The next #Blogging101 assignment is to look at the Daily Prompt, I couldn’t write to the first several so I picked this one “Be the Change.” as it can be related to economics. Although if you want to suggest one that I try to bring around to econ, I’ll try.
I’d assume by now it is apparent to those who’ve read a post or two of mine that the change I’d like my blog to encourage is that more people deliberately try to engage in their local economies and communities. The more people who make changes in their purchasing habits the better off we all are, it may seem too small an action or too expensive to make a switch to locally made and locally sold, but it can make a world of difference in your town.
The SBA says that in 2012 49.2% of us were employed by small business (I’m making an assumption that most small businesses also fall into the local business category), so if that is an accurate estimate (Have you heard “There are lies, damn lies and statistics”?) then when you spend money in the local community, you’ve got a decent chance to support someone in your local community.
I’d like to find out that I’ve encouraged readers to at least start by figuring out where their money goes, does your paycheck go directly out of area? Making an economy halfway across the world wealthy instead of mulching the garden of your economy (too puny?).
For most people, I think, an easy thing to start doing is buying local beer and eating at a non-chain restaurant when you eat out. Plus, once you’re an adult do you really want the same identical thing all the time? Doesn’t eating at Generic Chain Restaurant when you’re traveling seem pointless (I do understand drive thru food is an exception to this)?
Experiencing Local 
I have been very involved in helping to encourage and grow our local economy through the “creative economy” movement. In our area we call it Schoodic Creates and we work to encourage businesses on the Schoodic Peninsula. It has been an uphill battle to educate the business community to the benefits of working together and marketing everyone’s skills. People have had a difficult time understanding “when one business benefits, everyone benefits”. We hosted 2 tours, accompanied by art shows and after that experience more people joined in. I like the idea of using local dollars, hope this movement continues to grow.
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Do you have a link to your program?
I like finding out how others run their programs.
Have you ever looked into Time Banking? People tend to like the idea of it, and its easier to wrap their brains around than local currency. Maybe something you could add to your existing program?
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Our program had a web site, http://www.schoodiccreates.com but the group who organized the events has folded, and the organization is re-evaluating their purpose. It seemed that many businesses and individuals wanted to take part in an organized event but no one wanted to join the organizing committee. This area has recently developed a campground that will bring many more people to our peninsula and section of Acadia National Park, so this committee is now hosting discussions on how to integrate this growth and find a voice to be heard from within the community. We are at a crossroads and in flux at this time.
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That is a chronic problem, lots of people want the advantages of vibrate economy, but don’t know how to get it going. Maybe start small? A series of potlucks?
Getting to that critical mass of people is difficult. I’ve been a part of four time banks now, this last one is the only one that made it more than a year. http://www.helptimebank.com/ is a link to our current time bank. In neighboring Bayfield (about 20 miles away), they’ve got a program like you had going, I want to say called Bayfield Creates. And they have a Pine River Shares (but they are only on FaceBook so I didn’t link to that).
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Thanks, I talk to others on the committee about this.
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Wonderful to see people who care about this.
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