When it comes to the economy and the world we all are living in today, more and more people are talking about what they can do to make a difference in their environment. Of coarse I don’t like pollution of any kind, but my primary concern isn’t whether or not the globe is warming or cooling at the moment. I am concerned, however, about the local economies in this country. Some have started to figure it out, and everyday more people are thinking about buying local instead of supporting large corporately owned chain stores, or what most people call “big box” stores, or worse yet, buying online. There are statistics that show the exact percentage of every dollar spent, and how much of it impacts your local economy. I don’t know the exact figures, but a very small amount of your money stays in your community when you spend it at the large mass merchant stores, and none of it stays when you purchase online. On the other hand, when you support your locally owned shops, almost all of it stays local.
You may ask, why does that matter. There are many, many reasons why it matters. Local governments can only keep paying the fire department and policemen, and paving the roads, etc. when tax revenue is collected from purchases that are made locally. Typically small, local owned shops have better quality merchandise, often at the same price as inferior products at the chain stores. But the biggest impact that can be achieved by shopping at locally owned stores, is this. Local stores can only keep their doors open if they are making a profit. They can’t pay the rent or their employees, if nobody is purchasing from them. If all the local shops in this country went out of business, and there was nothing left but Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, etc. your choices would be limited to cheaply manufactured goods and products, with very short life spans, and you would have no possible way to ever regain American jobs that manufacture quality goods that are made here. The “big box stores” don’t sell quality ! High volume is what these stores are built on. If they sold quality products you won’t return to purchase again, soon enough. 70% of all upright vacuum cleaners are made over seas ! Why ? Because cheaply built vacuums that are designed to last 1 year are what “big box stores” sell. They need you back !
To get our jobs back, and to keep the ones we haven’t lost yet, and to retain the few good quality product choices that we still have. Buy local !
And buy American made as often as you can