sunday, even the kids with the smallest balances can see the number go up. Word got out in the neighborhood, and about 20 children now have money on deposit at the First Kids Bank of Brookline. One boy brings the change he finds in the street to Engelhart’s house, where the money sits in plastic bags in a safe.
