Sunday, January 15, 2006

Where the Heart Is - Spending Locally

The New Year: a time to think about making things better and doing something good.........

This is an interesting article that touches on WalMart, chains, spending locally, and similar topics.

It ends with:

But beyond the disgusting aspects of an American sameness, it’s simply smart money to invest in local businesses — in real people, in your real neighbors — instead of putting your hard-earned dollars into a corporate black hole that sucks it right off to Arkansas or California or New York. Invest in our community. Invest in a future.

Why not make a New Year’s resolution to think a little harder about how and where you spend your money?

This is a theme we have followed and will continue to follow. Our local businesses provide a unique Sarasota. We enjoy the fruits of their efforts and are greatly enriched by their decision to live in and improve our community. Sometimes the enrichment comes in the form of an excellent meal that may add a pound or two - but that is another resolution.

We echo the authors suggestion: make an effort to patronize our local businesses, reinvest in our community by patronizing their establishments.

Post script: An earlier posting described the local restaurants efforts to educate customers about this issue.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How many of these local businesses offer pension plans or 401(k)'s to their employees? How many offer substantial healthcare benefits for their employees and dependents? How many pay any more than they must to attract the quality employee they need. How many of their employees are full time, versus part time?

Stop living in a fantasy world!

Anonymous said...

Take a look at how many of these big companies are withdrawing their pension plans, making jobs part time instead of full-time, etc., etc.

Here you have another fantasy world...of your making. Let's get realistic!