Our Small Communities Can Survive

Every piece of news I read, always has the best part towards the end of the article; the reader's comments.  People are irritated with the country's state of affairs; unemployment, corporate tax dodging, no new job creation etc.  Every once in a while though, a story from a small town business, will arise from the smoking comments, and sink into my mind, and even make me smile.  These are the stories of survival.  These are our stories of Main Street.

From the corners of the west coast, to the farthest stretch of the east, there are stories of small towns pulling together and getting dirty.  High unemployment and economic hard times, have left Main Streets across the United States empty.  Towns that were unfortunate enough to have had a box store enter their proud communities, have fought back harder.  Luckily enough for our towns, the choices are clearer for consumers; shop local.   Fact: "For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $68 stays in the community, versus $43 if spent in box stores."~ Civic Economics Study.

Keeping our money circulating in our small towns, will inevitably cause a "trickle down" economics for our community.  Shopping local keeps our neighbors employed, who in turn shop local and keep their neighbors surviving also.  

For every business that would fail = a job or jobs lost =less money in the community.  Local merchants have fully stocked shelves ready to fill your orders, so why go to Wal-Mart?  Wal-Mart and other corporations like them, have started the demise of local Main Streets,  so why give your money back to them?  By our small towns refusing to shop in box stores, this will refresh our Main Streets business and workers, with a flush of revenue, that once went to Sam Walton's heiress.  Seeing the bigger picture is of the utmost importance in times like these.  

Fact:  "A  10% shift in market share from chains to locals could result in : Nearly $140 million in new economic activity, over 1600 new jobs, and provide over $50 million in new wages" ~Civic Economics Study.

Can our small town avoid the darkening cloud hanging over America?  Sure we can!   Fact: If each household simply redirected just $100 of planned holiday spending from chain stores to locally owned merchants, the local economic impact would reach approximately $10 million"~AIBA Economic Impact Case Study. 

We are lucky enough in our small town to have a grocery store, gas station, craft store, hardware store, shopping center, local gym etc.  Citizens can have their appliances fixed here, their cars worked on, along with having their child's birthday cake baked here.  The limitations are few.  I encourage everyone to keep their banking local, and to get out there and get involved.  Join our Chamber of Commerce or our Main Street program, and help plan the activites, that drive in consumers.  

I love living in Prophetstown! .  I couldn't imagine living anywhere else and raising my kids.  I want the success of our small town and our surrounding small towns,  to trump the success of CEOs across the Unites States.  In many ways, I feel like this town is "Mayberry", and we are excluded from the outside world.  Our "Mayberry", that sits in Prophetstown, Illinois, can best be described as "Practically Perfect".

So remember, corporations are not people, and get up, stand up, but please do something.