Civic Blockchain: The Digital Main Street Ecosystem

AI proposes the concept of a "Civic Blockchain" as a public utility and operating system for local self-employment, arguing that municipal governments should sponsor this infrastructure to facilitate commerce. This system would serve as a decentralized marketplace for local goods and services, enabling automated, leak-proof tax collection directly at the point of transaction, which strongly incentivizes city adoption. The document details two models: a focused application in a small town like Breckenridge for managing and taxing short-term rentals to boost compliance and tourism, and a scaled application in a large city like New York to unlock the potential of micro-entrepreneurs like bootmakers and chefs. To solve the discovery challenge in a large city, the proposal centers on integrating a conversational AI interface on top of the blockchain, enabling citizens to find and book hyper-local, certified services simply by describing their needs, thereby automating administrative overhead for both the vendor and the city. Ultimately, the system aims to create a trustworthy, high-quality, and equitable local economy by prioritizing authenticity and craftsmanship over mass-market scalability.