RSS 2.0 FeedThursday, December 1, 2011, Weekly editorial
Shop locally this Holiday season!
Local economic stimulus is something we can make happen, especially during the holiday shopping season. Let us not wait for Washington, D.C. to wake up our economy.
1. When you purchase at locally owned businesses rather than nationally owned, more money is kept in the community because locally-owned businesses often purchase from other local businesses, service providers and farms. Purchasing local helps grow other businesses as well as the local tax base.
2. Non profits receive greater support. Local business owners donate more to local charities than non-local owners.
3. Unique businesses create character and prosperity. The unique character of your local community is defined in large part by the businesses that reside there, and that plays a big factor in your overall satisfaction with where you live and the value of you home and property.
4. Environmental impact is reduced. Small local business usually set up shop in the town/village center, providing a centralized variety that is much friendlier to a community’s walk score than out-of-town shopping malls. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.
5. Most new jobs are provided by local businesses. Small local businesses are the largest employers nationally. Plus the more jobs you have in your local community the fewer people are going to have to commute which means more time and less traffic and pollution.
6. Customer service is better. Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service. You are also going to see these people around town and they are less likely to blow you off or be rude because they have to face you day after day.
7. Local business owners invest in community. Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave and are more invested in the community’s welfare and future.
8. Public benefits far outweigh public costs. Local businesses require comparatively little infrastructure and more efficiently utilize public services relative to chain stores.
9. Competition and diversity leads to more consumer choices. A marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.
10. You matter more. We talk a lot about exerting influence with your purchasing choices, or “voting with your wallet.” It’s a fact that businesses respond to their customers but your values and desires are much more influential to your local community business than the large big box stores.
To read more about going local check out Ecolocalizer, a great site that provides news, ideas and inspiration to “Think globally, act locally.”
James W. Reed, Former Deputy Commissioner
Nassau County Office of Consumer Affairs
