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July 31, 2010
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Ten Steps to Supporting your Local Economy
Spring 2009
When your own community thrives, you benefit as well
by Shawn Dell Joyce
Economist and author Michael Shuman in his recent book, SmallMart Revolution, writes: “If every American household took these ten steps, more than half of all consumer expenditures would be localized.” Right now, about 42 percent of our economy is “place based” or created through small, locally owned businesses. Shuman estimates that we could expand this figure to 70 percent or more by incorporating these ten simple steps that will actually save you money in the process. The figures are from the Consumer Expenditures Report released in 2004 by the U.S. Dept. of Labor. (Please note that all specific amounts listed are averages.)
1 Localize Your Home!
The biggest expense most of us have is our mortgage or rent: 60 percent of our annual expenses go to shelter. This money often flies out of our pockets and communities and into absentee landlords’ hands, or corporate banks in other places.
By renting from a local landlord, or buying your home with a mortgage from a local bank, you can localize this expense. Local banks and credit unions typically have the best rates anyway, possibly saving you money in the process. Try to find a bank that doesn’t repackage and sell loans on the secondary market, which would stop your money from flowing through the community. This would
localize $7,800 per household per year!
2 Halve Auto Use!
According to Shuman, Americans spend one out of every five dollars to move about. That amounts to almost $5,000 per year! Until we can start replacing imported oil with locally produced biofuels, our best bet is to drive less. Mass transit, bicycling, and walking are highest on the list of options, but not very easy for rural folks. Use the car sparingly, buy gas from an independent gas station if you can find one, and use a local repair shop you trust.
This would localize $2,450 per household.
3 Eat Independently!
Households spend about $2,300 per year on restaurants; unfortunately it’s mostly fast food chains. This one is a simple matter of choice: very little effort is required to find a satisfying independently-owned restaurant. This would localize that same $2,300.
4 Local Arts and Entertainment!
Most people opt for a movie at a corporate multiplex at the mall, and get their culture via
Hollywood rather than the local school play. Enjoy homegrown talent! Visit the small repertory theaters; see a real play instead of a movie. Visit an art show and buy art from local artists, buy music directly from the bands, see that high school holiday performance. We could keep $2,100 in entertainment expenses per household flowing locally.
5 Localize Your Health Care!
Most of us have health care plans that are far from local, yet two components- high-tech equipment and prescription medications- can be localized. Get your meds from an independent pharmacy, preferably one that also uses local suppliers.
If we take better care of ourselves, walk more, eat locally, and build strong community and family ties, we will reduce our need for the high-tech equipment. Alternative options would be naturopaths or herbalists and local midwives instead of OB-GYNs. By localizing health care we keep $1,850 per household in our local economy.
6 Buy Locally Grown!
Purchasing fresh vegetables, meats and dairy from local farms reduces transportation costs and
vitamin loss. Most of our food travels 1,500 miles to land on our plate! Eating locally keeps the money in farmers’ pockets rather than middlemen’s. Doing so can keep $1,700 food dollars per family enriching our communities.
7 Localize Electricity!
Amory Lovins, energy-efficiency guru, has estimated that we could save $3,000 per year just by increasing our energy efficiency. Simple things such as using compact fluorescent bulbs, improving insulation, and following the recommendations of a home energy audit make a big difference.
Creating your own energy through renewable sources such as solar panels or wind turbines makes a much bigger difference.
8 Give Locally!
More than six percent of the U.S. economy is nonprofit, according to Shuman. Most of these nonprofits are in the forms of hospitals, universities, and churches, but locally we also have arts organizations, environmental groups, and many others.
My family donates to local organizations. If we all did, our nonprofits would have $1,300 per family per year to save our vistas, improve our air and water quality, and clean up everything from the
government to carbon emissions.
9 Buy Locally!
We shop a lot. Soon shopping will probably become an Olympic sport, thanks to Americans. Actually, in the time it has taken you to read this, Americans have collectively spent $23 million.
Shuman says that $16 million of this figure could be spent locally. If we choose to shop locally for almost everything we commonly buy, from tires to T-shirts, we will keep more than $1,000 per family per year in the local economy.
10 Localize Your Vices!
Americans spend an average of about $700 per household on alcohol and cigarettes. There’s no reason not to support local vineyards and microbreweries with the $376 per household that go to alcohol.
Tobacco, however, is not yet a local crop, unless you live in Tennessee. (Although scientists do project that global warming could make tobacco the North’s top crop in 2025.) Your best bet all around, of course, is to stop smoking. Save that $320 per year spent on tobacco and buy a lot of locally grown produce instead.
This article was reprinted with the author’s permission from Back Home magazine,
May/June 2008. Email her at Shawn@ShawnDellJoyce.com
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updated
July 9, 2009
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