jitterbug
07-02-2009, 09:00 AM
I recently read a great article about the value of localization and "living economies" written by a Hudson Valley (NY) writer. It applies here in Sonoma County just as much. Here's an excerpt, with a link to the full article.
Debbie
"We have been educated to see all business as one type of activity, but locally owned and run businesses are truly cut from a different cloth than their national, publicly traded counterparts. The math tells an important part of the story. Much of the money spent at a locally owned business flows back into and is reinvested in the community—particularly if the business sources locally—while the majority of money spent with a national chain is sent back to headquarters, often to service massive debt or produce unreasonable profits. But there are other, more qualitative, reasons that local business is good for community, and good for the future of humanity.
Local shops, restaurants, farms, and service providers are run with the ingenuity and artfulness of the people we know — members of our community. When we walk into the shop or restaurant we are likely to see its owner—the living, breathing human that is part of the fabric of our locale. And that owner is motivated by his or her relationship with customers, who are also neighbors. The owners may see their compensation in the opportunity to put their social, environmental, and creative values into action in the way they run their business. And so the business becomes a vital part of the fabric and culture of our place."
Chronogram Magazine - July 01, 2009 - Esteemed Reader: July 2009 (https://tinyurl.com/musxux)
Debbie
"We have been educated to see all business as one type of activity, but locally owned and run businesses are truly cut from a different cloth than their national, publicly traded counterparts. The math tells an important part of the story. Much of the money spent at a locally owned business flows back into and is reinvested in the community—particularly if the business sources locally—while the majority of money spent with a national chain is sent back to headquarters, often to service massive debt or produce unreasonable profits. But there are other, more qualitative, reasons that local business is good for community, and good for the future of humanity.
Local shops, restaurants, farms, and service providers are run with the ingenuity and artfulness of the people we know — members of our community. When we walk into the shop or restaurant we are likely to see its owner—the living, breathing human that is part of the fabric of our locale. And that owner is motivated by his or her relationship with customers, who are also neighbors. The owners may see their compensation in the opportunity to put their social, environmental, and creative values into action in the way they run their business. And so the business becomes a vital part of the fabric and culture of our place."
Chronogram Magazine - July 01, 2009 - Esteemed Reader: July 2009 (https://tinyurl.com/musxux)