BE A
LOCALIST.
Prosperity
like? How does it feel? What does it mean to
truly prosper? Is it about having the most? Is it
a competition? Or about making it on my own?
Does it mean me VS you? Or does it mean
something else? What if real prosperity meant
that it was alright to care for each other? That
you have a place and so does everyone else.
Imagine if a grassroots movement of local
people decided that we could make, grow and
invest in the goods and the services that our
communities need. That jobs and wealth are
better in the hands of the many rather than
the few. That as manufacturers, family farmers,
independent retailers, as energy providers, or
as community bankers, that we could all just
decide that it was alright to care for each other.
That real prosperity meant that business was
kindness… Business was community…business
was justice… and as life. Now imagine if such
a movement was already here. We know that
real property is local by its very nature because
it is in our place where we recognize that how
we treat other matters. That we are connected.
The new economy is here and growing. It’s just a
choice; one we all can make. It is alright to care.
Join us in saying yes. We are in this together and
we wouldn’t want it any other way. Join us in
creating real prosperity… together.” (-Michelle
Long. BALLE)
How many people truly realize that our local
small businesses are the key to prosperity in
our community? Did you know that
half (if not more) of the Little Rock
economy, the state economy and
even the United States’ economy is
made up of locally owned businesses?
Americans are systematically investing
into Fortune 500 companies and
continuing to under invest (or totally
neglect) in our local small businesses.
The crazy part is that it has become
easier to invest in a company halfway
around the world than it is to
invest in one in our own backyard.
Americans have close to 30 trillion
dollars in investments. Imagine if
half of that, 15 trillion dollars, was invested
into local economies rather than multinational
conglomerates that are outsourcing jobs and not
investing domestically. We would be living in a
far different world.
A small locally owned business’ ability
to survive in today’s economy is constantly
threatened by big businesses. When we, as
consumers, decide to spend our dollars at a
non- locally owned business we our shipping the
majority of our money out of the community in
which we live, which has serious repercussions
for our local economy. Research has consistently
shown that when citizens spend their money at
a small, locally owned business, the percentage
of every dollar spent is much higher than when
spent at a non- locally owned. This means we
receive a greater bang for our buck in terms of
stimulating the local economy when we shop at
small locally owned businesses.
What we were told growing up about how the
economy was suppose to work… is not. And all
the things we were told that could never work,
well they are. As it turns out, we CAN feed
the world on small farms, solar can be more
does not kill jobs. Net job growth in the past 25
years have come from micro businesses (under
25 employees). Employee owned businesses are
inequality is how much Wall street activity is
in that economy. If you want to funnel wealth
into the fewest hands possible, you should go
to very large transnational corporations. If your
goal is the most jobs and the most wealth for the
most people, there is a direct correlation to the
density and the diversity of the local ownership
per place.
Our fundamental human nature is collaborative
and not competitive. There have been studies on
happiness and wellness over the past decades
depicting that our natural instinct is to help one
another. All these things are not the dominate
messages we hear. They are not how we direct
our investments. These are not the things taught
in business school.
So back to this 15 Trillion dollar shift. Maybe
it is a little idealistic to think we will get to 50%
any time soon. But what about 10%? The 10%
Shift Campaign is a movement to strengthen
local economies, especially in the wake of a
individuals, businesses and organizations to shift
10% of their spending from non-local businesses
to Local Independents – private, locally owned
Grand Rapids study by Civic Economics, it is
clear that even just this 10% shift from non-local
to local spending will have a profound impact on
every local economy because of the multiplier
effect – a larger share of your dollars will stay
in the region and work to strengthen Central
Arkansas and the surrounding communities.
Shift?
• Expanded Job Creation: Creating new jobs
and decreasing unemployment.
• Economic Growth: Generating billions of
dollars of increased local economic activity.
• Entrepreneurial Ventures: Inspiring the
formation of new independent ventures.
• Protected Environment: Decreasing
thousands of tons of greenhouse emissions
caused by trans-regional and transnational
transportation of goods.
• Enhanced Communities: Revitalizing
communities that have suffered from nonlocal
spending.
healthy neighborhoods and downtown areas—
but we don’t always support the existing local
options that will help us realize this vision. Take
the 10% SHIFT and be part of the solution that
creates a thriving community and celebrates
our vibrant local identity, a strong sense of
place, pride in our community’s history, cultural
traditions, and unique natural environment.
Whether you’re shopping for food, looking for a
special gift, searching for a local service provider,
on your part can help support and improve the
quality of life for everyone in our community.
Driving demand for Local starts with you.”
Information from Michelle Long of Business
Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).
www.bealocalist.org
-and-
10% Shift Campaign - Syracuse First
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/www.bealocalist.org